“No,” Enrique said.
No answer from Kelly. Dodds hoped she was okay, that she hadn’t passed out. He leaned out of cover to see if he could spot who was shooting at them. No luck. Where were the bullets coming from? Was their attacker firing blind? He leaned out further, searching for a better vantage point, before pulling back to look the other way. At the same moment, he felt a sharp pain rip through his upper arm. He realised he had been shot, a bright shade of red growing about the spot where the bullet had defeated the armour. He quickly sank back down.
Estelle swore. “Dodds, you okay?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Dodds answered, flexing his fingers to make sure they still worked and could retain their grip on the rifle. He realised how lucky he’d just been – had he lingered a second longer the shot could have struck him somewhere far more vulnerable. Instead, it had hit his arm, spraying blood all over the floor.
“Any idea which direction it came from?” Estelle wanted to know.
As if in answer, more bullets clattered off their cover, another two striking the ground close to where they were.
“We can’t stay here!” Estelle said. “Enrique, see if you can cover us!”
“Got it,” Enrique answered.
“Ready?” Estelle asked of Dodds.
“Ready,” Dodds replied.
The pair jumped up and starting running, Dodds realising too late that he was moving in a completely different direction from Estelle. No time to turn around. He ran for the next crate, sure that at any minute plasma bolts would finally rend him limb from limb. He heard firing as he went, but to his amazement found himself at his destination completely unscathed. Either he was no longer a target, or Enrique and Kelly were laying down an effective suppressing fire. Grateful for the help, he plotted his next move, reassessing his strategy from his new position.
He pulled up short. Directly in front of him was one of the soldiers, rising up from a hunkered down position as Dodds closed in. The soldier swivelled to face him, raising their rifle and preparing to discharge it at point blank range. Dodds made an almost instinctive response. With no time to aim his weapon, he focused instead on those two red eyes, shifting his grip on his rifle and slamming the butt of the gun straight into them. There was a crunch as something fractured. He didn’t wait for the outcome, drawing the weapon back and slamming it several more times into the helmet of the soldier. He caught briefly what looked like glass or plastics flying as the eyes shattered. A muffled cry came from behind the mask, a hand moving up towards the remains of the eyes, the soldier staggering backwards. Not stopping, Dodds brought his rifle around and emptied a number of bolts of plasma into his opponent’s torso. He was amazed by the speed with which he had reacted, the entire performance having lasted mere seconds at most. The soldier slumped down, Dodds pumping two more bolts into his body, dead centre, where the heart was. He didn’t want this to be one who got back up.
Dodds found himself breathing hard, knowing that he had to make certain that he wasn’t exposed to one of the three other soldiers still in the hold. He looked about and, seeing no one, felt safe in his new position.
“I’ve put one down,” he announced.
“Good. Three to go,” Enrique said.
Dodds knew which one he wanted to track – the soldier who had forced him and Estelle out of cover. He finally sighted the soldier, not a long way off, apparently gunning for Estelle. Dodds was preparing to take the soldier down when he saw Enrique rise up and shoot them several times in the back.
“Two down, two to go,” Enrique said, skirting over to Estelle’s position.
Dodds acknowledged him, now looking for where the last two might be. He would probably have to move again, as this might not be the ideal position. He still hadn’t seen Kelly.
Finally Dodds spotted her, flat on the floor, inching out of cover. Her face was a sight – several lines of red running down from her forehead. He was glad of Estelle’s earlier warning not to worry when he saw the state of Kelly. He traced Kelly’s line of sight, seeing the faint glow of a digital weapon counter a little way off. She was crawling towards one of the soldiers taking cover. A risky move. If she didn’t get the jump on her target and was discovered, then she would struggle to get back up and out of the way. The soldier was too well hidden for Dodds to shoot them effectively from where he was. Kelly then discharged her rifle, sending three bolts towards her target. The glow of the weapon counter shifted, but there was no other indication of a hit, apart from Kelly’s own unhurried retreat to her original position.
“Got him,” she said, once she had decided she was safe.
“Atta girl!” Enrique answered.
“Sorry for the radio silence. I was trying to get the drop on them, one by one.”
“How many more can you see?” Enrique asked.
“One more, hiding somewhere over your way,” Kelly said, gesturing with her gun.
Dodds couldn’t see where, and apparently neither could Enrique or Estelle. “Are you sure?” he said. “I can’t see anyone.”
The solider was suddenly in evidence, rising up only feet from where Estelle and Enrique were holding ground. There was the slightest pause before the man fired, the bolt from his gun bypassing the two pilots crouched down so close by. In response, both Enrique and Estelle swung about and opened fire at once, shredding the black leather suit and taking their opponent clean off his feet.
“Oh yeah,” Dodds finished. “There he is.”
“I can’t believe he missed,” Enrique said.
“Must’ve been one of the dying ones,” Kelly said. “He didn’t look all that steady on his feet and he took a while to aim. He could barely stand, let alone shoot.”
“Forget it,” Estelle said. “Let’s get that bomb and get the hell out of here.”
The four came forward from their shooting positions, clustering around the container they had entered the ship for. Estelle was quick to inform Parks of their success and their intention to begin transporting the bomb out of the hold immediately.
“Is there anything that can help you get it out of there without having to carry it?” Parks wanted to know.
“Nothing that could get down the corridors,” Estelle said. “It’s too narrow going. Can you bring the shuttle around?”
“Too tricky in these winds. Looks like you’re doing it the hard way,” Parks said. “Get going, de Winter. We’ll meet you at the shuttle. And mind how you go – some of the enemy have brought cutters. They’re not going fast, but if you take too long getting to the shuttle they could make your life difficult.”
“Got it,” Estelle said, before starting to delegate. “Dodds, Enrique – take one side each, I’ll grab the rear. Kelly, you’re taking point. Don’t go too far ahead, though.”
“Bloody hell, that’s heavy,” Dodds said as he heaved the container, along with Enrique and Estelle, feeling his muscles already starting to burn. The wound on his arm wasn’t helping. Adrenaline must have helped him cope with the earlier melee. Now it was over, the pain was far more noticeable.
“Should’ve been here when it was just me and Kelly trying to carry it,” Enrique said. “Not that it’s much easier now.”
The three followed Kelly as the small woman took the lead. Even with three of them bearing the weight of the TSB container it was still a struggle, made even worse by the continual rocking of the Elpis. It was like trying to walk through a plane as it suffered unrelenting turbulence.
“Where did you leave Natalia?” Estelle asked.
“She’s still in there,” Dodds said, nodding to the room that remained locked.
“Shouldn’t we get her now?” Enrique asked.
“She might still be blind. I’ll have to come back for her once we’ve got this thing on the shuttle.”
They approached the compartment door that Estelle and Dodds had sealed behind them earlier, Estelle warning Kelly of what had gone before and Kelly proceeding with caution. Dodds wondered just how many
soldiers might be clustered within that compartment now. He considered for a moment suggesting that the four of them check that they weren’t sending Kelly into a firefight alone, before he saw that the way was clear.
Where had the soldiers gone? he wondered. He shook the thought away. It didn’t matter; they just needed to get out. The entire freighter then jolted heavily, causing the three men and women to almost drop the container. There followed the blare of a siren, and a light above the door that Kelly had just passed through lit up.
“Kelly!” Estelle called. Too late – a fire door fell rapidly, before Kelly had a chance to return.
Enrique swore, letting go of his end of the container and running to the door, seeking a way to lift it, before thumping heavily on it and shouting out for Kelly.
“I’m okay,” Kelly answered. “No opposition.”
“Can you get the door open?” Enrique wanted to know. “There might be a release switch somewhere.”
“Nothing,” she answered after a time.
“Is there another way around?” Enrique wanted to know.
“That’s our most direct route,” Estelle said. “Admiral – a fire door has just fallen in the second container! It’s blocking our exit!”
“I haven’t lowered any others,” Parks’ voice came back. “Let me see if I can raise it. Negative,” he said, not a few moments later. “Looks like there’s a malfunction – the door is claiming that it’s open. Maybe something happened when Cratos was cutting off the Leeches. Mr. Koonan, see if there’s anything you can do.”
More silence followed, and Dodds began to finger his pistol nervously. If there was a time for something to go terribly wrong, this was surely it.
“Some of the doors might have become linked and are now on the same circuit,” Chaz suggested. “If that one won’t raise on its own, then we may have to try raising and closing others, to see what group it has become a part of.”
Parks swore. “We’ll have to watch which ones we raise. We don’t want to expose the ship or let out any of the soldiers we might have already trapped. Taylor – I need you to be on your guard for the next few minutes, until we can get the doors opened.”
“Got it,” Kelly answered.
The team waited with bated breath as Parks and Chaz started to manipulate various doors. They conferred with the team several times, to find out what was happening. Dodds saw a door behind him drop, raise and drop again. The one ahead remained closed.
“Let’s find another way around,” Dodds suggested. “We’re wasting time here. Admiral, can you guide us back to the shuttle from our current positions?” he asked.
“It’s not straight forward, but yes,” Parks answered. “I will guide you three carrying the TSB and Koonan can help Taylor to an alternative route.”
“I can see a rendezvous point towards the middle of the central container,” Chaz answered, “but unless we can open that door, you’re not going to meet up any time soon.”
“We’ll just have to be careful,” Estelle said.
“I’ve lost Kelly,” Chaz interjected.
The shock on Enrique’s face was almost more shattering than the words Chaz had uttered. “Lost her?” Enrique asked. “What do you mean, ‘lost her’?”
“I can’t get in contact with her – her line’s dead,” Chaz replied.
“Enrique, first things first,” Estelle intervened, seeing the man ready to bolt off in search of Kelly. “We need to get the TSB back to the shuttle. We’ll come back for Kelly and Natalia as soon as we’re done. Understood?”
There was reluctance in Enrique’s eyes, but he did as Estelle had said, lifting the rear of the heavy container and starting off, following the route that Parks was guiding them along. Dodds felt Enrique was moving even faster than before. They made it back to the shuttle without incident, Enrique dropping his end of the container as soon as he was able.
“Go and get Natalia,” Enrique said to Dodds, turning round immediately. “I’ve got to find Kelly. Chaz, guide me to Kelly’s last known location.”
*
Enrique’s search brought him all the way back to the third container, but Kelly was nowhere to be seen. Her comms were still responding, according to Chaz, and it was possible that she could hear them, but they couldn’t hear her. Even so, she should have returned to the shuttle by now. So where was she?
Enrique stopped as he came to the entrance of the hold where they had found the TSB, too dumbstruck by the sight that greeted him to move any further. There, knelt on the floor, with her back to the entrance, was Kelly. A man stood over her. In his hand he held a pistol, pressed against the woman’s temple. The man looked at Enrique, a smirk appearing on his face.
“Hello, runt. How nice to see to you again,” said Commodore Rissard.
“Kelly,” Enrique croaked, but Kelly made only the slightest of reactions, a flinch, nothing more. Enrique began to raise his rifle, feeling his hands starting to shake as he did so. At this range it wouldn’t be hard to land an accurate shot, not even with the continuous shuddering …
“I wouldn’t,” Rissard said, eyes flicking momentarily to Kelly, before returning instantly to Enrique. “I’ll kill both of you before you even have the chance to pull the trigger.”
Enrique felt himself instinctively relax on the trigger. Hell.
“Brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Rissard smiled.
Enrique said nothing, his mind working furiously as he tried to figure out how to get both Kelly and himself away from the man, back to the shuttle and back to Cratos.
“What’s in the box, Mr Todd?” Rissard asked.
“What box?” Enrique said.
“The box you came in for,” Rissard repeated, sounding as though his patience was already starting to wear thin.
“I don’t know,” Enrique said.
“Is it a weapon?” Rissard demanded.
“I don’t know.”
“LIAR! TELL ME WHAT’S IN THE CONTAINER, RUNT, OR I’LL SPLATTER THE BITCH’S BRAINS ALL OVER THE FLOOR!”
You’ll do that anyway, Enrique thought. He had to find a way to get Rissard away from Kelly, without resorting to firing. He thought back to Kethlan, of how Chaz and Dodds had attempted to talk to Zackaria and get the man to see sense.
“Julian,” he said, after stopping to recall the man’s first name. “Do you know where you are? Do you know what is happening here? The woman you are holding hostage is not whom you think – she is fighting for the same cause that you once did. You have been misled, tricked into believing that you are struggling to save the Empire from destruction. But Mitikas has already fallen and the emperor has been defeated, with no heir remaining to take his place.
“Both you and Admiral Zackaria are being manipulated like puppets, and the Imperial Senate are the ones pulling the strings. They’ve blinded you to what has truly happened, infecting you with machines that force you to do their will, unable to help yourself, and it has been left to people such as me and the woman you hold prisoner to try and stop this. You know not what you do, but if you would only open your eyes, your true eyes, you would see what has become of both yourself and the galaxy. The Senate’s hatred and your need to finish the Mission has blinded you to what is truly right.”
“Spoken like a true traitor,” Rissard said, without even pause for consideration.
It was immediately clear to Enrique that talking to Rissard wasn’t going to work even if talking to Zackaria might have done. The only thing that Rissard seemed to respond to were insults. And there, Enrique realised, was his chance. He had enraged the commodore once before that way. It could work again.
“Just wondering,” Enrique suggested, “is it the freighter that’s causing your legs to shake like that, or are you just really scared to see me again?”
Rissard’s expression darkened, and he pushed the pistol hard against Kelly’s temple, almost daring Enrique to say that again. Enrique knew without seeing Kelly’s face that she would be begging him not to do so,
not with a gun so close to her head.
Okay, insults were a bad idea. He would have to try something else. He was about to speak again, when something knocked him off his feet. There was a thunderous crash from all around, and Enrique thought for a moment that while he had been talking, a number of soldiers had crept up behind him and pushed him to the floor. He then saw that a number of the crates and boxes that had been stacked up had broken free of their mooring and had crashed to the ground. He then saw something else – Rissard was scrambling to his feet, as was Kelly. Rissard no longer had his pistol, it was at Kelly’s feet.
“Kelly, the gun!” Enrique shouted, getting up as quickly as he could. He, too, had fumbled the grip on his rifle and snatched it up as quickly as possible. When he looked back, Kelly was standing with Rissard’s pistol in hand, but the Imperial commodore was nowhere to be seen.
“Where did he go?” Enrique asked, looking all around for the man.
“It doesn’t matter,” Kelly urged, trying to lead him out of the hold. “Let’s go!”
“We can’t,” Enrique said. “He’ll just come after us again. You get back to the shuttle, I’ll deal with Rissard. Chaz will guide you.” He pulled off his earpiece and handed it to her.
“Enrique—” Kelly started.
“I’ll see you back there. Go!” He watched Kelly leave and then turned back to where Rissard had been standing. The lurch that had thrown them all off their feet had made a mess of the place – crates, boxes, maintenance equipment and a multitude of tools lying about chaotically. He still couldn’t see Rissard anywhere.
“I knew that you wouldn’t shoot me, runt,” Rissard’s voice came from some place close by. “Because that’s not the way you really want to do this, is it?”
Enrique tried to keep his temper under control. Yes, that is what he had dreamed of ever since that day on Mythos, a reason why he had lingered on the trigger. Rissard, too, could just as easily have shot Enrique as he stood at the entrance to the hold. That he hadn’t made it clear that the commodore wanted the same thing as Enrique himself. Enrique pushed those desires aside. He should end this now, end it quickly and get back to the shuttle.
The Battle for the Solar System (Complete Trilogy) Page 127
