School Time for Death: Resurection (Death Dealer Saga Book 5)

by Jessie Wolf

  “Oh shit! Does it have an origination tag or code?”

  Not one that I am familiar with, Maiha. In fact it looks like a family unit tag and code. (Dee De)

  “What family?”

  It looks as if it belongs to Star Command’s, Fleet Rear Admiral Arnold, but this message came from here planet side. This message did not come from a Drop Ship Star Curser or any Battle Platform in the Hades planetary system or Death Gates System. To be honest if I had to guess I would say it came from within the school grounds, but that is not possible. (Dee De)

  “Thanks Dee De, I guess the only way to figure this out is to open the message.”

  Sitting down in front of the CC Maiha typed in her access codes. Once the message center program opened up Maiha was able to find the message easily. It was the only one with an auditable arrival warning tag to it. Opening it up, she was greeted by a request for her command authorization codes. Five minutes later, and after entering her codes four times, the message finally opened up. It took her more than a few times of reading what was written there before it started to sink in that she and her family was in danger.

  “Dee De, Charlie, alert mama, and the others. This is not a drill. We’re going to have visitors tonight. I want prisoners, but they are not to take chances. The Black Rose and Crimson Shield have brought the war to us, and we will not back down.”

  Commander why not just let the Death Dealers handle this? That’s what they’re here for anyway. (Charlie)

  “Normally I would agree with you Charlie, but not this time. This is a matter between House Nakatoma and the Temple of Holy Light. If I involve the Death Dealers then it becomes an Imperial matter. If that happens I cannot claim this as an internal matter to be handled internally by the Temples. If the Imperial Government gets involved the Imperial Temples can call upon the Emperor for military aid and he will be forced by the Law to provide it.”

  I see this is as much a political move as a tactical one. (Charlie)

  Charlie had no sooner completed his sentence than Alice rolled out of bed and pulled of her nightgown. Seeing her wife already stripping down to engage her bio-armor Maiha followed suit. A cold shiver ran down Maiha’s back as the almost impenetrable armor poured out to cover her from the neck down. Unlike the Jump Armor that most Infantry wear the bio-armor of the second configuration and second generation Death Dealers theirs was truly a part of them. Maiha still didn’t understand the full mechanics of it, she only knew that it worked. Then again like most soldiers she knew how a pulse rifle worked, how to take care of it, and make necessary repairs when need. Just don’t ask her to design or build the damn thing.

  Stretching out her arms then bending at the waist Alice performed a few quick stretching exercises to finish waking up. Looking over at Maiha she smiled at the young woman who she had fallen madly in love with. She could tell that something had really upset her. Sure the alert in the middle of the night was enough to piss most people off, but there was something else that was driving the dark haired hellion this night. She needed to know if she was going to help her wife.

  “Maiha, love what on earth has you so pissed off? I haven’t seen you like this since the night of your coronation.” When all Maiha did was point at the screen of the CC and its message displayed there Alice knew it wasn’t good. Stepping over to the CC Alice began to read. The more she read the madder and more shocked she became. Here in front of her was all the proof they would need of the Black Rose and Crimson Shield involvement in the criminal activities that have going on here at the schools, plus Cardinal Richelieu’s. “What are you going to do with this Maiha?”

  “I’m going to use it to put a noose around Richelieu’s scrawny neck and hang the bastard until he is dead, dead, dead. For now though that information will be placed in a nice little secured folder, then tucked away where only a very few people can get to it. First though we have a nest of vermin that needs to be cleaned out. Grab our blades, this is going to be up close and personal. They have decided to come at us like thieves in the night, not as warriors.” There was the heat of the Great Southern Desert in Maiha’s voice. It was as if having assassins coming to kill her was a personal insult to her, the family, and now the Temple.

  Gone was the addled minded teenager, in her place stood someone with far too much experience in dealing with these types of danger. The man who was once called Death by both Friends and Foes alike may be dead to the universe, but he was alive and well in this dark haired hellion. Alice knew that there was more going on in her wife’s head right then, but did not ask. So instead she walked over to their dresser and pulled out two deep red silk sashes. Turning to Maiha she quickly tied one about her waist as if it was normal to do this. While she was doing this Alice sent out a warning about the message to her in-laws, along with the command for the use of swords only. As she was wrapping the second sash around her own waist she received a reply from her mother-in-law.

  ‘Worry, not daughter, your father and I are getting ready as we speak. This night the Storm Dancers shall not walk into battle alone. The Five Swords of War, walk with us.’

  ‘Mountain Mistress, who are the Five Swords of War?’

  (Giggle) ‘It is a surprise.’

  Alice didn’t know what was more worrisome, the fact there was an unknown unit joining them, or her mother-in-laws giggle. Whenever Alice heard her mother-in-law giggle like that someone was in for a very bad and hard time in the near future. Putting that thought out of her mind Alice set about the placement of her blades. If anything her training as a soldier was more important now than ever before. Like one of her old Drill Instructors told her. ‘It’s the little things in battle that get you killed.’

  “Maiha, how do you think they’ll come at us?”

  “We’re not waiting for them to come to us, not this time. No, my love, we are taking the fight to them. They will have to meet in a central point before coming after us. So, this is what we’re going to do. There are only so many places out there that they can do this, and still remain undetected. The closest one to the dorms is the student picnic area between the four student dorm buildings. That is their best chance and ours. That is where we hit them. Between the six of us Storm Dancers it will be an even fight against the eight members of the Temple of Holy Light.”

  “Um… Maiha I doubt the odds will be a little better than that.”

  “Oh… and just how do you figure that? I only sent out the warning to the Storm Dancers.”

  “Mama.” The one word answer caught Maiha off guard.

  “Ok, I’ll bight, how is mama going to change the odds?”

  “She said something about papa and the Five Swords of War coming along.”

  Hearing this Maiha started to giggle herself. Now Alice was really starting to worry. If Maiha was giggling along with their mama, someone was in for a really, really, bad day. The last time those two started having fun along these lines three High Family Houses Heads wound up dead and four more were thrown into prison. When those two started to get rolling things have a habit of snowballing, and whoever was their target was soon to become dog food.

  “Oh man this is going to be so good. The Heads from the Order of Mars and Daughters of the Dragon, facing off against an enemy for the first time. Oh boy oh boy, are we ever going to have some fun.”

  “Maiha, are you alright? You’re acting like the universe just handed you the greatest of gifts or something.”

  “Alice, my love, I want you to stop and think for a moment. When I sent out the alert it went to just the Storm Dancers, right?” Maiha waits for Alice to nod her head yes, then continues. “Now, who is mama spending the night with? Papa, right?” Again Alice nods her head yes. “Now, if she is sleeping with papa, then she is sleeping with the Head of the Mars Order, right?”

  Suddenly it is as if a light comes on in the dark corners of Alice’s mind. “Oh Shit! The Five Swords of War are the Heads of the Order of Mars. The fact that they are the five most experienced members of the N
akatoma House Military is beside the point. They are the Command Lance for the Mars Order.”

  “Exactly, my love. Now, shall we go and introduce ourselves and them to the Black Rose and Crimson Shield?”

  Alice starts to giggle at Maiha’s whimsical description of the upcoming fight. Yes, this was going to be fun indeed.

  Chapter 13

  Alice and I were just exiting the dorm’s front door when Fuyuko, Nanami, and Nanase rounded the corner. However they were not the only one’s waiting for us out front. There were four very familiar young ladies as well. Three of them carried fangs, but it was the one with the Dragons Claws that drew my attention when she stepped forward.

  “The Four Daughters are at your service, my Lady.” Cassidy said bowing deeply.

  “Excuse me, but what do you mean Cissy?”

  “We are the Four Daughters of the Winds. My call sign is Fire Wind, Daniela’s is Ice Wind, Susan’s is Desert Wind, and Lara’s is Whirl Wind.” Cassidy’s stance said more than her words. There was no doubt that she was the commander for this lance. “Remember, Lady Maiha, we owe you more than we can ever repay. So where you go, we go.”

  “Now wait one cotton picking minute here. I do not need bodyguards. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, besides I know we didn’t invite you four to this little shindig of ours. So how did you find out about it?” The giggling from Nanase and Nanami gave me all the answer I needed. “Alright you two, just how many others did you invite?”

  The both of them looked at each other and then in that insane way of twins answered at the same time. “We’re not going to tell ya’.”

  I looked at everyone around me as they all started to giggle at the twins’ antics. I decided to for once just to go with the flow. I mean why fight the inevitable; it’ll just drive you crazy in the long run.

  Sorry, Maiha but you’re too late on that account. (GIGGLE (Dee De))

  “Oh shut up you.”

  (Really big giggle (Dee De))

  “Alright, let’s get this show on the road, besides Lady Dai Etsu and Lord James are waiting for us.”

  “Um… sissy, who is Lord James?” Fuyuko was quick to ask the question on all their minds. And this time it was me who got to giggle.

  “That would be our father, little sisters.” At their confused looks I just had to giggle even more. “What? You do realize that when he married mama he became a Lord in the Nakatoma family, don’t you?” It took them a minute, but they finally got it. “Now, come on, I doubt they’ll wait for us much longer. Besides I think papa wants to show off his new lance mates.”

  We all took off across the campus grounds in full stealth mode. They may see us with their eyes, but for every one of the security sensors we were invisible. It was as one that we moved through the night. Each of us covering the other, only Lisa and Susan on the far flanks was not totally covered. Then again anyone stupid enough to attack us from those points was in for a nasty surprise, as we could wheel around to help in seconds.

  The Four Daughters may have only been second generation Death Dealers for a little over a day, but already they were working with their AIs as if they were seasoned troops. They had almost seamlessly integrated with us. A nine person strike team was not your normal formation. Then again most command lances were only five at most. This fact was born out by the command lances for the five orders of the Ida-ten Temple Knights. The fact that the Storm Dancers had six members was unique. Then again they had to be.

  I just wore one too many hats. I was first our lance leader, then I was the Over-all commander for our House Military, next I was the Military Commander for Hades PDF, and finally I was the First High Lady of all Death Dealers within this sector. And those were just the military headaches, that didn’t include all of my civilian obligations. Now I have the Ida-ten Temple to deal with on top of all that. “I really need a vacation.”

  “What did you say, kitten?” Alice asked from behind me.

  “Nothing, Alice, it was nothing, I was just thinking out loud.” Thankfully we were coming up on the teacher’s quarters, and mama, papa, and the rest of the Swords of War were waiting for us. “Looks like we have more than just a little bit of help tonight.”

  “You know Maiha, you may bitch about mama’s ability for understatement at times, but there are times you can give her a run for the money.” Alice smirked.

  While mama and papa had their family swords at their waists as did the other Swords of War, it was the heavy firepower that the others were carrying that drew my attention. Fujiyama had an eight barreled Calliope Gatlin in his hands, Howard was carrying a double barreled thirty millimeter PPC, Benz and Martin was not to be out done by their male counterpart. Oh no, Benz was carrying a ten millimeter rapid fire gauss rifle, while Martin had its partner a ten millimeter Hell-bore pulse laser rifle. However all this firepower was overshadowed by what papa carried. There was no mistaking the fifteen millimeter, magazine feed, semi-automatic, Castile sniper rifle.

  While the weapons the others carried were fearsome in their ability to deal out death and destruction it was this one that could turn the tide of battle on its own in the right hands. And I had no doubt that papa was those hands. The weapon was a beast by any standards at just over two meters long, but in the hands of a trained sniper it could take the wings off a fly at a thousand meters away. It was this deadly accuracy that made it so feared.

  “So, papa I see you have brought out an old friend. I do hope that you all knew I want prisoners?”

  “Don’t worry, kitten. We know you want prisoners. Our little toys are to encourage them to surrender. We just want to get the point across in the fewest amount of words.” Papa said with a grin as he patted the big rifle. “Besides, the last time Sugar and I didn’t get a chance to talk with the Black Rose. I and the rest of the Children of Mars have a beef that needs to be hashed out.”

  Mama looked at her husband and the four former members of our House Military and Temple Guardians. “And just what would that be, James?”

  “Oh, that’s real simple dear. No one, I repeat, no one screws with those we are sworn to protect and love.” Papa’s deadly growl was echoed in the faces of the other four. For some reason I have the very distinct feeling that if the rest of us were not here, there would be no one left to question.

  “Hai, they have brought dishonor to the position of Temple Guardian. I may no longer command the Mountain Wolves, but for over fifty years I have acted as a Guardian of the Nakatoma Family Temple. I will have my Honorable profession cleansed of these parasites.” Fujiyama said with a look of determination in his eyes and scowl on his mouth.

  “Aye! Those Black Rose pigs have been settin ove’ tha’ boun’s fer’ far’ ta lung.” For the first time in a long time Howard’s ancestral accent came out. It showed how mad the man truly was. “Fer mo’n than hund’d ye’r they’se been’s pushin their lu’k. It is time to put paid on’s theirn ac’ount.”

  “More than past time if you ask me. I’m sick and tired of their oh so high and mighty attitudes, every time they screw up all they have to say is it is the will of the Gods.” Benz let her disgust show for the Imperial Temple guardians.

  “If the Crimson Shield had only given us the support we needed ten years ago we would not have lost all those troops during the Lie’ Canine invasion.” Snapped Martin.

  “Damn, if I had known that you all had this kind of a hard-on hate for the Temple of Holy Light I would have left a few of those who attacked the Family Temple alive.”

  “No my daughter, if you had left one of them alive we would have even more problems.” I looked over at mama in surprise. “Yes, I know that I am normally the last one to condone violence, but this is a totally different situation. We are and have been at war with the Temple of Holy Light for Four hundred years now. They would have found a way to escape and cause us even more trouble. They might have even been able to kill some of our new sisters in their cocoons.”

  “Alright, mama, I see and he
ar what you’re saying. Ok, papa, you and the rest of the Children of Mars take up position on the roofs. I want you five to have a full field of fire of the courtyard. Mama, take the Daughters of the Dragon and get behind the bushes. I want all of you out of sight. This is an ambush. Let the Children of Mars lay down a burst of fire before showing yourselves. Papa, I want the Black Rose Order to be your first targets. Hit those shitheads with everything you got in the first volley, try and kill as many of them as you can. They’re the muscle behind the Crimson Shield. With them out of the fight, the Shield should listen to reason. If not, then unleash hell.”

  “What of you, Maiha?” Alice wasn’t liking what she was hearing. Maiha was wanting everybody out of sight. If she wanted that then she was going to do something very, very, very dumb. “Where are you going to position yourself?”

  “Right here in the middle.”

  “WHAT?!” they all said as one.

  “You heard me. I’m going to be standing right here in the middle of the courtyard. Before you all start telling me how stupid or dumb that idea is understand something. The Temple of Holy Light and its orders believe that if they can kill me then they can stop the Temple of Ida-ten from returning. We cannot let that happen. You are the future of the New Temple, not me. Remember I am for the Temple not of the Temple. I straddle the line between the two, and always will. Mama, you and my sisters along with the Four Winds, belong to the Temple of Ida-ten. You are Peacekeepers, I am the Warrior. I bring Death by My Hand.” When I finished I could see that only one person was going to argue with me and she was the only one who had the right. Alice didn’t disappoint me.

  “If you’re going to use that argument then I am the only one who can stand beside you. So guess what? We’re going to be standing out here in the middle.” I started to tell her no. “I said. We’re going to be standing out here in the middle.”

  “Alright, love, we’ll do it your way, and you’re right. Neither of us are truly of the Temple. We have to stand outside as the Heads of House Nakatoma. Now, does everyone know what their assigned positions are?” everyone nodded their head yes. Thankfully no one else was going to argue with me. “Ok, move out and up you’re positions. It’s almost show time, and I want to bring down the hammer on these shitheads, before I have to deal with the rest of them. When we do that, let’s just say I have a really hot idea of how I want to get my point across to the Imperial Temples.” Even mama, papa, and Alice stepped back as the temper of my voice fell. You could see the very ice of Hell’s frozen waste lands falling from my words.