Casey cut off her arc wielder and raised her goggles, then eyed the twelve-meter-tall Kraken before looking back at Jake. “The smaller cats tend to gang up on the larger ones. It’s rare for anything bigger than a medium Long Cat to make it to the semifinals.”
Gesturing toward the Kraken, Jake said, “Then why bother bringing one in the first place? And why add the extra armor?”
Casey shrugged. “It’s all a guessing game. I’ve studied videos of the last two tournaments. Larger cats are useful to draw out enemy fire. All those cats ganging up on it aren’t firing at the rest of our team. As you know, a cat’s force field is weaker close to the ground, plus the legs and footpads are vulnerable due to all their joints. I’m hoping the extra armor will help our Kraken make it to the semifinals. That could be a game changer for us.”
Jake took another look at the massive Kraken and compared it with his Paladin. “Well, all I know is that I’d hate to have to go up against one of those all by my lonesome.”
Casey set her arc wielder down and wandered over. “Yet you’re planning on taking on a Leviathan, which is almost as big. I don’t suppose you’ve got a plan for how you’ll come out of that one alive.” She pointed at the two empty slots on the Paladin’s shoulders where the gun appendages went. “What weapons are you planning on mounting for the battle royale tomorrow?”
Waving a hand at two appendages on the bay’s worktables, Jake said, “I’m going to mount clawed arms on both sides. Maggie will carry the 75mm plasma cannon in her right claw and a plasma rifle in her left. That’ll give me the ability to drop the weapons and switch out with anything I find on the battlefield if I run low on ammo.”
Nodding her head, Casey gestured at her Macron. “Well, you do it your way. As for me, I’ll stick with standard gun pods and mounted rocket launchers. Gun pods have access to more ammo using a cat’s internal storage. Portable weapons cats carry in their claws only have what’s in their magazines. What’s your seventy-five got? Thirty or forty rounds?”
“Only thirty,” Jake admitted. “I’m trying to keep Maggie light and agile. Truth is, I’m not planning on doing a lot of fighting tomorrow.”
“You may not have a choice. It all depends on where you’re located and who’s close to you. Our positions will be randomly generated in the morning. We won’t know where we’ll be in the battle area until an hour before start time. That’s why it’s important for the six of us to try and assemble as soon as we can, so we can support each other.”
“I hear you. I know you’re planning on sending up a signaling flare with that 400mm phase mortar of yours, but if we’re stuck on opposite sides of the battle area, we might have a hard time assembling.”
Casey shrugged. “It is what it is.” She glanced at her wrist-timer. “Now you’d best be hustling. We’ve got that meet-and-greet with the Gegormas in two hours. Make sure you wear your dress whites.” She laughed. “I’d hate to be seen with a slovenly merc the day before he gets his rear end handed to him on a platter.”
Jake was about to make a joke of his own when a mechanical voice came from the raised work platform near the Paladin’s cockpit.
“Hey,” said Jason, using the translator on his utility belt. “I’ve only got four gripping tentacles. Do you expect me to do all the work myself? How about getting those claw appendages mounted before you go off to the party with your date? Tilley and I can handle the rest.”
Jake gave his electronics technician a mock salute. “Sir, yes, sir!” He turned to Casey. “Duty calls.”
“So it does,” she replied. “By the way, this isn’t a date. It’s business. Every cat pilot will be checking the others out, trying to spot any sign of weakness. So stay on your toes.”
Jake smiled and saluted. “Sir, yes, sir!”
“Oh, blow it out your—”
Her reply was drowned out by a pneumatic hammer.
Jake had a feeling it was just as well.
* * *
At 1900 hours, Jake found himself dressed in full military whites and standing in a massive ballroom with 200 other pilots and twice as many civilian guests. Casey had already left when he’d went to the suite she shared with her cousins Freeta and Dresh, so he’d been forced to go to the ballroom without her.
As he looked around the crowded room for a familiar face, he had a thought. Well, I’ll say one thing about the Gegormas, they sure know how to throw a party. There must be a dozen bars, and that buffet table has every kind of delicacy I’ve ever heard about.
“I see you made it,” said a familiar female voice.
Jake turned, coming face to face with Phyllis Gegorma. She wore a tight-fitting black dress that went all the way to the floor and was sheer enough he could almost, but not quite, see through the material. The long blonde hair flowing over her shoulders was embedded with gems reflecting light in a rainbow of colors. She wore only light makeup. She didn’t need more. Jake wasn’t sure how much the woman had spent on plastic surgeons over the years, but he had a feeling it was a lot.
While not trained in the gentlemanly graces, Jake knew enough to compliment a lady at a party. “You are by far the most beautiful woman in the room, Ms. Gegorma.”
The blonde pretended to wave the compliment aside, but Jake had a feeling she’d have been insulted if he hadn’t mentioned her looks.
“You’re too kind, Jake. Please, call me Phyllis. I feel as if we’re old friends.”
“All right, Phyllis.”
She looked around. “I don’t see your Trecorian friend. I was told she and you were pretty inseparable during the trip here.”
Jake had a feeling Major Maksim hadn’t wasted any time reporting everything that had happened during the last few weeks. “Casey…err, I mean Lieutenant Bistoria? I’m sure she’s here somewhere. Have you met her?”
Phyllis shook her head. “No, I haven’t had the pleasure. My father was impressed with how the two of you worked together to take out that pirate assault ship. It’s not every day a single cat takes out a starship all by its lonesome.”
“We got lucky.”
Phyllis laughed. “I know better. I’ve seen the security videos from the tele-bots. It took guts and skill to board that warship and take the fight to them.” She eyed Jake a little closer. “I’ll admit I wasn’t all that impressed the first time we met. I’m glad to see I was wrong and my father was right.”
Jake wasn’t sure what to say, so he said nothing.
After an awkward silence, Phyllis smiled. “I hate to bring it up, but I believe you’ve got something that belongs to me.”
Reaching into his jacket’s breast pocket, Jake pulled out the ultra-creallium charge card he’d been given on Trillian. “I was pretty careful with it. That is, except for a couple of parties I threw for my crew before we left Trill—”
“You did fine.” Taking the electronic card from his hand, Phyllis slipped it down the neck of her dress. “Our accounting department told me you only spent half of their original estimate. They were shocked.”
Jake laughed. “Well, I could always give it another try if you want to give it back.”
The blonde woman didn’t laugh at his attempt at humor. “Actually, Jake, if you play your cards right, you won’t ever have to worry about credits again.”
“You mean if I win the tournament?”
Stepping close, Phyllis whispered in his ear, “I mean regardless of how the tournament goes. My father likes your style. You could go far in our organization.”
Pulling back, Jake eyed the woman. “I don’t think I understand. You invited me here to be in the tournament. Right?”
Phyllis shrugged. “Among other things. Of course, you’ll have to prove your worth tomorrow during the battle royale.” She gave a half laugh. “My father won’t be quite as impressed if you go and get yourself killed the first day.”
Doing his best to act nonchalant, Jake said, “Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint Mister Gegorma.”
All hint of a smile left P
hyllis Gegorma’s face. “No, you wouldn’t. You’d do well to remember that.”
Jake was about to dig a little into what the woman meant when a loud, booming voice overrode the buzz of conversation in the room.
“Eat well tonight, you scum!” shouted a beefy, gray-haired man just entering the ballroom. “Tomorrow half of you are going to die, so live it up while you can.”
A scar running across the old man’s left eye along with his scraggly beard made him look about as vicious as any man Jake had ever seen. Tattoos all over his arms and neck didn’t help him look any pleasanter. Nor in Jake’s opinion did the company he kept. The big man was surrounded by a dozen or more shady-looking characters dressed in an assortment of gaudy uniforms.
“Ah, yes,” whispered Phyllis as she grabbed hold of Jake’s arm and steered him toward the group of newcomers. “Our intrepid Balorian pirates have arrived. Let me introduce you.” Without giving him a chance to argue, she pulled him in front of the scar-faced man. “Commander Donalis. Let me introduce Jake Striker. I’m hoping he’ll be working for my father in the near future.”
Jake stared at the one-eyed pirate. It was all he could do to keep from bashing the pirate’s face.
The pirate leader scanned Jake up and down with his one good eye, then laughed. “So this is the young pup that almost got himself killed this afternoon.”
Jake tried to keep the surprise off his face, but he must’ve failed miserably.
“Yes, yes, I saw you charge toward me before you got scared and stopped. I’ve got no doubt you come by your cowardice honestly. I recognize the piece of junk you call a cat. I shoulda disobeyed orders and blown her to pieces when I killed your father.” The pirate glanced at the other pirates around him and laughed. “You shoulda heard his old man beg for mercy like some ba—”
Rage took over at the pirate’s admission. Jake pulled all the hate in his body together and swung his fist straight at the laughing man’s face. Somehow he missed.
In a movement belying the man’s size, the gray-haired pirate stepped out of the way of the blow. The pirate returned the favor by swinging a beefy fist at Jake’s face.
A crack of white lightning sounded in Jake’s ears as red stars appeared before his eyes. He was flung through the air, landing on a couple of civilians in tuxedos. Both Jake and the civilians went down in a tangle of arms and legs. Jake tried to rise, but only succeeded in getting to his knees before the gray-haired pirate charged toward him with fists raised and fire in his one good eye.
Someone wearing dress whites stepped in front of Jake. He caught a glimpse of dark hair with purple streaks. Casey, he thought.
As Jake watched, the leader of the Trecorians did a spin in the air and landed the side of her foot across the big pirate’s face. Blood splattered out of his mouth along with a couple of pieces of white.
The man roared with rage and reached out for Casey with two huge hands.
Although only a third the size of the man, she didn’t back down. She ducked underneath the pirate’s hands and landed a hard jab below his belt where it would hurt the most.
Air gushed out of the one-eyed man’s mouth as he bent double.
Casey rose to her full height, bringing her knee up as she came. It struck the pirate commander on the chin, knocking him head over heels into a trio of his pirate friends that were rushing in to help.
Regaining his feet, Jake intercepted a pirate coming in from Casey’s blind side. The pirate was female, but he didn’t care. After four years in the mercenaries, he was all for gender equality. He landed a blow on the woman’s temple, knocking her to the ground.
A half dozen pirates charged forward, some with the necks of broken bottles in their hands.
A dark-skinned female with white hair grabbed one of the pirates from the side and threw him to the floor. Jake recognized her as Estoria, the pilot of the Trecorians’ Long Cat medium UHAAV. Other Trecorian cat pilots came rushing in to help.
Boom!
Everyone froze, seemingly in midstride.
Plaster fell from a gaping hole in the ceiling that hadn’t been there before.
Keeping his fists at the ready, Jake didn’t risk turning around to see where the shot had come from. He kept his eyes on the pirates to his front as the four other Trecorian pilots moved to flank Casey and him.
The pirate leader, Commander Donalis, wiped blood from his mouth with his hand before grabbing a broken bottle from one of his comrades. He took a step forward.
Boom!
More plaster fell from the ceiling.
“That will be quite enough,” said a voice Jake recognized as belonging to Phyllis Gegorma. “Put your weapons down.”
No one moved.
“My next shot will be straight between the eyes of anyone holding a weapon,” said Phyllis in a voice so cold it sent a chill down Jake’s spine. “I won’t tell you again.”
A dozen broken bottles clattered to the floor. Two civilians dropped their glasses in an apparent attempt to make sure their drinks weren’t confused for weapons.
“That’s better,” said Phyllis, her voice returning to a more normal tone. “Now stand down. They’ll be plenty of time for fighting tomorrow.”
The scar-faced Commander Donalis spit out another tooth before pointing at Casey. “I’ll be looking for you tomorrow, girl.”
Casey glared at the old pirate. “I won’t be hard to find. I’ll be the one firing a missile up your ass.”
The man’s face turned bright red. For a moment, Jake thought he was going to renew his attack.
One of the female pirates grabbed her leader’s arm. “They’ll be plenty of time to make her pay for her insolence tomorrow, Commander. Come on. I’ll buy you a drink.”
The old pirate gave Casey a glare that was more a promise than anything else. Spinning on his heels, he headed for the nearest bar. The other pirates went with him.
The last to leave was the female pirate Jake had knocked down. She pointed at him and gave a nasty smile. “Watch your back tomorrow, Sonny Boy. I’ve got an anti-armor missile with your name on it.”
Before Jake could think of a snappy reply, the woman turned and joined her companions. Then and only then did he turn to see what was going on behind him. Phyllis stood there with a Deloris phase blaster gripped in her right hand. A trickle of smoke was still coming out of the barrel. She stood next to an old man Jake recognized as none other than their host, Creao Gegorma.
The old man seemed to glance around at the crowd. Except for the pirates who were busy at the bar, everyone seemed to be looking his way. He smiled. “Everything is as it should be, everyone. Drink. Eat. Enjoy yourselves. I daresay there won’t be as many of you here tomorrow. I’ll try to get around tomorrow evening and talk to whoever’s left.”
The guests slowly returned to what they’d been doing. Even so, Jake sensed they were watching the elder Gegorma out the corner of their eyes.
Without preamble, Creao Gegorma stepped forward and shook Jake’s hand. “Jake Striker. I swear you’re the spitting image of your grandfather.”
Taken aback, all Jake could say was, “My grandfather?”
The old man nodded as he released Jake’s hand. “Yes, your grandfather. He and I were friends. Didn’t you know?”
Jake hadn’t.
Without giving him time to reply, Creao Gegorma gestured at a side door with his left hand. “We’ve got a lot to discuss, Jake. I keep a small library over here. Why don’t we go somewhere a little more private where we can talk?”
Grabbing his arm, the old man started to guide Jake toward the side door. He stopped after two steps and turned around and glanced at his daughter. “Phyllis, why don’t you keep Lieutenant Bistoria company while Jake and I talk?” He pointed at the blaster in his daughter’s hand. “Oh, and I think you can put that thing away. I don’t think the lieutenant is going to give you any trouble.”
Jake glanced at Casey and opened his mouth to speak.
Casey beat him to th
e punch. “Go. I’ll talk to you later. I’m sure Ms. Gegorma and I have a lot to discuss.”
Nodding his head, Jake allowed the elder Gegorma to pull him along with a gentle yet persistent tug on his arm. An image of a mouse being pulled into a scorpion’s den came into Jake’s mind.
What have I gotten myself into?
Chapter 21 – Scorpion’s Den
__________________
The small library on the other side of the door turned out to be half-again as large as the ballroom. The library was filled with more books than Jake had seen in his entire life.
Even the district library on Trillian doesn’t have a tenth this many books. It must’ve cost him a fortune.
Waving at a small table with two comfortable looking chairs, Creao Gegorma took a seat and waited patiently for Jake to sit.
Jake glanced around at the row upon row of shelves. A stairway led up to presumably more floors of books.
“Do you read?” asked the elder Gegorma.
“You mean real books I can hold in my hand?” Jake asked. He shook his head. “To be honest, my reading consists mostly of outdated technical manuals on how to keep a fifty-year-old Paladin running. The most exciting thing I’ve read in the last four years is a list of torque settings for a hydraulic servo.”
Creao Gegorma laughed. “I’m glad to see you’ve got a sense of humor. Jacob always had one. I’m hoping the two of you have more in common than just a tendency to crack jokes.”
Jake hadn’t intended his comment to be funny. “By Jacob, I’m assuming you mean my grandfather. You mentioned he and you were friends.”
“Yes, we were. You were still a baby when he died. It’s a shame. You’d probably have liked him. I know I did.”
Steel Apocalypse Page 16
