by Francis, Ron
Grimm was next, and he carried four as he sprinted the corridor to the safety of the ship. As he was entering the bay, the two warriorbots on the right side of the corridor were blown to atoms. The last pirate speeder, mounted with a heavy particle cannon, was heading towards the ship. Right behind it were five heavily armored pirates.
Josiah knew everyone in the landing bay was in danger if that speeder got too close. The ship’s plasma beam could not make the angle, so he had only one choice. He knew a rocket launched at this range would cause a great deal of damage.
He had Collin bring the ships shields to full power and yell over the ships loudspeaker, “EVERYBODY, DOWN!” Then Josiah fired the rocket. He and Kimi dove behind the building, while Jesse and the remaining children hit the floor inside the building. The energy burst destroyed the armored speeder and the five armored pirates behind it, but the concussive blast knocked the remaining two warriorbots offline.
As the smoke cleared, Collin dropped the shields and Jesse commanded the wolves to retrieve the two offline warriorbots. There were still about fifteen pirates out there, but they had no more heavy weapons. Still, it was going to be a whole lot more difficult to get the remaining eighteen children to the ship, and time was running out. With the warriorbots down, all of Jesse's new companions came out to join the fight. Even Seeja came back out to help more children to the ship. The Mayor and his wife brought out another five children while Jesse, Tania and Josiah formed the right side of the corridor and began laying down some cover fire. Kimi, Reece and Grimm formed up the left side and the Mayor’s group made it safely to the ship.
By this time the smoke was everywhere. Jesse was beginning to think they weren’t going to get all the kids out, but Grimm had other ideas. The big guy piled seven girls in a metal cart and began to pull the cart slowly towards the ship. Jesse began to push from the back as the blaster bolts were flying everywhere. Tania was laying down cover fire and as the cart made it, the children ran into the safety of the ship. There was now only one more rescue trip left before he and his crew could get the children to safety.
Grimm began the last trip with six little girls in the cart. This time it was the Mayor’s wife who pushed from behind while the Mayor shuffled sideways along the cart laying down cover fire. A blaster bolt ripped through the smoke and hit Grimm square in the chest, dropping the big Qualoosh to the ground. Another bolt hit Mistress Valinor in her side and she screamed out in pain as she fell. The Mayor was at her side instantly, carrying her carefully back onto the ship. Suzy pointed the way to med-bay as she ran into the chaos to try and tend to Grimm. Reece was pulling Grimm’s body toward Endeavor’s open landing bay and Suzy helped him get Grimm into the ship.
Reece ran back out into the smoke and pulled the cart with the terrified children the rest of the way into the ship while Tania pushed from the back. As Josiah and Kimi raced towards the ship, they noticed Jesse hadn’t come back yet.
“Kimiko,” Josiah yelled over the sound of the battle. “Have you seen Jesse?”
“I think he went back to the barn to make sure we have all the children.” She replied, worried they were running out of time. Just then, the side of the building began to collapse, trapping Kimi under the debris. Josiah was forced to take cover as several pirates opened fire and then disappeared into the smoke.
“Kiah, Kiah,” Jesse yelled into the smoke filled darkness. He knew he hadn’t seen her come out yet, and he couldn’t let anything happen to her. “Where are you, Little One?” He continued to yell into the darkness.
Tania and Reece came out to cover Josiah while he tried to get the debris off of Kimi when suddenly several blaster bolts ripped through the smoke. One of them found its mark as Tania cried out and then crumbled to the ground. Just then, Josiah pulled Kimi free and she dropped a pirate while he was leveling his blaster at Reece.
“Jesse,” Kiah yelled her voice sounded like a cough and she was trembling with fear. “Jesse, where are you?” She had been utterly alone since her parents died when she was four. In three years, no one had shown any concern for her at all until Jesse saved her from those pirates. He promised he would take care of me and now I am all alone again. She thought Jesse had abandoned her and she began to tear up. The thought of continuing on alone was even scarier than the battle. As she continued to look for Jesse, she thought she heard a voice, and a glimmer of hope rose up inside her.
Jesse’s face appeared through the smoke, a look of deep concern in his eyes. As soon as he saw Kiah he smiled and ran to her. “There you are,” he said in his best soothing voice. “I thought I’d lost you.” As he leaned over to pick her up, she jumped into his arms and squeezed his neck so hard he couldn’t breathe.
“You told me you would come back for me, you promised.” She coughed, hugging him even tighter. “I thought you forgot about me and I was scared." She had a few tears rolling down her cheek as he tried to comfort her. He noticed the building was beginning to collapse, so he ran out of the building as fast as he could. He smiled to try and reassure her as he ran out into the smoke and right into the butt end of a pirate blaster. The force of the blow sent Jesse reeling and Kiah flying from his arms.
“What do we have here?” Singo sneered. “Looks like the human went back for the street trash,” he continued as his two friends laughed.
Jesse grabbed Helga and fired, dropping one of the pirates, but before he could fire again, Singo was on top of him, hammering down blows. All he could think about was how he had failed Kiah. The third pirate stood over the helpless child and aimed his blaster. He wasn’t going to be able to get there in time.
As the pirate raised his blaster to kill the girl, Jesse heard a loud growl, and saw Commando come flying through the smoke to knock the pirate off his feet. A giant wolf was the last thing the pirate could have ever expected, and Commando’s teeth piercing his throat were the last thing he ever saw.
Commando created enough of a distraction that Jesse was able to get his weapon in position. When Singo tried to deliver another shot to the face, Helga's blade shot right through the pirate’s chest. Surprise filled his eyes, and blood gurgled in his throat. As the life drained from his body, Jesse threw him off and stumbled over to Kiah.
Commando was standing in guard position over Kiah, as if daring anyone to come close. His low growl rumbled like a ship’s engine. “Good boy, Commando!” Jesse called out as he patted his pet's head and painfully leaned over to pick Kiah up. He stumbled on to the Gralium-plated deck of the landing bay. Reece had just made it back to the ship and he stepped up to take her from him, but she refused to let go, so Jesse waved his thanks but continued to carry the little girl.
“Status report, SAMMI,” he inquired.
“All life signs in the immediate vicinity of the ship have ceased, except for those of Lieutenant Jackson and Officer Tamanorra.” SAMMI replied. “There is a large building on the other side of the settlement containing several hundred life signs. Lieutenant Torrensede believes that to be a holding area for the remaining occupants of Outpost Twenty-Three. I believe his assessment to be logical, Colonel.”
“What about Tania? Where is she?"
"Tania was killed during the fight," Reece angrily replied as he kicked at the ground.
Jesse put his hand on Reece's shoulder as he began to speak. "I'm so sorry you lost your friend Reece, we will help you get a message to her family or whatever you need us to do."
"Thanks, we have worked together several times and we really got along well. We should make sure she has a good burial."
"We will," Jesse promised as he brought the focus back to the situation, "What about the vessel in space? Have the reinforcements arrived yet?” He asked, hoping to have a little more time.
“No additional ships have arrived in orbit, Colonel.” As SAMMI answered, Jesse noticed several of the children looking around trying to figure out where the voice was coming from.
“Very good,” he smiled, “We’ll get the children back to their
families and be on our way, then.”
“Lieutenant Jackson, SAMMI believes all the pirates to be dead. Please head back to the ship so we may depart.”
“On my way, Colonel,” Josiah replied. “Kimi and I have found some interesting stuff pertaining to something called the treasure of Ameteo on one of the pirate ships. We’re bringing it back to the ship now. Kimi's moving slowly so it might take a couple minutes. We should probably destroy those ships before we leave, too. We don’t want to have to fight them again in the future.” He remarked.
Reece arrived back at the ship at the same time Josiah and Kimi arrived in one of the pirate’s unarmed speeders. The speeder was packed with two large containers and an assortment of other gear. As the speeder pulled in and the landing bay hatch closed, the ship took off. Jesse called up to the bridge, “Lieutenant Torrensede, please make those ships disappear.”
“Yes, Sir,” Collin answered with a hint of excitement in his voice. He always did like blowing things up.
Jesse noticed several small pouches of dudichrons in Reece’s hands. “Did you steal those from dead pirates?” He asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“Sort of,” Reece replied, a little unsure. “When I was captured, one of the pirates took my pouch of chrons and split it up with his four friends. I just went out, found them and took back what was mine. There is a little more here than they took though.” He admitted. “I didn’t stop to count it."
Jesse smiled and said, “Good thinking.” Kiah was still clinging so tight; he thought she might squeeze the life out of him. As Endeavor landed on the other side of the settlement, he asked, “Where’s Grimm?”
Reece looked away, a touch of sadness in his eyes as Suzy said, “He didn’t make it. I tried everything I could, but his wounds were just too severe.”
Jesse felt his heart sink. Grimm was the first alien he met that he actually liked, probably because he was the first alien he had met that hadn’t tried to kill him. “Are there any more casualties besides Grimm and Tania?” He asked.
Suzy shook her head, “No, Mistress Valinor is in the recovery pod now and the little girl will make a full recovery, although she’ll be asleep for several hours. I have yet to see what kind of injuries Kimi has sustained but Josiah assured me it's nothing serious. Although I'd prefer to diagnose her myself.”
Josiah and Kimi unlocked the doors to the large storage facility that was housing the frightened people of Outpost Twenty-Three. The little girls ran out of Endeavor’s landing bay and they desperately began searching for their parents. All of the children were either human or Qualoosh, Grimm’s species. As the confused and frightened parents of Outpost Twenty-Three started seeing their missing children, an excitement began to build until all the girls were scooped up in lovingly concerned embraces by jubilant parents.
The celebration was cut short when Mayor Valinor and Reece brought out Grimm’s body. Two of the outpost elders took the body and carefully laid it to rest on the ground by the building they were being held in.
“I’m sorry, you’re constable was a good man.” Mayor Valinor offered. “He died a hero’s death, saving six of your little girls. He should be honored for that.”
One of the elders shook his head sadly. “He will be,” he replied, almost low enough to be a whisper.
A tall man approached Jesse franticly, “I can’t find my daughter, have you seen her?”
“I’m not sure,” Jesse replied truthfully. “We do have one with minor injuries.”
As he was speaking, Suzy came out, holding a sleeping child. The man’s eyes lit up with worry as he moved to hold his little girl. “Will she be alright?” his whispered concern evident in his eyes.
“She’ll be fine,” Suzy assured him with a big smile. “She was shot in the leg with a blaster, but she has been healed. She will be asleep for the next five or six hours though. All you need to do is make sure she drinks plenty of liquids when she wakes up.”
The man nodded as Suzy handed him his daughter, thankful that his little girl was going to be alright. “Thank you,” he cried, unable to contain his joy.
One of the elders called out; “Thank you, Mayor Valinor, for saving out children.” As the words left the elder’s lips, a loud cheer rose up from the crowd.
Kimi looked a little annoyed as she turned to Jesse and said, “He didn’t save the children, we did.”
He looked at her and replied, “Yeah, but he’s the only one they know. He did help, and he’s a good man. Let’s just let the Mayor have his moment.”
She knew Jesse never liked to take credit, but she was surprised when the Mayor replied with his practiced politician’s smile, “I wish it were I that saved your children. While I did help in my own small part, it was these offworlders and Constable Grimm that fought so courageously for the lives your children. If it were not for them, your daughters would be on their way to a life of slavery on a distant world. Their heroism has come at a steep price as well. Several of our heroes were either wounded or killed fighting for your children. Please remember their sacrifice.” As the mayor spoke, he made a sweeping gesture in their direction, and the crowd again cheered loudly.
After the Mayor’s announcement, Kimi decided that this was one politician she might actually like.
As Jesse, the Mayor, and the crew turned to get back on the ship, Jesse noticed Reece was not boarding. “Is this good bye, then?” He asked, hoping it wasn’t.
Reece looked at the ground as he spoke and fumbled with his pouch of chrons. “I’m a private protection specialist that got my entire team killed and had my two charges captured. I’ll never work again. All I have in the galaxy are these chrons and the blaster of a dead pirate.” He said as he tossed the pouch in the air and snagged it as it came down.
“Nonsense,” Jesse exclaimed, still holding Kiah, who had finally loosened her grip. “You have a home on Endeavor now if you want it.”
Mayor Valinor came over to Reece, put an arm on his shoulder and whispered, “My report is going to state that you saved my wife and I against overwhelming odds. It will state that you are a hero and that your team died heroes. I will have the treasury not only pay the fee we owe you, but they will also include a bonus for a job well done.”
Reece smiled his thanks, as he and the Mayor were entering the ship and the landing bay hatch was lifting, Jesse turned to Josiah and said, “Now, what did you find on that pirate ship?”
Chapter five
______
“Attention, unidentified ship,” an angry voice called through the ship’s comm. “You are not authorized to be in Kaldor City airspace. Stop your vehicle and state your intention or we will open fire.”
“Kaldor City Control, this is Lieutenant Torrensede of the Earth ship Endeavor. We are returning Mayor Valinor and his wife to Kaldor City's Spaceport, over.” He replied, hoping this wouldn’t take too long.
There was a pause; long enough to let him know this might take a little longer than expected. Suddenly, control was back and they weren't happy. “I don’t know what your game is,” the angry voice replied. “But Mayor Valinor and His wife died in an accident at Outpost Twenty-Three yesterday. If you would have watched any of the news vids today, you would have seen a planetary-wide day of mourning has been declared. Thousands of people are in Kaldor City Park holding a vigil for him as we speak. I want to speak to your captain immediately.”
The response surprised Collin, and he was trying to remain calm as he replied. “Negative, control, the Mayor did not die. Our crew rescued him… and his wife, over.” He took his finger off the transmitting button and called over the ships speaker, “Mayor Valinor, to the bridge, please.”
As the Mayor entered the bridge with Jesse and Kimi, they shot him a questioning look. A moment later, Kaldor City control came back on line.
“Endeavor, if Mayor Valinor is indeed aboard your ship, we will need proof. Please provide immediate verification or we will open fire.”
Collin motioned for the
Mayor to speak as he pressed the transmission button. “Kaldor City control,” the Mayor began. “This is Mayor Valinor, what is this all about?”
“I’m sorry, Sir, but we are going to need your authentification codes before we allow you to proceed.” the voice replied.
“Authentification code two seven one four seven nine four one,” he began. “Now I ask again, son, what is this all about?”
“Code and voiceprint match,” control responded. “We are terribly sorry, Sir; we were given..... faulty information. We were told you were dead.”
“Dead!” He exclaimed, not even trying to hide the shock from his voice. “And just who, might I ask, informed you that I was dead?”
“Sub-Mayor Topanar did, Sir,” gone was the stern voice threatening to open fire. The voice was now starting to get a little bit shaky in its reply. “He said you were killed by Pirates. The entire planet is in mourning.”
“Topanar?” Kimiko asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice as Jesse questioned her with his eyes. He knew he had missed something, but wasn’t sure what.
“I see,” the Mayor’s steely response must have had control buzzing. “These are my orders, son. First, I would like the most prominent berth in the spaceport cleared for our arrival. Second, there is a pirate heavy cruiser in orbit around Kaldor waiting for reinforcements. Battle groups three and four from fleet seven are to launch immediately, and if the pirates are not scared off, they are to engage. Lastly, you are to have two garrisons from infantry group twelve head to Outpost Twenty-Three and station them eight kilometers outside the settlement. The garrisons should be equipped with heavy anti-incursion weaponry and an attachment of battle engineers should be among them. I want them to begin repairing the damage to the settlement immediately. Are my orders clear, son?”
“Y… y… yes, Sir,” the control technician stammered. "A...and welcome back, Sir."
“Thank you, son, and oh,” he added. “Send blankets and enough food for one thousand people to eat well for at least two weeks, Mayor Valinor out.”
