Shadow of the Blue Ring

by Jerome Kelly

  “There is a release mechanism on one of these consoles,” he replied, “the backup power source is still in place so we just switch it on and it should get us to the surface.”

  “Great, lets get…”

  James was interrupted by the beeping of his commlink, it was Daniels back on the Evening Star in orbit.

  “Please don’t let this be bad news!”

  “Captain, I’m afraid we’ve got company,” came the panicked voice of Daniels on the other end, “a Hunter ship has just entered the system and is heading our way right now, you need to get out of there asap.”

  “DAMN IT!” James exclaimed, slamming his fist on the nearest console, “have they detected you yet?”

  “No, the magnetic field from the planet’s moon is masking our signature from them,” said Daniels, “it wont work for you guys down there though, you need to hurry up whatever you’re doing.”

  “They got here way too quickly,” Kalmar said with a worried tone to his voice, “they must have been following us. Damn! Why didn’t I see this happening!?”

  “Don’t blame yourself, we can still get out of here,” said James, “get the lift going, we’ll get this thing back to the flyer and be on our way.”

  Kalmar activated the lift, detaching it from the floor around them.

  “Not enough room for all of us,” James noted, “Ok, Kaldun, Julio, Kasha, come with me on the lift, Kalmar, take the girls and meet up with us on the surface.”

  “Hang on James…” Isha began, “. . . you can’t…”

  “Isha, go now,” James ordered, “I’ll meet you all up there in a few minutes, we need to hurry.”

  She didn’t look impressed but she, Kosare, Melina and Morelli all followed Kalmar’s lead back up the steps while the lift slowly inched them back towards the surface.

  “Captain, you’re going to have company real soon,” Daniels’s said to them over the commlink, “that Hunter ship just launched drop pods into the planet’s atmosphere, they’re headed right for the city.”

  “Then it looks like we have a fight on our hands,” said Julio, “bring them on!”

  Chapter Ten

  The Hunters and the Hunted

  “Damn it, can’t this thing move any faster!?”

  The lift slowly pulled them up through the workings of the underground hangar towards the surface once more, not fast enough for James’s liking though, they needed to move with all possible haste. They were in a real hurry to get back outside and get this weapon back to the ship. Getting the piece of the weapon through the city and back to the flyer would not be an easy task though.

  The lift finally reached the surface, coming up in another small alcove like the one back at the entrance, the opening in the floor ingeniously hidden from anyone who did not already know of the secrets hidden beneath the city. As soon as the lift reached the top, the floor closed around it, removing all evidence that there had been anything out of the ordinary there at all.”

  “Ingeniously hidden,” said Saavoy, “you would never have known any of this was here.”

  “Yeah but why do I get the feeling this thing was meant to stay hidden,” Julio added, “I really hope we don’t regret digging it up like this.”

  “Lets just get it moving,” said James, “the sooner we get it to the flyer, the sooner we all get out of here, let’s get it… Oh my god!”

  “You would think Kalmar might have mentioned how much this thing weighs,” Ansare groaned, the four of them struggling to lift the deceptively heavy object with their combined strength, “you would also think the Jaiytids might have put some wheels on it so that we could move it around. We’re never going to get it back to the shuttle like this.”

  “We have no choice, I don’t want to be the one who goes back to the Adean senate and explain how we lost a piece of the weapon to the Hunters,” said James, “we have to do this for them as well as our own people.”

  With every ounce of strength they had, the four of them heaved the object out of the alcove and back onto the roads where Kalmar and the girls were waiting for them.

  “Come on guys, how slowly do you want to move,” Kosare called to them, “the Hunters will be here any minute now.”

  “Do you want to try lifting this thing,” Julio grumbled, “we’re doing everything we can but this thing is ridiculously heavy.”

  “Oh don’t be such a baby,” Kosare grumbled, “let me in, I’ll heave it for you and… oh heck! That is heavy!”

  She, Kalmar and Morelli all joined in, taking a little bit of the strain off each of them individually but it was still hard going and there was a long way for them to go. This was going to be an almighty struggle.

  “What about one of these vehicles?” Isha indicated to a larger truck-like vehicle at the side of the road that had an ample storage compartment on it, “Loca, could you hot-wire one of these to carry it for us? It would make this a lot easier.”

  “Maybe, I can try,” said Morelli, “but I have no idea if it will still work.”

  The group released the Shadow Bringer, letting it fall to the ground, the weight was simply too much for them to handle. Despite it’s small size, whatever was packed inside it was clearly carrying some weight to it. Morelli forced open the doors to the Jaiytid vehicle and opened a panel on it’s dashboard and began playing with wires.

  “I’ve got it!” She called to them, the wires sparking into life and the vehicle starting up, “that was easy enough. Now get that thing in the back and lets move it.”

  “Good work Loca.”

  With all their strength, Isha and Melina helping out too, the group managed to lift the Shadow Bringer into the back of the truck. No sooner had they done so, there was a whooshing noise above them. James looked up to see several black smoke trails across the sky, all coming down and landing in various places in the city, the Hunters had arrived.

  “Lets not wait around for them to find us,” James quickly drew everyone’s minds back to their current situation, “the main highway is too exposed, we’ll need to go through the back streets, and drive slowly, don’t draw any attention.”

  Morelli got them moving, doing as James had suggested and taking the vehicle away from the open highway and into a covered area of the city, the rest of the group following alongside on foot, weapons out and keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings. It was very dark, a great place for a Hunter ambush but also a good place for them to stay hidden and out of sight.

  “Kalmar, have you ever fought the Hunters face to face?” Saavoy asked, “do you know what they’re capable of in close combat?”

  “I think we all know what they’re capable of,” said Kalmar, “but no, only a few of our people have ever come face to face with them and none lived to tell the tale. They tend to stay on their ships, only leaving when they want to search the surface of a planet for signs of the Shadow Bringer. This will definitely be my first time facing them in battle on the ground.”

  “If we’re lucky, we might be able to avoid them,” said Ansare, “I didn’t see too many of them come down, maybe just a dozen pods. In small numbers, they can’t cover the entire city, we may just have a chance.”

  “Lets hope so,” said Kalmar, “but I’m more concerned about how quickly they found us here, the Hunters have never tried following us like this before. They must have been tailing this ship and all the previous ones sent out here, assuming that you were searching for the Shadow Bringer too. I get the feeling that your people entering this region has set in motion events that we could not have foreseen just a few weeks ago.”

  “It was only going to be a matter of time anyway,” said Saavoy, “at least if the problem is going to be dealt with, its going to be dealt with sooner rather than later.”

  “I suppose it would be nice to have everything resolved,” said Kalmar, “I’m just surprised at this change in their tactics all of a
sudden, it’s…”

  “Everyone get down!”

  Morelli quickly brought the truck to a stop, everyone taking cover in a sheltered area at the side of the road.

  “What is it?”

  “They’re here,” Morelli whispered nervously, “directly in front of us.”

  Through the shadows of the city, James could just about make out two figures in the distance. It was too dark and they were too far away for him to make them out but they clearly had company.

  “What are they up to?”

  “I think I can get a look,” Kalmar said, laying out his sniper rifle and taking a look through it’s sighting, “I can’t make out what they’re doing though. Here, have a look.”

  Kalmar handed James his rifle and he immediately looked through it’s sighting. There they were, two tall figures, humanoid in form, their bodies covered with a silver armour.

  “Wow, they must be over eight foot tall,” James noted, “no wonder our people have never stood a chance.”

  They were clearly searching for something… but was it them? Or was it the Shadow Bringer? Or had they figured out Kalmar’s plan and they were onto him? Either way, they were scouring every inch of ground and they weren’t going to stop any time soon.

  “Is there any way around?” Melina asked, “or are we doing this the old fashioned way?”

  “The flyer isn’t too far from here,” said Kalmar, “I can easily snipe them from here but it would give away our position and that would leave us exposed. We could wait for them to pass by but that could take ages and another group could come across us in that time. Not exactly great odds either way.”

  “We can’t hang around,” said Saavoy, “if you want to take the shot, do it. I’d like to see one of these Hunters try to take on a Malorian blade-master.”

  “If you say so,” Kalmar resigned himself to it. James could have sworn he heard Morelli muttering something along the lines of “drama queen” from the seat in the truck. Kalmar lined up his rifle and after a few seconds, he took the shot…

  “GOTCHA!”

  He put the shot straight between the Hunter’s eyes and sent it crumpling to the floor. The second one spun round, clearly confused. Kalmar went to line up his second shot but the Hunter caught on and it came sprinting in their direction at a pace faster than any of them could have managed.

  “Take the shot Kalmar!”

  “It’s moving too fast, I can’t get it!”

  Kalmar fired again but his shot grazed the Hunter’s chest plate causing minimal damage. There wasn’t time for a second shot, the group broke cover, rifles pointed and opened fire. It’s speed was allowing it to dodge effectively and it’s armour shrugged of some of the shots but as it was merely meters away, a well placed shot from Julio hit it in a gap in it’s armour at the neck and sent it to the floor.

  “I think it’s dead now,” James cautiously examined the dead body of the Hunter. They were indeed almost eight foot tall, their skin grey, their limbs long and slender but also muscular, providing them with outstanding speed and dexterity. It’s face was still covered by it’s helmet though and James didn’t fancy looking underneath it.

  “Our first contact with a true alien race huh?” said Isha, “not exactly a welcoming first impression.”

  “We don’t have time to examine them,” Kalmar hurried them along, “come on, we have to get this piece of the weapon back to the flyer before more Hunters show up. There will always be more of them.”

  Morelli began driving them through the back streets once more, the group continuing to move on foot alongside, now keeping an extra watchful eye on their surroundings. Two Hunters may have fallen but there would be more of them out there.

  “Any sign of movement?”

  Kalmar scanned the area around each corner with his sniper rifle before giving the all clear for them to press forward. The shuttle was only a few roads away now.

  “We’re not far now, just keep going down here and then…”

  “WATCH OUT!”

  Ansare warned the group just in time, everyone dived for cover as several white blasts of energy soared past them. Another silver-armoured Hunter had jumped down from a nearby building and had taken several shots at them. Julio was the fastest to react, quickly spinning from cover he returned fire but the Hunter’s armour shrugged off the damage. The Hunter sprang again with almost supernatural height and precision, landing on top of the vehicle that Morelli was driving.

  “Loca! Get out of there!”

  Before she could move, the Hunter sprang a blade from it’s forearm and drove it through the top of the vehicle, carving the roof clean off. James tried to line up a shot but another Hunter had appeared from around a corner behind them and forced them back into cover. The creatures were again too fast for the group, dodging and weaving between their shots, the few that hit home not powerful enough to damage them.

  This time it was Kosare who reacted, leaping from cover and onto the roof of the truck. She drew her Jaiytid blade and took a heavy swing at the Hunter, distracting it from the struggling Morelli who was still trapped inside the truck. The Hunter parried it but Kosare’s strength was deceptive and her attack forced the Hunter down to the ground. She made another attack but the Hunter parried again, this time swinging it’s spare arm around and knocking her off balance. The Hunter moved in to try and strike her as she lay prone but Julio was again quick to move in, swinging his own blade at the Hunter’s arm, severing it from it’s body. The creature cried out in pain, making a frenzied move at Julio but the young Voronian was quick to block it’s attack and with all his strength, wrestled it to the ground then drove his blade right through it’s weak spot in the armour at the neck, finishing it off for good. He offered a hand to Kosare, helping her to her feet. She took it reluctantly but she wasn’t going to be picky about her company at a time like this.

  Meanwhile, the second Hunter had run into Saavoy who’s skills with a blade far surpassed it’s own and Saavoy was quick to dodge it’s attack before driving his blade across the back of it’s leg, bringing it to it’s knees before severing it’s head from it’s body. With the two Hunters down, James quickly turned to see what had become of Morelli. She was crawling out of the wreck looking more than traumatised.

  “Are you Ok?” James asked anxiously, “you’re bleeding.”

  There was crimson seeping from a wound on her left forearm. It didn’t look too bad considering what could have potentially happened to her.

  “I’ll be Ok,” she said after a few seconds, allowing James to help her up, “I think it’s just a scratch and… OW!”

  She collapsed to her knees once more. The moment she had tried to put weight on her right leg she had gone straight back down.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s my ankle,” she said, wincing, “I can’t put any weight on it, it might be broken but I don’t know, I can’t seem to feel anything.”

  “Can’t feel anything?” Kalmar echoed, “surely if it was broken you would be in agony?”

  “It’s a Voronian thing,” Ansare reminded him, Kalmar obviously not being aware of the traits of the Freedom Alliance races, “they don’t always feel any pain from their injuries straight away, they can just block it out.”

  “It’ll kick in after a few minutes, don’t you worry,” said Morelli, “but I’m not gonna be able to move like this. No way we’re going to get that truck moving again either, that Hunter wrecked it.”

  “We can’t lift that thing all the way back to the flyer with the Hunters chasing us,” said Saavoy, “we have to find something else to carry it for us.”

  “Maybe not,” James had come up with a plan, “if we can’t get the Shadow Bringer to the flyer, we’ll just have to bring the flyer to the Shadow Bringer.”

  “Thats risky,” Isha warned him, “we would have to leave one half of the group t
o look after the weapon while the others go to get the flyer. It took all of us to take down those last two Hunters, divide our numbers up and we wont stand a chance.”

  “We’ll just have to divide our force equally,” said James, “Jaiden, Julio, you two come with me, the rest of you stay here and keep an eye out for Hunters. Move the bodies and hide yourselves in one of these buildings, they wont find you so easily if you stay hidden.”

  “I can keep a watch out for Hunters,” said Kalmar, “I can cover your path too, make sure nothing tries to sneak up on you.”

  “I appreciate that, keep the paths clear for us,” said James, “Ok, lets move.”

  Kosare and Julio joined James as he made his way down the road towards the shuttle bay, the three of them sticking to the shadows to avoid being seen. The landing pad was only a few hundred meters away, they just needed to avoid detection for a few more minutes while they made their way back to the flyer.

  “Ok, I’ll admit, I may have been slightly wrong about you before,” James could hear Kosare whispering to Julio.

  “See, I knew that you would come around eventually,” Julio chuckled, “I wasn’t lying when I said that I was fully qualified to be here. I know what I’m doing in a fight.”

  “I guess maybe you do know a thing or two,” Kosare agreed, “but I just wanted to say thank you for not letting that thing finish me off back there.”

  “You’re welcome,” Julio smiled back at her, “so maybe when we get back to the ship, you and I could…”

  “The answer is still no,” Kosare dismissed his continuing unsubtle advances, “just because you saved my life, doesn’t mean I’m going to jump into bed with you. I’m just saying that I can maybe appreciate that fact that you’re more than just a pretty face now.”

  “So you think I have a pretty face… ?”

  “Quiet! both of you!” James quickly brought their conversation to a halt, and also bringing their progress to a stop. Another Hunter was lurking in the street ahead of them but fortunately it had not noticed them, the three of them keeping as still as possible so as not to alert it to their presence.