The Ailian Empress gasped, and he saw relief wash over her face. “I...We heard the fighting outside,” she said. “I assumed the fleets were here, but...The negotiations were successful, then?” She placed a hand over her chest. “I was beginning to think they would never work...” Li'ren sank down onto the couch, unable to stand any longer from the flood of emotions welling up inside of her. She was overwhelmed by relief and vindication all at the same time. Could it be that one war would finally end after these ten long years?
“Well, I wouldn't say everything is over just now,” Kozlov said to her. “But that can be worked out later. For now, let's get you to safety.” He keyed up his radio, selecting the channel that would put him directly to the Nuretan General Soumaren. “This is Lieutenant Kozlov. We have secured the primary objective. I repeat, the primary objective has been located. I'm transmitting my position and requesting an evac team.”
******
Ara'lana stepped down between her soldiers, the white-furred admiral walking with measured steps as she approached her daughter. She had a predatory look on her face, a quite evil grin parting her lips to show her pristine, sharp teeth. Aria was gripped by fear, but she stood her ground, coming to stand in the doorway despite the weapons that were trained on her. Her mother paused, looking back over her shoulder at her soldiers, then looking back to her.
-Put your weapon down, Aria,- she instructed her calmly. -My soldiers would love to have a reason to shoot you. I, of course, don't want that at all.- She crossed her arms over her chest. -You can't run. The minute you move, you'll be taken down. It's hopeless, you must see that.-
Aria gritted her teeth, but her mother was correct. Lowering her arms, she let her rifle slip from her hands and clatter to the floor. She stared down Ara'lana, seething with rage as she glared at the object of her hatred. She almost couldn't stand the look of satisfaction on the elder Ailian's face, the smugness of her belief that she had won. The captain raised her head, intent on not letting her anger and fear show in her expression.
-You haven't won, mother,- she growled. -It's all over. By now your fleets are outnumbered, I'm sure of that, and the humans are on our side now. You're going to lose the homeworld, and without Lirna your grip on the rest of the Ascendancy will crumble.-
Ara'lana chuckled. -I don't see it that way,- she countered. -I have the full force of the Pteryd Combine behind me. They are more than enough to handle your alliance. But that's for another day. Right now, I have the little problem of you to deal with.- She clenched her hands into fists. -You have been more than a bother to me, and I intend to see to it that you will trouble me no more.- She waved back to her soldiers. -Leave us be. I will deal this matter on my own.-
Her soldiers hesitated, the aim of their weapons wavering in surprise at this order. -M'lady, perhaps...,- one of them began to say.
-I said go,- Ara'lana snarled. -I can handle one little girl on my own. My daughter is my business. Go and help the others in repelling the attack. That's an order from your Empress, mind you.-
Looking at each other, the soldiers lowered their guns and took one last look at their leader before they turned and hurried out of the meeting hall. Once they were gone, Ara'lana gave a snarl of intimidation. She flexed her arms, and then pulled her sidearm from her belt and tossed it to the side, leaving herself unarmed. Aria blinked in surprise. What was her mother up to now? Did she not mean to kill her?
-I haven't forgotten what you did to escape from me the last time,- Ara'lana said, her feet moving slowly as she stalked towards her. -Major Tal'in was one of my best soldiers, and you killed her. But you took her by surprise. I will not be surprised so easily. I will enjoy humiliating you before you die, daughter.-
Realizing what her intent was, Aria raised her hands and got into a fighting stance. Her mother had taught her everything she'd known about fighting hand-to-hand. -You don't have to do this, mother,- she said, trying one last appeal, as futile as she knew it would be. -You can surrender now. You can call off all of this madness.-
-Madness?- Ara'lana repeated. -Not madness, my dear daughter. Conviction!- With that, Ara'lana launched herself at Aria, pouncing with full force and wrapping her arms around her upper body. They both tumbled to the floor as Ara'lana came down on Aria with all of her body weight, enough to drive the air out of her lungs as they fell. As soon as they hit the floor, the white-furred female clenched a fist and slammed it into the side of Aria's head.
A flash of white clouded Aria's vision for a moment, and she registered the sharp sting of the blow to her skull. She hissed through clenched teeth and fought back, bringing her legs up and wrapping them around Ara'lana's waist. She rolled to one side and struggled to get the taller, heavier woman off of her. While her mother continued raining blow down on her head, Aria managed to get halfway onto her left side. She threw up one hand and caught her mother high under the jaw, not the optimal position for a real throat strike but close enough to cause her to snarl in pain and loosen her hold on her daughter. Aria shoved her away and drew her knees up, and with all the strength in her legs she pushed hard on Ara'lana with both feet, propelling her across the floor a few feet. With the few seconds she had bought herself Aria got up on her knees and reached for her belt holster.
-Damn!- she growled, finding nothing there but empty air. The captain realized that when her mother had stunned her with the blow to the head, she must have used the opportunity to disarm her. Her handgun was lying uselessly on the floor where Ara'lana must have tossed it, too far away for her to get to it in time. The rebel commander was already rising to her feet, and could be on her as soon as she made a move for it.
-No cheating, now, Aria,- Ara'lana scolded her, the same way that she had done countless times during sparring matches when Aria was an adolescent. Her mother clearly wanted to do this her way. -I expected better of an honorable captain of the Royal Guards.-
-The only fairness in a fight is before the first blow is struck,- Aria said. She got back up to her feet, resisting the urge to wipe the trickle of blood that oozed down her cheek and tickled her. -You taught me that.-
Ara'lana smirked, and then she lunged for Aria again. Aria was ready this time, and she sidestepped the attack and hip-checked her mother, sending her stumbling away. At the same time she lashed out and backhanded her brutally across the face. The blow should have sent the older woman reeling, but instead she grabbed Aria's arm before she could bring it back and trapped her elbow. Ara'lana yanked down, and Aria was flipped head over heels before she could realize what was happening. It was only in the nick of time that she was able to get her feet underneath her, but not in time to prevent her mother from kicking her in the chest. Though she kept her footing, she gave an abrupt shriek of pain as she felt something give way in her ribcage.
Backstepping quickly from her mother, Aria held her arm around her midsection. Every time she took a breath, she felt a sharp twinge in her chest, and she knew that at least one rib was broken. She grimaced, her ears laying back, as she tried to will the pain away. As much as her body was trying to compensate for it, she couldn't make it dull completely.
-You're still too slow, daughter,- Ara'lana said. -I always told you, but you never listened.- She advanced on her, and Aria backed off and blocked the former admiral's blows as best she could. -If you were quicker, I wouldn't have the Empress, and I wouldn't have your pet human.-
Aria's eyes flared. -Shut up!- she yelled, and she threw herself at her mother. Ara'lana jerked back from her, but Aria headbutted her right on the tip of her muzzle. Her mother howled as she clapped a hand over her face, blood starting to stream from between her fingers. She pressed the advantage, launching into a flurry of strikes and kicks. Her mother was the one on the defensive now, her arms held up to block the fusillade of physical force. Aria roared, her mind starting to cloud as her rage overtook her. She pinned the older female up against the wall, her knees coming up over and over again, driving into Ara'lana's stomach. As her mother's arms lower
ed to try to block her, Aria drew one first back as far as she could, ready to deliver a punishing blow to her throat.
In a flash, Ara'lana unsheathed her claws on one hand and swung it up. Aria screamed as the razor-sharp claws slashed through the left side of her face, up her cheek and across her eye. Instantly, everything to her left went dark, blood gushing from the gashes torn into her flesh and pouring down her face. She reeled away from her mother, disoriented and in some of the worst pain she could ever remember experiencing.
-Overconfidence,- Ara'lana said. She laughed, wiping the blood from her own face as she came way from the wall. -It's a killer.-
******
Brooke was gasping for breath, but she was keeping up well with Jack. He had been right about the Pteryd. After killing the first in the basement of the palace, they had been dodging more of them on a near-constant basis, and the word seemed to have spread among the rest of the rebel soldiers who remained in the palace. They'd been met at several hallway intersections on the way up by squads of two and three rebels, and Jack would either have to double back and find another way around or fight his way through. Up to now he'd managed to get them through the encounters alive, but several near misses had left him with graze wounds on his arms and legs, and one direct hit had mercifully been stopped by the stolen armor he was wearing. He was running low on ammunition, he was exhausted, and he was growing less certain by the minute that he and Brooke would be able to find a way out.
“Are we any nearer the exit?” Jack shouted to the slave girl, leaning around the corner to shoot down the hall at one Pteryd that was keeping them pinned down. He knew they were on the ground floor of the palace, but he was so disoriented that he couldn't tell exactly where.
“I think so,” Brooke said. She was flinching, her ears covered by both hands against the noise of the weapons firing. “If...I'm not sure, but I think if we go down that hall, there's a door that leads out into the gardens! I...I'm so turned around right now...”
“Fuck me...,” Jack groaned. He leaned his head around the corner. The Pteryd soldier was advancing on them, and it raised its weapon and fired just as he ducked back. He stuck his hand out into the hallway, bracing the rifle against the wall as he fired blindly. “I hope you're right about this.” His gun went empty, and he released the magazine as he reached for the last spare he had. He jammed it into the weapon and yanked the charging handle. With a deep breath, he took his rifle in both hands and knelt on the floor. Jack leaned around the corner again and squared his aim on the Pteryd, firing a three-round burst that took it right in the head, splintering the carapace around its brain as the bullets tore it to shreds. The insectoid alien dropped to the floor. “Goddamn, they just keep coming...Come on, let's go!”
He reached back and grabbed Brooke's hand. Together they ran down the hall towards the door at the end. If he got out of this alive, Jack promised himself that he would never take sunlight and fresh air for granted again.
******
-I would have given you everything, you know!-
Aria staggered to one side as her mother kicked her in the ribs, the pain from what was already broken amplified by the force of the attack. She fought to keep her feet, trying to push down the rising panic from being half-blind. Ara'lana gave her no quarter, her aggressiveness worse than ever. Her claws had opened more wounds on her arms, and though Aria was giving it back as much as she could, it wasn't enough. Her mother was just too good, and though Aria was tough, she didn't think she was going to be able to overcome her. She was losing a lot of blood, and dizziness was starting to come over her.
-You would have been a princess!- Ara'lana went on, shoving her with both hands. Aria stumbled, going down to one knee. That opened her up for a kick to the underside of her chin, and she collapsed onto her back. -Our family would have become the most powerful in the entire Ascendancy! Our people would have claimed their rightful place as the leaders of our race.-
Aria tried to respond, but she was choked as Ara'lana came down on top of her and pressed her hand around her throat. Her mother's fingers squeezed with a vice-like grip, cutting off her air as she held her down. She kicked her legs up in an effort to dislodge her, but the rebel leader had too good a position. She couldn't get her off, and her vision was starting to go black as her lungs grew desperate for oxygen. She racked her brain for something, anything she could do. As she thought hard, a sudden thought flashed into her head. She still had her knife strapped to her belt. In the stress and pain of the fight, she'd all but forgotten about it.
-You get to share in none of it, now,- Ara'lana said. She stretched her free arm back, all of her claws extended. Aria knew that the next blow would be straight at her neck. -Give our ancestors my regards.-
As her hand came down, Aria snatched her knife free from the sheath at her hip. Ara'lana's eyes widened in surprise as the polished metal caught the lights overhead, but she had nowhere to go. Aria thrust the knife up and plunged it into her chest, stabbing the blade deep into her heart up to the hilt. Her mother gasped, a gurgle coming from her throat as her face screwed up in pain and confusion. She twisted the blade violently, and Ara'lana retched as blood sprayed from her muzzle. The white-furred woman looked down at Aria, her eyes glazing over, and then she went limp.
With as much of her waning strength as she could muster, Aria rolled her mother's corpse off of her. Breathing was the hardest thing in the world right now. With the fight over, she could feel all the pain that her rage had been keeping dormant. She knew she had lost a lot of blood, and that she had broken bones all over her body. But her prey was dead, her fight was won, and the room was quiet.
The last thought that went through her head before unconsciousness took her was that she would have loved to have seen Jack one last time.
******
-Looks like some of them are giving up,- Lieutenant Ayalis said. She was watching the area around the palace through her rifle scope, with several of the human SEAL snipers nearby. Down in the gardens and the courtyards of the palace, numerous rebel soldiers were laying down their mostly empty weapons and stepping out from behind cover. Sporadic gunfire was still being exchanged, with the majority of that coming from the Pteryd.
For the most part, though, it seemed as though the battle was coming to an end. The commandos who had breached the palace were reporting back in, stating that the building had been almost completely cleared, apart from a few scattered areas. The airspace around Hayikwiir City was all but pacified, and the influx of human soldiers and armor was driving the rebels away. Mari didn't want to rejoice just yet, but in their sector of the planet, at least, it looked like the battle was close to being won.
-Rifleman in the open!-
The warning came from one of the other Royal Guard snipers perched among the buildings. The lieutenant got back on her rifle, scanning the ground below. -Where?- She reached over and slapped the arm of the SEAL next to her, letting him know to be ready.
-West side of the palace,- her soldier radioed to her. -I don't have a good angle.-
-I see him,- Mari said after searched for a few seconds. The human male soldier had come out of a side door into the gardens. “West,” she said to the SEAL.
“Got him,” he said. “He's got a weapon. There's a girl with him. Hostage?”
“Maybe,” Mari said. She zoomed in on the man. She could tell he was injured, but he had crimson body armor on and was carrying a rifle. He had what looked like one of the palace slaves by the hand, dragging her along with him, and he was looking around frantically.
“I don't think the guys on the ground have seen him,” the SEAL judged. He tightened his grip on the rifle. “I'll take the shot.”
Lieutenant Ayalis kept her scope on the man, something nagging at her in the back of her mind. The man turned his head, looking up at the sky, and then she had a quick realization. “Wait!” She dropped her grip on her rifle and lunged to the side, grabbing the SEALs rifle and jerking his aim off. “Not a rebel.” She g
ot on her radio to the soldiers on the ground. -A human just came out of the palace, west side into the gardens. He is armed but he is not a threat. Get someone to him and bring him to safety.-
******
-Damn it all!- Admiral Kris snarled. Alarms were sounding all over her bridge, and more alerts from her captains were pouring into communications with each passing minute. The human ships and the Ailian reinforcements were tearing into her fleets, and though she was trying to manage things as best as she could her ships weren't able to fight back effectively enough. Her flagship was the least damaged of all of them, and even her shields were starting to buckle, and the human fighters had taken out nearly half of her ship's weapons. The battle was spinning out of control for her.
-Another group of ships coming out of hyperspace!- one of her radar officers called up to her. -An escort carrier and a formation of cruisers.-
Admiral Kris stared out of the forward viewport as the new group of human ships entered the space around Lirna. -What the hell are those Pteryd doing? Our flank is totally unprotected!- As she spoke, the fighter bays of the new carrier emptied, bombers and interceptors streaming out to join the fray. She stood up from her chair and went to the railing overlooking the crew deck, leaning down. -Someone get me the Pteryd commander on comms right now!-
-Admiral?-
The admiral turned around, her arms crossed over her chest as she regarded one of her junior officers. She did her best to look aloof and intimidating, but the effect was reduced when the fur on her tail was bristled out. -You had better be here telling me that the engineers have repaired the damaged shield generators.-
Transmission Lost Page 65
