by E. A. James
As they made their way through the crowds to the docks, Kira found herself lost in thought. Accepting her new life as a wanted “criminal” was surprisingly easy she thought. After hearing Thor’s recounting of his experience with the Arcanum, and Dario’s account of Grimm’s rapid descent into madness, she knew that she had joined forces with the noble side. Although, the noble side didn’t feel like it had much of a chance at this point.
After a time, they approached the docks and the rows of ships steadily grew before them.
Kira, Dario, and Alaria hung back, taking cover in the market near their ships docked position while Thor went ahead to scout out the situation. It didn’t take him long to return with his report.
“There are three of them,” he informed them.
“That’s not too bad,” Kira said, happy to hear that they actually outnumbered them.
“They all have cybernetic implants,” Thor said, casting a shadow of doubt over her temporary moment of confidence.
“Shit,” she muttered.
“No,” Alaria replied, reaching for the bag she had slung over her shoulder. “This might be good for us.”
“Is it only good because that means they might kill us faster and cut our suffering short?” Kira asked.
Alaria giggled. “You’re more fun than I expected,” she said as she pulled three small metallic squares from her bag.
The small squares looked like internal components to some electronic device. Kira eyed them suspiciously, not sure why the Telani woman was so excited about them. Alaria looked at the group, apparently expecting some sort of reaction from them. The smile on her lips didn’t falter as confusion spread through her companions.
“They’re direct application electromagnetic inhibitors,” she said, holding them out. Still noting the confusion on Kira and Thor’s faces, she explained, “they’re designed to briefly incapacitate small military equipment that relies on an electric charge to function – it should work the same way for our cybernetic adversaries.”
“Oh,” Kira and Thor said in unison, each of them notably thankful for the simple explanation.
“The only catch is we have to get close enough to attach the devices to one of their implants,” Alaria added quickly.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Dario said.
The upbeat, confident tone of his voice didn't match the sinking feeling forming in Kira's stomach. Still, the group huddled together to formulate a plan of attack, or really, a plan of diversion.
“I’ll run the point,” Thor offered. “I know these soldiers, and I might be able to hold their attention while you three get into position. Plus, if they attack outright, I have the best chance of surviving.”
“That leaves us to play the galaxy’s most dangerous game of tag,” Kira quipped. “Why can’t we just go in shooting?”
“Vandor isn’t well policed, but there are still local security forces that would take notice, plus, any one of the delinquents on this planet could take that opportunity to join the gunfight. I suspect it would escalate fast,” Thor replied.
“Alright, stealth is our best option then,” Dario added. “Thor, if you get into position we’ll select our targets and give you a signal when we’re ready.”
“Understood. Keep your weapons ready, if this goes badly, we’ll need them. Let’s move out,” Thor commanded.
Kira’s hand traced down her hip and stroked her Phantom, the familiar feeling calmed her nerves, although only slightly.
Not long after, they arrived at the docks and the same three pacing soldiers watched over the ship.
Thor nodded to the group and set out to get into position. As he made his way through the crowd the other three watched his progress and selected their targets.
“When it comes time to apply the inhibitor, press the small blue activator on the underside of the device, then, it’s as simple as touching the device to the implant,” Alaria explained.
“What happens when it comes into contact with their implants?” Kira asked.
“They connect magnetically, and that’s really all you should notice apart from the target dropping to the ground,” Alaria replied.
“This seems too easy,” Kira said to no one in particular.
“I suspect we would be fools to think that there won’t be complications, but our time is short and we must act decisively. The communication device is our only connection to the intel we need to stop Grimm,” Dario said.
“Agreed,” Kira conceded.
“Let’s get into position, Thor is almost there,” Dario said as he pointed near the ship.
Once they were in position, Dario gave Thor the signal. Thor acknowledged and made his way out from cover and walked straight up to the three Arcanum soldiers.
“Imagine seeing you guys here,” Thor said, a taunting smile forming on his lips. “It’s been some time. How are the experiments going? Well, I see.”
The three men turned to face him, their movements swift and quick. “Thor,” one of them addressed him. “Just the man we were looking for.”
As the exchange took place, Kira and the others continued to quietly move forward, closing the distance between them and the three soldiers.
Any fear or apprehension she felt earlier was gone. Her eyes were locked on the man furthest to the right, and her attack instincts were buzzing in her ears.
One of the men, the one Dario was creeping up behind, lifted the plasma rifle in his hand and trained the sights on Thor. Just as he squeezed the trigger, Thor moved to the right, the blast just missing him.
The soldier cursed, and Dario took advantage of his distracted state to run forward, pressing the inhibitor’s activator and quickly making contact with the nearly bionic arm of the guard – he dropped instantly, seemingly unconscious.
Kira followed his lead and rushed up behind the man she had been watching like a hawk. She drove the inhibitor into his back, where she could visibly see a cybernetic implant. There was a slight pause, and then he too fell hard to the ground.
Alaria was a step or two behind Kira and Dario, and her guard seemed to become aware of what was happening. He quickly spun and squared up to Alaria. She froze on the spot and after a brief moment of understanding between the two, she made a move for her plasma rifle.
Before she could reach it the guard had covered the distance between them and raised his hand to strike when Thor crashed into him. The two men violently tumbled to the ground, locked in combat.
Quickly, Alaria composed herself and raced over to the melee; she dove in and attached the inhibitor to the cybernetic implant on the guard’s leg. In an instant, he too was incapacitated.
Thor climbed back to his feet, sloughing the guard off of him to do so.
“Thanks,” Alaria said and Thor nodded an acknowledgment.
“Hurry,” Alaria said over her shoulder to everyone as she made a break for the ship. “The effects won’t last long.”
“There’s a time limit?!” Kira shouted as the group ran towards the landing.
“That feels like something we should have discussed ahead of time!” she continued.
“I can’t say for sure, but these were designed for machines and not men,” Alaria replied.
Dario turned without responding, bolting towards the hatch of the ship and running quickly up the ramp before it even descended completely. Thor and Alaria joined Kira as they waited impatiently for Dario to reappear.
Just when she felt herself relaxing slightly, a group of familiar-looking men marching in their direction caused Kira’s pulse to accelerate again.
“We have company,” she said, grabbing onto Thor’s wrist and pointing towards the disheveled pirates advancing towards them.
“Ah, the delinquents I mentioned,” Thor replied with a slight look of exasperation.
The Roughneck captain leading the group had the same crazed, frenzied look on his face he had during their last encounter, only now it was more demonic if that were even possible. His eyes were
fixed on Thor.
Just as one of his men lifted his gun and began firing in their direction, they ducked behind the belly of the ship, taking cover. Kira drew her Phantom from its holster and Thor reached for the plasma rifle strapped on his back.
Ducking back around to confront the pirates, Kira focused her sites on the man shooting at them. Inhaling quickly, she squeezed the trigger of the Phantom, sending a bolt of atomic particles surging through him. Thor began methodically cutting down the men with precision accuracy.
The Roughnecks scattered to cover and began to return fire.
“Hurry up, Dario!” Alaria shouted as she pounded on the bottom of the ship.
The pirates were closing the distance and weapon fire flashed through the air, just missing the side of Kira’s head. Crouching down, she pressed her stomach to the ground and found the knee of one of the men in her sights. Letting another blast fly, she saw him collapse to the ground just before she pushed herself back up to her feet and spun around, jumping out into the open and hitting another Roughneck in the torso.
“Dario!” Thor yelled out as he lifted his gun and sent a surge of energy flying into the face of one of the pirates. “Get out here—now!”
Finally, Dario came running down the ramp and leather bag slung over his shoulder. Seeing the scenes unfolding around him, he quickly scampered back, taking cover with the others behind the ship.
The heavy footsteps of the pirates were louder now, signaling that they were closing in on them quickly. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Arcanum soldiers began to rustle, slowly awakening from their inhibited state.
“What do we do?” Alaria asked.
“Run!” Thor said, pushing Alaria and Dario forward.
Kira and Thor spun around, just as the pirates rounded the ship and recommenced firing on them. In a fury, electric energy, and particle beams spilled out of their weapons. They watched as some of the men fell to the ground, and took off running before the others could retaliate.
The group raced along the docks, turning quickly down a crowded, busy market street. The pirates now accompanied by the Arcanum soldiers were still hot on their heels, firing their guns into the air, causing the merchants and customers to fall to the ground for cover.
"This way!" Dario yelled out, taking another sharp turn and leading them down a smaller side street.
Just as they rounded the corner, a surge of electricity buzzed past Kira’s ear, nearly taking off her head. Undeterred, she continued running, maneuvering her way through the crowded street with adrenaline-fueled focus.
“I have an idea!” Kira yelled out. “Turn right! Turn right here!” As they rounded the next corner, Kira pushed herself to the front of the group, taking the lead. “Follow me,” she instructed them as she continued forward.
She led them down the main street of the Market, trying to get her bearings. She had spent some time in Vandor previously, although it wasn’t extensive. The pirates continued to shoot into the air, the explosive sounds ringing out and threatening to pull her concentration back to them.
Shaking her head, she forced herself to think, to focus. When she spotted a familiar street, she turned abruptly, nearly losing her followers. Scanning her surroundings frantically, she searched for her hopeful destination. Her mind was clouded by the intensity of the pursuit and her usually sharp senses were beginning to fail her.
“If we were having this chase in space, this wouldn’t happen to me,” she thought to herself as she continued to scan her surroundings for something familiar.
Finally, her eyes landed on the unmarked doors she was looking for. “Here!” she called out, running towards them, balling up her fists and banging on them frantically.
Thor ran up behind her and beat at the door as well. Alaria began pressing the call button with a feverish fury and Dario looked back over his shoulder, watching for any sign of their pursuers. The camera hanging overhead swiveled towards them, and Kira looked up at it, still banging heavily on the door.
A few second passed, but finally, the door swung open. The group rushed in, nearly collapsing on the ground as Thor pushed the door closed with force and purpose.
“What is this place?” Dario asked, leaning forward to catch his breath.
“The Hangar,” Kira said in between pauses to recapture her own breath.
The building they had taken refuge in was aptly named and served as a ship hangar. The large, sprawling room filled with parts, engines, weapons, and other objects one would find normally attached to a space-faring vessel. The only sign of movement came from the far corner of the room, where someone hunched over their work, welding together a sophisticated looking piece of machinery.
“Hopefully, we’ll be safe here,” Kira added.
“Hopefully?” Alaria asked, stepping forward and taking in her surroundings with suspicion.
“Identify yourselves!” a booming voice echoed off the metallic walls around them.
The group spun around to find a pulse rifle pointed in their direction. The owner of the gun and the roaring voice was a Bandurian man. His face, covered with the ripples typical of his kind, was stern and unemotional.
He took another step in their direction, swiveling the gun slowly, locking each of them in turn in his sights. “I said speak!” he demanded.
“Hello Bron,” Kira said to the menacing figure before them.
“Remember me?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The group remained silent, each of them waiting for the next to speak. Kira lifted her hands over her head, showing she had no intent to do harm. She took a step towards him, hesitantly.
“Bron,” she said, “Bron—it’s me, Kira.”
The Bandurian man looked at her skeptically, the dark brown skin around his eyes wrinkling as he stared at her intently. Finally, a shimmer of recognition flashed across his face.
“Kira?” he asked, lowering his weapon and hurrying towards her. “Kira? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have time to go into details,” she said, glancing back at her companions over her shoulder. “What I can tell you is that a handful of Roughnecks and a small, but very angry, group of Arcanum soldiers are searching for us. We had nowhere else to run. That’s when I thought of you and remembered my visit here several years back. We need somewhere to hide, or we might just be dead.”
“Nothing’s ever easy with you,” Bron said, patting her on the back.
“You know me—always living on the edge,” Kira replied with a shrug. “Will you help us?
“Of course,” Bron said, eying her three companions over her shoulder. “But you can’t stay out in the open. Those Arcanum pricks are relentless. ”
Kira winced slightly at his comment, hoping that Thor wouldn’t take anything personal from it.
“They’ll start building to building searches after they realize that we have eluded them,” Thor replied, seeming not to notice the slight.
“Lucky for you, you’ve come to the right place! Living in this cesspool means I have to be prepared for this type of situation far more than should be common,” Bron replied.
He turned abruptly and walked to the back of the hangar. Kira and the others exchanged confused looks, not sure if they were meant to follow him or stay put.
“Come!” Bron yelled out, answering the question on all of their minds.
They hurried after him. He stopped as abruptly as he started his mini-march and pointed to the floor. “Here,” he said, leaning forward and pulling up one of the metal floor panels – it was perfectly concealed.
They all looked on as he reached down into the hole and grabbed hold of a rope, pulling it towards him. Another concealed section below lifted up, revealing a hidden compartment.
“This is where I hide contraband,” Bron said proudly as he looked down at the gaping hole at his feet.
“That’s convenient,” Dario said, stepping forward and lowering himself into the hole.
Alaria followe
d behind, then Thor. Kira was the last to kneel down and lower herself into the hiding spot.
“Thank you, Bron,” she said, as Thor reached up to help her down.
“Thank me if we all manage to live – how is it that whenever you’re with me I’m fighting for my life?” Bron quipped.
“It seems to be my curse, but at least you can’t say time with me is boring” Kira chimed back.
Bron grunted in agreement and lowered down the floor paneling, covering the hole and plunging the group into darkness.
Not more than two minutes passed when they heard heavy pounding on the door reverberate through the hangar. Kira felt as if the sound shook the walls around them and the dirt floor under them. The entire group held their breath as they waited to hear what their expected visitors had to say.
