“Critical damage to primary sensors,” The computer said. “Backup sensors unimpaired.”
Simmons fought the urge to punch the screen. A single lucky shot and the ship was so completely lamed that now she couldn’t bring her weapon to bear. She watched and then reversed the thrust from the drone yet again. The Etyrni ship tended to make long sweeping passes before coming around. Most of their weapons were mounted along the leading edge of the ship. She timed the maneuver with the aid of her tactical program. This time, Aktovikirik was flying where she wanted her to.
The Loki swung its bow to face Aktovikirik’s ship. Unlike the main gun, which had a shrieking sound, the railgun was quiet. It most sounded like a zipper that was zipped too fast, making a sharp, tearing sound. The shot crossed the small distance between the ships in a barely perceptible time.
The impact was astonishing. Energy from the solid projectile tore through the starboard side of the Etyrni ship and ripped it open like an overripe fruit. Simmons watched as one of the reactors lost containment, causing a secondary explosion. The additional damage was minimal, considering the reactor was already exposed to space.
Escape pods started to spill from the more intact section of the ship. Simmons turned to see what Netupliktik thought of the destruction of his enemy’s ship. The Etyrni’s mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were so wide, she thought they might roll out of the front of his face.
“Netupliktik? Are you okay?”
He shook himself and regained control of his expression with visible effort. “Well, yes. I must say, I’m astonished at the ease with which you defeated Aktovikirik’s ship.” He was about to say more, but the computer chimed softly, alerting Simmons to more approaching ships.
“It looks like we’ve outstayed our welcome. Computer, engage all stealth systems. Use the utility drone to set course to gain maximum distance from the approaching vessels. Maintain power signatures below detection thresholds.”
Loki turned and began to slowly accelerate away from the scene of battle. Several ships were approaching from the moons of the gas giant. Simmons rotated her command chair to face Netupliktik directly. “So, tell me about yourself.”
The sudden scrutiny of this human, who had demonstrated she was dangerous beyond anything he might have imagined even half an hour ago was unsettling, even to one such as Netupliktik. “Well, I’m not sure. What do you want to now?”
Simmons sighed. “Just… tell me why you were locked up on that station.”
“Well,” Netupliktik considered his answer for a moment. He glanced back up at Simon’s armored head. She crossed her arms while she waited for his answer. “I was put there to await Aktovikirik’s pleasure. She wanted to kill me personally.”
“Why?” came the terse response.
“I tried to kill her. Her security caught me before I could get to her.”
“Why weren’t you just in jail, then? Did you get a trial or something?”
Netupliktik shook his head. “I’m afraid these words have little meaning to me. The Etyrni have no jails or trials. If one of us wrongs another, it is up to the wronged person to seek justice themselves.”
Simmons considered that for a few seconds before saying, “I don’t really understand. Could you give me an example?”
“Hm. Okay. Say, for example, I decided your ship was something I wanted. I might attack you and take it from you. If you wanted to keep it, it would be up to you to stop me. If I was a particularly polite person, I might tell you something like ‘Hey, I want your ship, give it to me’ before I actually tried to take it. It would be up to you to decide if you wanted to try to stop me from taking it.”
Simmons rested her hand on her sidearm. “I hope you don’t plan to try anything like that with me.”
Netupliktik shook his head. “No, I gave my word that I would not harm you. I would consider taking your ship, however powerful it might be, harmful to you.”
“Hmm, so, you don’t have police? Courts? Prisons?”
“No, we have none of those things. If one person is wronged and feels they cannot enforce justice for themselves, they might make a deal with another person who is stronger to right the wrong. That would involve a trade of some kind, usually. It can get complicated. There are a lot of unspoken rules about how people go about maintaining their safety and belongings.
“For example, it is considered to be very bad to attack or take from someone who is obviously weaker than you are. Others will often intervene and protect the weaker person if they see something like that happening.”
“So, you don’t have courts or jails or prisons, but you were locked on that station, clearly against your will. Since the Etyrni don’t usually engage in imprisoning people, why were you there?”
Keltupelek coughed and cleared his throat. “That is a complicated thing to answer. The simplest answer is that Aktovikirik was trying to break down my mental fortitude before she killed me.”
“I see,” Simmons said. “I don’t suppose you’re willing to tell me why she was trying to break you will, are you?”
“Not really.” He sat down at the tactical station, rotating the chair to face Simmons.
“Why were you trying to kill her?” Simmons sensed she was getting close to understanding the Etyrni man.
“You’ve placed a great deal of trust in me, letting me board your ship, so I will return the favor. I was hired to kill her.” He leaned back in the chair and rested his rifle across his legs. His eyes fixed on her.
“Are you an assassin, then?” Her heart skipped a beat. Most of the people she knew had killed people before, but a contract killer was an entirely different type of person.
Netupliktik cocked his head to one side for several seconds before he answered. “Yes, I am.”
Whatever she’d expected, a straight, simple answer wasn’t it. “I see. And you were hired to kill Aktovikirik?”
Netupliktik nodded. “Yes. Before you ask, no I won’t tell you who hired me.”
“Ah, I wasn’t going to ask that,” Simmons said.
“What, then?”
“Why do you do it?”
His gaze unfocused for a long moment while he considered how to answer Simmons. “Sometimes, the universe conspires to force you into places you don’t want to go.”
Simmons couldn’t help it. She giggled at the response. “You mean to tell me you had no choice but to become an assassin? I mean, were there no other jobs available? Selling ice cream or perhaps babysitting?”
Netupliktik bolted out of his chair, his eyes blazing, “I don’t like your tone. Why don’t you just shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay, okay, sorry.” Simmons raised her hands in a placating gesture. “How about I get you a room. I bet you haven’t had a shower in a while.”
“Ah, that would be nice.” He looked sheepish all of a sudden. “Sorry, my temper got the better of me. Some sleep would be nice too.” He stopped for a few seconds before rubbing his stomach. “I wouldn’t mind a bit of food, either.”
Simmons nodded and said, “Computer, enter second occupant into ship’s roster as Netupliktik. Rank: passenger. Limited access. Assign guest cabin.”
The computer beeped at her and said, “Acknowledged. Guest cabin C two assigned.”
Simmons stood and waived. “Come on. I’ll show you to your room.”
Netupliktik fell in beside her. They walked in silence to the lift.
She turned to look at him. Her armor made her nearly as tall as he was, but once she took it off, she expected to be at least fifteen centimeters shorter than him. “You won’t be able to access much of the ship unless I’m with you.”
“Oh?”
“You can go to the galley, gym or lounge, but other cabins, engineering or tactical spaces will not allow you entry. You also won’t be able to go onto the bridge.”
“I’ve already told you I won’t harm you. Do you not accept my word?”
“Oh, I accept it.” Her response was interr
upted by the lift stopping and opening. She exited the small space and began moving down the passageway. “I apologize. I mean no offense, I don’t trust easily. Give it some time, Netupliktik. We’ve only just met.”
“I see. Let me tell you another thing about the Etyrni. When we give our word, we consider ourselves bound by it. I don’t know how it is for humans.”
“Don’t you have anyone that doesn’t keep their word?”
Netupliktik nodded and said, “Yes, sometimes, but people who do such a thing are publicly shamed.”
“Sometimes it’s the same for humans. I need to get to know you better before I can fully trust you. It will take some time.”
“I understand.” The pair stopped walking at the assigned cabin.
“Here it is. If you want to eat, just ask the computer to guide you. It will respond to basic commands. Once we’ve both had a chance to rest, we can decide where to go next.”
“Alright. I… thank you for your help.” He seemed about to say more, but he stopped and instead opened the door to his cabin. She nodded at him and then turned to head up to the captain’s cabin.
She walked the power armor into a corner and exited with a sigh of relief. Wearing the armor for extended periods of time left her covered in sweat and feeling generally grungy. “Computer, display current position.”
The wall mounted display came on and showed an overlay of the system Loki was in. There were four planets and a number of moons. Loki continued to move towards the edge of the system. “Engage auto navigation. Get to a safe transit point. Set alarm for nine hours from now. Alert me if passenger Netupliktik attempts to access any area he’s not authorized to enter.”
The computer beeped an acknowledgment. Simmons quickly showered and then stretched out on her bunk, feeling relaxed for the first time in weeks. When she slept, she dreamed she was being chased by men with eyes like Netupliktik’s.
Chapter 21
Valencia stitched a line of shots across the next Woduur moving towards him. The creature staggered, and one of its legs started to drag as it moved, but it kept coming. Eighteen shots left. His HUD showed Moreno and Hawkins only about thirty meters behind him. They were still moving away, but slowly. Too slowly.
He lined up a single shot on the Woduur he’d just injured. It dropped, but several more were right behind it. Their surging stride brought the nearest to within five meters of him. He started back stepping. He put another burst into the left Woduur. It fell and started thrashing, blue fluid spurting from the bullet holes. Eleven rounds left.
He turned slightly and aimed at the right hand Woduur. It was pointing its rifle at his head. His left heel caught on something and he fell backward to the floor. As he fell, his hand reflexively gripped tightly onto his rifle, spewing his remaining rounds into the ceiling of the subway tunnel. An energy round went over his head as he fell. Falling down had probably just extended his life by a few seconds he realized as he stretched an arm backwards to catch his fall.
He growled in frustration at the inside of his helmet and flicked his rifle to energy mode and took aim at the closest Woduur. It was about a meter from him, point blank range for the Woduur energy rifles. His helmet armor would not stop a heavy burst at such close range. He fired a full burst of energy rounds that impacted the Woduur’s chest. It swayed but quickly retrained its rifle on Valencia. He knew he was about to die. He kept his eyes wide, wanting to see it coming.
A reverberating BOOM filled the tunnel, and the Woduur’s head exploded, spraying Valencia with blue gore. The creature fell, trapping Valencia’s legs under its lower body.
A second boom sounded, followed by a third less than a second later. Valencia couldn’t see what was going on, but his suit sensors told the story. Two more Woduur soldiers died. Heavy chatter from one of his squad’s rifles followed the heavy rifle reports.
“Sarge!” Moreno’s voice filled his ears. “It’s McCandless.”
Valencia drug his legs from under the Woduur. He crouched, getting his feet under him. He saw Moreno and Hawkins standing shoulder to shoulder with McCandless’ sniper squad. All of their guns made short work of the remaining four Woduur.
McCandless’ face suddenly thrust itself into his field of view. “You’re an idiot,” he said without preamble. “And you cost me half my loads. Let’s get out of here before more come looking.” With that, the Karn sniper turned and moved back towards the hospital station.
Valencia checked his suit sensors. Nothing in active scanning range. He suppressed a sigh and followed behind McCandless’ team. The gruff old soldier had a canny ability to stay alive, and Valencia felt a lot of respect for the older man’s experience and abilities. Being called an idiot in front of his squad was a bit harsh.
Hawkins got Cooper over his shoulders, and the two small groups started clomping their way back through the gloom to the hospital. The teams stopped at the platform for the hospital subway station. Cooper roused as he was set down at the edge of the platform. Valencia bent over him to check his wounds.
“Why do I keep getting shot, Sarge?” he asked through his open faceplate.
“I think you just like the attention you get, Corporal,” Valencia replied. “Do you think you can walk?”
“Yeah, I think so. I have one heck of a headache, but I can get my feet under me.” He had a heavy burn on his forehead and across his left cheek. The flesh was cauterized and badly burnt. “Let me get some burn cream on there.”
Cooper nodded and grimaced as the first aid was administered to him. “Thanks, Sarge. That helps a lot.”
Valencia clapped Cooper on the shoulder. “Good. You done lazing about?”
“Yeah, Sarge,” Cooper said. He got to his feet. He was a little wobbly, but they were close to the hospital, now.
“Good. Let’s move.” Valencia led them up to the street. A quick scan of their surroundings showed nothing amiss and passive sensors found no nearby Woduur patrols. They grouped up and hurried across the street. Once back into the improvised base, Miller took charge of Cooper’s injuries.
Valencia escorted McCandless to his operations center. The map that dominated the table was marked with more and more information as McCandless and Valencia’s scouting teams brought back information.
“Come in, Floyd,” Valencia said and waived the sniper to a chair by the table.
“Okay,” he said and settled himself into the chair opposite Valencia.
“First, I want to say thank you. They would’ve killed me and probably the rest of my team if you and your team hadn’t arrived when you did.”
Floyd nodded. “They’re the enemy. The more fighting them, the better.”
Valencia firmed his mouth to bite off a sharp reply. The Karn had repeatedly resisted saying they were truly on the same side, but he had also supported Valencia and the other bases operated by Lashmere Marines without hesitation.
“Well, thank you, anyway. What were you doing in the tunnels? I thought you didn’t want to go underground.”
McCandless leaned forward in his chair. “I didn’t, but I was looking for you. I have an idea. Good thing, too.” Valencia thought he saw a ghost of a smile on the man’s lips. It was easily the most cheerful expression he’d ever seen the Karn wear. Usually, he kept his face in a perpetual scowl, as if he’d smelled something bad.
The man also had a clipped way of saying things, using as few words as possible. “What’s your idea, then?”
“I was thinking about the tunnels. From the last time I was there. If we can get to the ring through the tunnels and by collapsing that building, it might give us a better shot at hitting the clackers hard.”
Skorn opened the door and came in. “Floyd, thanks for getting the Sarge out of that mess.” He walked over to McCandless and stuck his hand out to shake. The Karn stared at the hand for few seconds before returning the courtesy.
“Well, keep an eye on him. He’s reckless.” Skorn grinned and nodded at McCandless.
Valencia cleared hi
s throat. When they both looked at him, he said, “I like the idea of a two-pronged attack on the Woduur ship. The problem we have is that we’re low on ammo and we’re low on explosives.”
“Then I have good news for you, Sergeant,” McCandless said.
“Which is?”
“I located a cache of supplies that should be exactly what we need to make a sizable breach.” The sniper stood up and got out a pencil. He tapped the tip on a location about two kilometers from the hospital, across the center of the area enclosed by the ring. “There is a secured depot used by the enforcement division here. The outer area was penetrated, and the supplies looted, but there is an inner area that was still secure a day and a half ago when I was there.
“The group up north at the mall base has the entry codes. If we can make a coordinated strike, we can hit the Woduur hard enough to either force them to leave or to make contact with the military outside.”
Valencia motioned McCandless over to the electronics suite taken from Skorn’s APC. “Take a look at this.” The sniper stepped up next to Valencia to peer at the display built into the equipment.
“See here,” Valencia pointed, “This is the jamming the Woduur are putting out. I can measure it, but I can’t get through it. Even if I had a transmitter strong enough to cut through the jamming, all it would do is pinpoint my location for the Woduur. The supplies you’ve located might help us hold out for a while, but until we find a way to make contact with the rest of the Lashmere military, we’re going to stay entirely on the defensive.”
McCandless turned to face Valencia and said, “You’re not wrong. If we can make contact with outside military forces, we could coordinate and make a lot stronger moves against the clackers.”
“I know,” Valencia started. His comm vibrated against his wrist. He tapped it and said, “Valencia,”
“Sergeant,” came the voice of one of the Marines he’d rescued from the Woduur ship. “There’s some kind of battle going on. Come up topside if you can.”
Valencia shared a look with McCandless, who nodded. The two men made their way up through the main basement level to the surface outside the diagnostics building, where their base was housed. As he stepped out, Valencia heard the sound of distant gunfire. He made his way to the surface watch station.
The Battle for Lashmere Page 17
