by E. A. James
“What now?” Kira asked after taking a long drink from her glass.
"We can't forget our mission," Dario said firmly. "We need to find a way to stop Grimm."
“I agree,” Thor said, slamming his glass down on the table forcefully. “We have to stay focused. We knew we would be facing dangerous enemies when we united in our cause. We have to stop Grimm at all costs.”
“I’m with you,” Kira spoke up. “But, how do we plan on going about doing that when we have no ship? No ship means no way back to Earth. No way to Earth, no way to stop Grimm.”
“That’s our second biggest issue at the moment,” Thor replied.
“Vinnie – what are they up to out there?”
“Looks like they’re taking up surveillance positions at each corner of the building,” Vinnie replied to Thor.
“Unfortunately, Vorion mercenaries and Arcanum soldiers aside, our most pressing issue is transport,” Dario chimed in.
“As long as we’re trapped here on Vandor, our mission is futile,” Dario added.
A dejected silence spread through the group. The only sound was Zola’s soft purring, spurred on by Alaria’s constant coddling.
“I may be able to help,” Bron said after a long pause.
Everyone turned to look at him, with wide-eyes and skeptical hope. “Really?” Kira asked.
“If we can get you all out of here in one piece, I have access to a ship,” Bron continued. “I don’t know Colonel Grimm, but by all accounts, it would seem like his life should be forfeit.”
“Where is it?” Thor cut in.
“It’s in a remote district about an hour away from here, stationed at a dry dock and well hidden,” Bron explained.
“Please don’t tell me it’s stolen as well,” Kira said.
“Only parts of it,” Bron said, a mischievous smile rippling through his already rigid face. “But, I think you’ll find it suitable for your crew. It’s a small but heavily armed freighter, able to support about 8 crew members. It doesn’t have a name yet,” Bron added. “I constructed it myself from parts of various vessels, that I, uh, came to possess over the last two years.”
“Hey! I think you meant we built it,” Vinnie chimed in from across the room, still locked on the security monitors and watching the Vorion closely.
Bron grunted in acknowledgment. “It’s not the prettiest, but it’s well built, and she’ll take a beating if it comes to it.”
“Okay, this is our only option, let’s figure out our more immediate problems,” Kira responded, referencing the Vorion sentries stationed outside.
“It seems like we have a ship!” Dario exclaimed excitedly. The jovial light crept back into his eyes as he wrapped his arm around Alaria and squeezed her tightly.
“Bron, this is a lot to ask and even more to give. Are you certain you can do this for us?” Kira asked.
“Vinnie and I don’t have a great deal of trouble in the ship department,” he said wryly. “We’ll be back on our feet in no time.”
“Thank you, Bron it looks like I’m the one in your debt now,” Kira replied.
“We still have to find a way get to the ship—safely,” Thor said.
Thor was lost in thought for a moment and then turned his attention to the group. Dario, Alaria, and Thor immediately dove into a fast-paced discussion, plotting their route to the ship and planning for each and every possible scenario that could arise.
“Will you come with us?” Kira asked Bron as their conversation began to slow.
“No,” Bron said shaking his head. “I have my business here on Vandor and I need to tend to it.”
“You’ve been talking about wanting to get off this depressing rock for ages,” Vinnie piped up. “This is the perfect chance!”
The boy's clear thirst for adventure was also playing into his urging that Bron join the crew on their mission back to Earth. His eyes sparkled as he pressed his guardian and his hands seemed to shake with pure excitement.
“Come on you grumpy bastard,” he begged.
“No,” Bron said firmly. “You and I, young man, have to stay here and look after the Hangar. But,” he turned to face Kira and smiled, “we will help ensure that you and the others get to the ship safely.”
“We could use some extra firepower where we’re going – are you sure you won’t reconsider?” Thor asked Bron.
“I have worked hard to carve out some semblance of normalcy, and I don’t feel like giving that up just yet,” Bron replied.
"I understand. That settles it," Thor said. "We will head to the ship tomorrow. The plan is simple, but it should work. We will move in two groups. The first will be led by Bron and will consist of himself, Vinnie, and Dario. Alaria and Kira, you will come with me. We will keep a low profile and always stay within earshot of each other."
“All of you should get some rest, Vinnie and I will keep an eye on our Vorion guests and tidy up this mess of pirates,” Bron said, scanning the group. “Thor and I will discuss our route too, in case we do get separated, I want to make sure you have a way there without me.”
Everyone agreed and began shuffling around. Vinnie ran to the front of the hangar and returned with an armful of blankets. Dario and Alaria began preparing their make-shift beds while Kira hung back with Thor.
“Is it smart that we split up?” she asked, watching Alaria crawl under the blankets on the cold, hard, metal floor panels and tug Zola in after her. Bron was off dragging pirate bodies and depositing them into a large trash receptacle, likely used for large mechanical parts.
“The larger the group, the more likely we are to draw attention to ourselves,” Thor explained. “We divided the groups up the best we could. Bron and Vinnie are both able fighters, and I feel confident having you at my side.”
“You know, oddly, we seem to work well in combat” Kira replied.
Thor shifted, turning to face her. The expression on his face was the same he had the night they spent in the hotel together. It was sincere and serious. When his eyes locked on hers, she felt the unfamiliar tension suddenly form in her stomach again.
She smiled up at him and said, “I never thought I’d feel safe around a wanted criminal.”
Laughing slightly, he patted her on the shoulder and responded, “That makes two of us.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The night passed without incident and the next morning, they woke early. Kira wasn’t sure that Thor or Bron had slept. Their heavy steps rang out, startling Kira awake. The two men had huddled together in front of the screens at the front of the hangar. They were panning the camera around, checking the streets to make sure the coast was clear.
“How are our Vorion guests doing?” Kira asked.
“They tired of their watch halfway through the night and moved on,” Bron replied, looking slightly relieved.
“I’m not sure how long we have before they come back, and I’m sure the next visit won’t be so amicable,” he continued.
“Alright then, while the advantage is on our side, are we ready to move out?” Kira asked, walking up behind them.
Neither of the men turned to face her, but Thor responded over his shoulder. “As ready as we can be.”
Alaria and Dario began to move around slowly, waking up and stretching their muscles from the night of rather uncomfortable sleep on the hard floor. Vinnie, however, popped up with more energy than the five of them combined. He raced around the room, checking weapons and making sure they were all fully functional.
“Let’s do this!” the boy cried out, hurrying over to them, juggling the eclectic collection of weaponry.
Everyone took their weapon, locking them into the loaded position and tucking them under thick, bulky brown robes Bron had provided them.
Kira tucked her Phantom in its holster and buried it under a mound of fabric, clearly intended to be worn by someone much larger.
When there was nothing left to do, they all walked with purpose towards the large metal doors at the front of the hangar.
“Wait thirty seconds,” Bron instructed as he entered a series of codes into the doors control panel. “Then follow behind. Dario, behind me, Vinnie you have our six.”
The door’s locking mechanism retracted with a thud, and Bron slowly crossed the threshold from inside the hangar back out into the crowded streets of Vandor.
Kira, Thor, and Alaria nodded in agreement as Bron, Vinnie, and Dario, carrying Zola in his leather pouch, ducked out of the building. The instant the door closed in front of them, Alaria ran back to the security view screens and anxiously watched as Bron led the group down the block.
When thirty seconds elapsed and the time came, Thor stepped forward and pressed the door release button. Without a word, he slipped out, pressing his back to the building as he waited for his companions to follow behind.
As soon as they were out in the open, the group began to move, slowly so as not to draw attention towards themselves, through the streets. Up ahead, Kira could see Bron’s large frame bouncing through the crowd.
Shifting her gaze to Thor, who was walking directly in front of her, she focused on keeping a low profile and not letting the feeling of panic that was building in her stomach bubble over. She hated these situations. She hated laying low and keeping her head down. She felt more in control when she was locked in combat. That’s when her senses kicked in and the adrenaline filled her veins, driving her to attack with fervent, calculated strikes.
Now, the only thing running through her was the uncomfortable feeling of being exposed and vulnerable.
The two groups moved, unnoticed, through the crowded streets of the market. After an hour of navigating the streets of Vandor without incident, they reached the district where Bron had docked the ship, Kira felt herself relax slightly. Bron and the others ahead of them took a quick turn down one of the side streets. Thor, Kira, and Alaria were just about to round the corner after them when a robotic voice burst through the air.
“Halt!” the voice demanded.
They turned quickly, and Kira had a hard time processing what she saw. Nearly twenty yards away stood a Rengar, who appeared as much machine as anything else that he was. The typically fur-covered body of the overgrown rodent was hardly fur-covered at all. Most of the surface of his skin was metallic, shining and reflecting the early morning sun, just breaking through the heavy layer of pollution that seemed to permanently shroud Vandor. The mechanized rat had his eyes fixed on Thor, and his hands were clutching tightly to the stock of a long-barreled plasma gun.
“Nico Rax,” Thor said under his breath, grabbing hold of Alaria and pushing her around the corner.
"The bounty hunter?" Kira asked in surprise as she reached under her cloak to retrieve her Phantom.
“The one and only,” Thor replied. Turning his focus to Alaria, he ordered, “run to the others. Do not come back for us—you understand? Tell them to get to the ship. No matter what happens, the plan to take down Grimm has to go forward.”
Alaria blinked hard and nodded. Just then, Nico Rax let a fury of plasma fire roar from his weapon in their direction. Thor sensed the attack before he could even pull the trigger, and quickly pushed himself forward, shoving Alaria down the street and spinning back around to face Kira.
“You can go, too,” he said as she ducked around the corner after him.
“Hell no,” she said firmly. “If we can kill this asshole, that’s one less problem we have staring us down. Plus, he’s almost a celebrity in the Bazaar; I’ll never pay for another drink in my life.”
“Not really the time to be thinking about your legacy,” Thor chided, as another bolt of plasma slammed into the building he was using as cover.
“Alright, time to move, I’ll cover and you fall back. Keep some distance between us, two targets are more difficult than one,” Thor instructed.
Kira fell back twenty yards and took up another firing position.
“Move!” Kira shouted to Thor.
Thor gracefully rolled from cover and moved with inhuman speed to Kira’s side.
Rax continued his pursuit, following their movement with precision and covering when they took up firing positions against him.
After a few repetitions, the bionic Rengar seemed to tire of their game. With a sudden burst, Rax thrust himself through the air and with two gigantic strides he propelled himself over Kira and Thor’s position, landing directly in front of them.
Kira spun quickly with her Phantom trained on the bounty hunter. She fired two quick shots. Rax leaped up, still clinging to his gun, the beam just missing him. As he came back down to the ground, he trained his weapon on Thor and released a pulsating string of plasma. Thor shifted to the side just in time and grabbed onto Kira's wrist, dragging her behind him as he ran down a less crowded side street.
Nico wasn't giving up. He continued to run after them, firing recklessly through the crowd, a few shots nearly finding their mark. Thor was about to turn down another street when out of the corner of her eye, Kira saw Nico leap high into the air, anticipating his targets move and ready to cut them off.
Just as Thor rounded the corner, Kira pulled back on his arm forcefully. “Stop!” she yelled.
In that instant, a red-hot blaze of energetic matter buzzed past them, falling in the exact place Thor would have been if she hadn’t stopped him.
“Thanks!” Thor muttered, leaning his weight forward and taking off running again.
The two of them continued down the street in a full out run now with Rax scaling the walls behind them, darting gracefully from one building to the next.
Rax began closing the distance again and Kira dared risk a glance to identify his position. She turned and looked, but saw no sign of him.
“Wait!” Kira shouted to Thor.
Thor stopped yards away from Kira and pivoted to Rax’s last position with his weapon at the ready.
“Where the hell did he go?” Thor asked.
In seconds they had their answer, as the bounty hunter crashed down on Kira from above, tackling her to the ground.
Landing on his feet, he kept his gun trained on her, his beady eyes glowing as they focused on her.
Just as he was about to squeezed the trigger, Thor threw himself forward, knocking the rodent back. Simultaneously, he reached under his robe and pulled out his sidearm. The blast he shot into the Rengar’s chest surged through him, causing him to tumble back to the ground and dive for cover in an alleyway.
“He won’t be down for long,” Thor said, reaching out and lifting Kira to her feet. “Let’s move!”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Kira replied, leaping to her feet uninjured.
Kira and Thor ran hard with Thor keeping a pace that Kira could duplicate. They were constantly checking over their shoulder for any sight of their potential assassin.
“Why didn’t he kill us?” Kira asked between breaths as they charged through the crowds.
“Bounty’s higher if we’re alive,” Thor replied, seeming to have infinite endurance. “For now, that’s working in our favor.”
Kira wanted to point out the irony of the situation, but she didn’t have the breath left to spare for a joke at this point.
Her heart still pounding in her ears, she felt a slight wave of ease wash over her when they rounded a corner and the dry docks became visible in the distance. Still searching the crowd, her eyes landed on their group.
Thor continued to lead the way, running up to them quickly, panting slightly as he said, “we should probably get on that ship.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Bron said, his eyes shooting over Thor’s shoulder.
Kira craned her neck around, expecting to see the demonic, robotic rodent running after them. Instead of Nico Rax, though, she saw the three Arcanum soldiers who were guarding Dario’s ship running quickly towards them. Her body once again pumped adrenaline through her system and she spun around, pushing the group forward.
“Hurry! Where’s the ship?” she demanded.
“H
ere,” Bron said, leading them towards a small, roughly constructed freighter.
Kira was slightly disillusioned when she saw the metallic mass in front of her. It was unlike any ship she had seen before, and not in a good way. The mismatched parts and worn metal hull had a sad, almost pathetic quality to them. Still, it was all they had.
Bron entered another set of codes into the control panel next to the retractable ramp and after an electronic beep of confirmation, the ramp lowered down to the platform. It shook and stuttered as it dropped, and Kira winced, afraid it might fall off.
As they began boarding the ship, the Arcanum soldiers began to fire on them. The particle beams buzzed in the air and Thor and Vinnie were returning fire from the ship’s ramp. Dario, Kira, Bron, and Alaria all made their way up the ramp one at a time.
