by Aer-ki Jyr
“It’s going after Rammak!”
“I see him. Javvin must have damaged the ship’s weapons. Stay on me until I tell you otherwise,” Nor’far said as they turned sharply and sprinted towards Rammak in order to get to him before the Zen’zat did. When the ship saw them turn and head towards him it stopped in midair, holding position as another dot dropped out of it and followed the other…meaning two Zen’zat were after Rammak now, but at least the ship wasn’t following anymore.
“They will fight…on the ground,” he said between heavy breaths as his paws pounded the hard ground in a machinegun-like rhythm.
“Get to Rammak first.”
“I will,” Nor’far promised as he blazed across the distance Rammak had put between himself and the fight prior to the Archons arriving…with their battle song was still playing over the comm channel and infusing Nor’far with a little extra adrenaline, for whenever you heard them play one it meant they intended to drop the heavy end of the hammer on the enemy, and if they said they could handle the Era’tran then he believed them. Not to mention the fact that their armor colors indicated they were Piccolo-level ranked Archons…meaning the most powerful that Star Force had next to the trailblazers.
“When we get there…give Rammak his weapon…then run away from us…I can’t fight them with…you on me…and they will use you to…our disadvantage.”
“I have my pistol.”
“Do not use it…just run…and don’t…stop running.”
“Drop me off now then.”
“We need your help…by distracting them…if they chase you…”
“I get it. Run but stay close enough for them to think about me. And if they hit me it leaves them open to you. I’ll do my part, just beat them.”
“Thank you…”
“Forget it. If they kill you they’ll come kill me right afterward anyway. If I can help even a little by playing bait I will.”
Nor’far didn’t say anything after that, instead pushing his tired muscles for enough speed to beat the Zen’zat to Rammak, but Esna noticed he wasn’t going full speed. Probably to try and save up some energy for the upcoming fight, which was badass smart.
As they got close to Rammak Esna reached back and pulled his rifle off her rack and looked at it, seeing it was partially melted from the hit she took through her shields. Bouncing around as she was, she checked the power charge and as many components as she could and it looked to still be functional. She pointed it to the left and fired a shot into the ground, glad that it still worked, then Nor’far slid to a stop next to the Calavari as they met up.
“Here,” Esna said, tossing the rifle to him before she slid off Nor’far’s back and took off running, but pulling out her pistol so she could test it too…and thankfully the Star Force design had held up to the energy attack, though its outer shell was melted as well.
“Can you take two?” Rammak asked in the few seconds they had before the first Zen’zat caught up to them, though the second was still another 20 or so seconds back.
“Doubtful. I will need your arms to pin them in place so I can kill them. Use your rifle on the first, then go hand to hand. I will provide the firepower.”
“Gladly,” Rammak said, punching both his upper right fist into his left palm.
“Let us hope these are the weaker two,” Nor’far said as the Zen’zat came within firing range and he and Rammak started shooting the Zen’zat as it sprinted towards them, firing back a few shots with its forearm gauntlets but not slowing down. When it came up on them it dodged to the right and avoided contact, passing them both and absorbing the close range shots as it headed straight for their weakest link…which was Esna.
Nor’far took after it instantly, running it down in only a handful of strides and jumping on its back…with the Zen’zat suddenly reversing direction and punching him in the chest as the Scionate delivered a blast directly into the Zen’zat’s helmet…but it wasn’t enough to get through his shields.
When Nor’far landed on the ground he was on his back, but he rolled over quickly and smoothly without his pack getting in the way and launched himself back at the Zen’zat as it dove him, intent on doing some damage while he had him isolated. Nor’far headbutted him even as he took several punches to the body that ended with a green energy blast that drained his own shields…then the Zen’zat was off him and running towards Esna again as Rammak caught up to them.
Nor’far ran him down again, but this time circled around in front and knocked him backward, playing with him rather than trying to do damage and preventing him from slipping past until Rammak caught back up, then the Zen’zat turned on him and delivered some heavy blows to the weakened Commando…but took a hit to the back from Nor’far as he rammed him and forced him down on top of Rammak.
The Calavari slipped one of his four arms around the waist of the Zen’zat and latched onto anything else he could grab even as he was taking shots at pointblank range. With the second Zen’zat only seconds away now, Nor’far unloaded into the pinned Zen’zat with shot after shot as Rammak pried the weapon-bearing arm away from his now penetrated shields, forcing it to fire into the dirt with two of his arms fighting against the single one of the Zen’zat that was much stronger, but two were always better than one and the Calavari’s biology gave him an advantage he used to keep his own armor from penetrating while holding the Zen’zat in place long enough for Nor’far to get through it.
Rammak felt the resistance against him slacken just prior to the other Zen’zat knocking Nor’far off the top of the pile, so he threw his Zen’zat off to the side but held onto one arm, yanking him back and rolling over on top of him as he pinned his arms to the ground, but that left the Calavari with two free ones he used to land multiple punches against the Zen’zat’s helmet.
Meanwhile Nor’far was not doing so well, with the Zen’zat grappling with him and keeping him from running and dodging as a Scionate needed. Nor’far bucked and kicked, as well as firing shots into the Zen’zat whenever he got in front of his face, but the Vik eventually got around on his back and held him down while putting a few shots into his side, punching through his shields and starting to melt armor.
Which was when a few pistol shots passed over the Zen’zat coming from Esna. More came and a few hit him, draining a little shield strength and distracting him just enough for Nor’far to twist him over and pin his arm against the ground where he couldn’t shoot the Scionate anymore.
Needing to extricate himself from that, the Zen’zat kicked himself off and rolled to his feet, taking another hit from a distant Esna amidst a flurry of misses, then he sprinted towards her again.
Esna turned and ran, but she was too close and he was too fast…with her getting caught within 6 seconds as Nor’far tried to catch up, but he was too late.
The Zen’zat shot the back of Esna’s feet and punched her forward so that she landed on her face…then a series of shots hit her back, punching through her feebly regenerated shields and blasting into what was left of her weapons rack and pack, burning through them quickly and then into her armor.
She felt the heat and tried to scramble away, but the next thing she knew there was a body blow that smashed her down into the ground again with a burning pain followed by the Zen’zat tumbling off in front of her with Nor’far on its back, firing into it and…
Esna couldn’t watch anymore, for her eyes were tearing up against the pain and she couldn’t move her legs without making it far worse. Her pistol was somewhere nearby but she couldn’t find it. A few moments later the pain reduced a bit and she tried to move again, biting her teeth together so she didn’t cut her tongue as she dragged herself to her feet where she saw Nor’far jump up off the Zen’zat and backtrack while facing him, shooting him constantly while taking a few return shots. Both of their armor was taking hits, meaning their shields were gone, and Esna looked around for her pistol, finding it a few meters to her left.
She walked over and tried to grab it, but when she bent ov
er the pain shot through her so bad she fell, then dragged herself to it and picked it up, laying on the ground as she aimed and fired a shot when she was sure that she wasn’t going to hit Nor’far.
Whether it was her additional shots that followed or just the Scionate’s skill she didn’t know, but the Zen’zat eventually fell to the ground and didn’t get back up. Nor’far kept shooting it for a few seconds, then turned and ran towards Esna…jumping over her and continuing past.
“Rammak,” she groaned, trying to roll over so she could see what had happened to him, but she just couldn’t. The numbing gel inside her armor wasn’t enough to keep her going and Esna collapsed onto the dirt with her face scrunched up in pain and her just trying to hold still and survive the next few seconds.
When Nor’far got back to Rammak he was standing and swinging with all four arms against the Zen’zat as it fired into him, having already melted through his armor in so many places he was surprised the Calavari was still alive. Yet somehow he had managed to tear off several pieces of the Zen’zat’s damaged armor, including a large chunk over the left shoulder that Nor’far dove towards, firing a shot at pointblank range just before impact and tearing the Zen’zat away from Rammak in a collision that sent both of them tumbling to the side.
Nor’far righted himself quickly and took to the Zen’zat again as it ignored him, firing both arm weapons at Rammak and hitting him in an exposed part of the chest while his arms tried to block other holes in his armor. The Calavari finally fell with the hits and the Zen’zat ran a few steps away, getting his balance as he turned his attention back on the Scionate…but not before Nor’far jumped up on top of him and pushed the biped to the ground with his two armored front paws, firing another blast from his chin as they fell that was followed by many more in rapid succession as he fought to keep the Zen’zat in prime range beneath him.
He managed for a few seconds, then it broke free only to turn and run…which doomed him, for the Zen’zat’s only hope was a grappling fight. Nor’far chased after him leisurely, firing into his back while keeping a short distance in an exchange that would have killed the Zen’zat if not for the dying Era’tran coming his way with the two Archons still buzzing around it firing green streaks into its badly torn up armor. The monster fired every weapon it had at Nor’far, with the Scionate dodging to the side and missing the biggest hits, but some of the smaller, more accurate shots landed and blasted through what was left of his armor.
As Nor’far fell, one of the Archons flew down and took out the fleeing Zen’zat with a series of punches and a single green beam into his exposed shoulder, then the Human flew back up and kept going after the Era’tran for the few remaining minutes it took until they finally dropped the T-rex. It slammed down onto the rocky dirt as small smoke trails rose from the holes in its armor and purple blood flowed out of several cracks in its flesh…that slowly began to heal over.
The two Archons didn’t stop firing, knowing that its armor would bring it back to life if left alone, so they continued to pour damage into it until the regeneration stopped and the Era’tran was truly no longer a threat.
23
Esna heard the sounds of fighting stop, but she couldn’t turn her head to look, let alone move anything else on her body for a long time until one of the Archon dots eventually made its way over to her position on the battlemap and a purple boot that looked a lot like her own but with a slightly different design stepped in front of the crack of her helmet that wasn’t facing into the dirt.
“Hit your armor release,” she heard a voice say through her helmet comm as a soothing numbness penetrated her back, prompting a cough of sudden relief as she fumbled through the command list on her HUD until she found the override that she’d triggered along with the countermeasures. Once she undid that the Archon used the external release and pulled off her helmet, letting Esna feel the fresh air on her sweaty, contorted face as she fought against the remaining pain.
“Be still, you’ve got a nasty wound in your back.”
“The others?”
“All the V’kit’no’sat are dead, but there are more on the planet that will come soon enough. The Scionate is badly hurt and the Calavari was dead, but Karen revived him.”
“Dead?”
“He’ll make it. Relax, Esna. You’re safe now.”
“How do you know my name?”
“Aside from it being written on your armor designator, I can read your mind. You’ve got a lot to learn, but for now just hold still while I heal you.”
“Is that what you’re doing?” she said, feeling the mix of numbness and pain coursing up and down her back as the Archon pulled off additional pieces of her torso armor.
“Don’t worry, you’re not my type. I like girls who actually know how to fight.”
“What?”
“Relax,” he repeated. “I’m using my Haemra to partially heal you, but you’ll need some quality time with a regenerator before you’ll be back to normal.”
“Can you heal them too?”
“Already got the Scionate patched up enough to walk…and you should be good to go right…about…now,” he said, releasing his touch on her back as some of the pain returned, but not nearly as much before.
Esna sat up as he saw the armored Archon step back with an exposed hand, dropping the ragged piece of her armor that had been on her back. It was as pale and Human as hers, something she’d never seen before aside from on Teren…and her father long ago.
“What did you do?”
“Healing touch requires skin contact. You can learn about that later. Right now I have a ship to blow up.”
“Wait…please,” she said as the Archon jumped into the air a meter before reversing direction and landing again. “Can I see your face?”
The Archon walked up to and knelt beside Esna with his helmet pulling apart into tiny pieces that all but disappeared behind his neck, much like Nor’far’s had…and Javvin.
“Better?” he asked, with her looking on the first new Human face she’d seen since her father had died. “Handsome, I know. But you’ll get used to being around me.”
“Javvin,” she said, remembering. “He was in the ship that crashed.”
The Archon looked up and pointed behind her. Esna rolled over and saw Rammak lying on the ground a fair ways away with the other Archon kneeling over him, but behind them was Nor’far laying on the ground with Javvin’s suit of armor standing beside him.
“He caught up and helped us until he got tail whipped. He’s hurt too, but will make it. Now you see that big floating ship over there,” the Archon said sarcastically. “I’m going to go wreck it. You just stay here and rest. I’ll be back,” he said with a wink before he stood up and flew off.
Esna watched him go, then put her helmet back on and pulled up the information on his dot on the battlemap, trying to find out what his name was.
Travis-189377.
The other one was Karen-189376…with them having almost the same numbers. Rammak had told her that Archon numbers told you how old they were, and that the lowest numbers meant they’d been around the longest, with the trailblazers holding 000-099. That meant these two weren’t the highest ranking ones, but they were still fairly high placed considering there had been millions of them as of 800 years ago.
Esna tried to get on her feet and surprisingly succeeded, then started to put back on the armor pieces that the Archon had taken off her…save for the one that covered her back, for it rubbing against whatever was left of her wound wasn’t going to work. She carried it with her, looking at the huge melted hold in it, as she headed over to where Rammak was still lying on the ground where the other Archon was kneeling over him with a bare hand on his equally bare chest, for what little armor was left there had been pulled off revealing numerous holes in his body that were visibly shrinking.
“Rammak,” Esna whispered, kneeling down next to his big head despite the pain it caused in her back.
“He’s unconscious,” the Ar
chon said, looking at Esna through her opaque faceplate, “but he’ll live.”
“How are you doing that?”
“Pulling material from other parts of his body and using it to fuel the cellular flash growth. There’s not enough here to fully heal him, but he’ll be patched up enough to move under his own power until we can get him to a med bay.”
Esna sat down on the ground, easing some of the pain in her back as well as just being relieved that Rammak was going to live. The sight of him lying on the ground with so much blood and gore across his chest made her sick to her stomach, but as she watched even the blood was starting to disappear, being pulled back inside his body somehow.
“Where did you come from?”
Esna blinked, not fully understanding the question.
“How did you get on this planet?” the Archon rephrased.
“My father brought me and my brother here with him on a business trip. He was killed and we were raised by a couple of Calavari that were his friends.”
“Where’s your brother?”
“Dead.”
“Where before you came here?”
“We lived on a ship. I don’t remember anything more than that.”
“You’re not Star Force.”
“No. I never heard of you until I met Rammak.”
“She is now,” the Calavari said, waking with a very distressed tone to his voice.
“Be still, Commando. I am not finished with your wounds. You did well in that fight. I did not expect you two to take them.”
“Barely,” Nor’far said as he slowly walked over and joined them, with Javvin limping a bit beside him. “Do not mistake my words for ingratitude, but why are you here?”
The Archon flipped her head in the direction of the dead Era’tran.
“Hunting him. They’ve been hitting our scout teams too regularly, enough that we think they may have a way of tracking us that we haven’t determined. Me and my brother figured if we shadowed you two we might catch them trying to ambush you…which we did.”
