“For pain is the great teacher, through which we endure the fire of the forge until our cast is set,” Marco whispered. He reached under his helmet, removing the eye patch. Somewhere in the ether, through endless tracks of space, a voice from his past floated to him as though whispering in his ear. “Remember, this is for her.”
“Marco! We're pinned down! We won't survive another hit! Get up!” Ares roared, locking a SAGA missile launcher into place. He fired it at one of the oncoming mechs. The Dro-Khan slapped it out of the air, sending it tumbling into a nearby structure. The explosion ripped off the side of the building, leaving broken walls to crumble under water raining from burst pipes.
“Oh! Come on!” Ares shouted his dismay at having his prize-winning shot swatted down.
The voice echoed in Marco's mind again. “Remember her name.”
Ajax watched as small stones rose from the ground, tumbling as though they were suspended on strings. He turned to face a white glow, emanating from the visor of Marco's helmet. His brother recovered his shield and lance, getting to his knees. The horseman warrior watched as the brilliant light, like the accusing glare of an angry god, filled the space behind the broken wall where they were taking cover.
“Ares! Hold onto something!” Ajax shouted.
The android warrior hiding beside the opposite wall took notice of the flash highlighting their friend's movement. “They are so screwed.”
Marco rolled from the cover of the building, his shield held forward beside the lance, threatening death to any who came to meet him. The glow in the visor intensified, making it hard for the Dro-Khan to see him. It bobbed its head in an effort to find the exact point for its heavy blaster turrets to chew into. The beast stopped, planting its feet for balance as a torrent of missiles flew from the platform on its back. The projectiles popped out of the pack with a gush of white smoke, catapulting forward as their drive motors engaged.
The missiles zoomed straight for the shield bearer. At the last moment they tracked straight up. Flying in a high arc seemed to confuse the Dro-Khan, forcing it to step back, trying to locate the errant weapons. They completed their evasive loop by slamming into the ground at the feet of the two D-RAMs walking behind the beast. The explosions crumpled the street, sending the twin walkers pitching onto their sides. The monster roared and spun back to the glowing little morsel standing defiantly in the street.
Thirteen
The Drodassa Khan let its cry echo through the street for dramatic effect, but the little glowing bug that was Marco Sorrin didn't move. It seemed confused at first, wondering why something so small wouldn't run from something so terrifying as itself. Regardless of whoever was piloting it to stomp Marco into powder, he remained still.
The first sound that crept over the shield was barely a scream, the anguished cry of a father who'd lost his child. Men throughout history had screamed themselves hoarse over such things and Marco was no different. He felt the yell scrape the back of his throat, threatening to ruin his voice under the strain. A ferocious burn raced up his back, the Lion Spine acting as an antenna to draw in the Crucible's power like pressure building beneath a volcano. Once the eruption began, nothing would stop the terrible fury racing down the mountain. They would either run or die screaming.
The tone of his voice changed, becoming the hurricane. Somewhere in the depths of the thunder and rage pouring out, sorrow turned to anger, forging a trumpet sound between the gaps. The complete aria of destruction built in power fueled by anger and grief. It stopped the beast in its tracks. The onslaught of the Crucible forced it to lean into the maelstrom or fall. This behemoth from the nightmare world of Doma was as fearsome as any creature that stalked the galaxy. In its place at the top of the food chain, it never thought it would encounter such a destructive little insect. It certainly never thought it would feel fear.
The street cracked. Spiderweb fractures raced along the thoroughfare and into the surrounding structures. The control harness on top of the Dro-Khan shorted out, eventually ripping free of its skull. The beast, bleeding from its face, fell over with a roar drowned out by the lion's storm. Down the street, the two D-RAMs were trying to right themselves under the typhoon of noise rending the buildings into flying debris. Men under Sorkabi's command had come from the safety of the hangar to watch their macabre cavalry dish out punishment to this marshal for interfering. Instead, they were treated to their own requiem as they bled from their faces, finally collapsing under the strain of the Crucible burning their minds to cinders.
Marco's cyclonic roar ended in a growl that any predator would have been proud of. A note to end the violent song with finality. Less than a minute of time had resulted in a sorrow born, cosmic tornado tearing apart most of the block. It had announced he was death and thunder, coming for all of them. He would be vengeance for the mother who had to raise her children alone. The sister violated by gangs of men who fancied themselves warlords. The child who watched all of this play out with a gun to his head. He was the judge, and they were guilty. All that remained was to punish whatever was left standing.
Ares pulled the spear from where he'd used it as an anchor against his brother's scream, marveling at the destruction on display. “It’s not right for you to carry all that pain by yourself.”
Marco ignored the statement, stalking forward to the downed megasaur laying in the street. He moved directly to its face, its maw blowing hot breath into his armor. “Up.”
All the beast's eyes flew open, bringing it back to terrible awareness. It rocked to its knees for balance, forcing itself to its full height. The boulder sized head shook from side to side as the beast cleared the blood from its vision, glaring at the downed D-RAMs.
“Follow me!” Marco shouted to his brothers. He bounded up the back of its legs, jumping to the pack, then coming to rest beside one of the heavy blasters near its shoulder. He could sense the beast's wishes. It wanted to crack the bones of the person who'd put the control harness on and locked it into the battle pack. It descended on the downed mech, stomping on the duradium armor until it caved in under the concussive force. The Dro-Khan backed away, watching Ares speed to the tank. Under the hologram, cyber-strand muscle chains reinforced advanced robotics to rip the escape hatch door free from the frame, giving Marco room to drop in. The Lion Guard forced a man in a sweaty military uniform through the portal, kicking him into the street at the feet of the monster.
“Captain Rogan, I presume. My name is Marco Sorrin and I'm a Marshals Templar of the Athalon. I find you guilty of poaching, of mistreating this animal, and violating the sovereign laws of the planet Doma, which expressly forbids its export. How do you plead?”
“I'm a CORAL citizen. You have no right to judge me. The Hagen Accords demand...”
The Drodassa lurched down, snapping up the man's torso in his teeth. It engulfed the little morsel, not bothering to swallow him whole as was its usual practice. There were screams accompanying crunching sounds as it took its time to savor the horror it was causing, crushing the life out of the man that had tormented it. When the screaming stopped there was an unceremonious burp.
“Is it still dangerous?” Ares asked.
“Extremely,” Marco said, panting. “But we have a mutual respect. They're semi-intelligent so they know what gratitude is. It understands we helped it so we're not prey, for now. But don't let any of ours approach it. Not sure it will figure them for our friends.”
There was a hard clang on the other mech from Ajax giving it a good whack with his hammer. “Come out of there or we'll beat that thing into your coffin.”
The hatch slid back, revealing a bruised up Vanemar crawling out. He got to the skin of the vehicle, holding his hands up in surrender. Upon seeing the seething Drodassa Khan hovering above them, his complexion went from ruddy to a stark white.
“State your name and rank.” Ajax said forcefully.
“I'm Vanemar. I'm a section chief for our company.”
Ares removed his helmet. “Care to
tell us whether that means you're in charge, now that, what's his name... Rogan, now that Rogan is dead?”
“I'm not. I'm only a section chief for the MFTT, a military forces training team. The big boss is Kehdanika. She's in orbit monitoring the situation. Yorikado, her XO, is with the client. He's the boss on the ground.”
“Leave,” Marco said, twitching his head toward the direction he wanted the man to go.
“Listen, If that was your people who iced my controller, I'm afraid I can't go.”
The trio turned to regard the insolent mercenary.
Marco pointed his thumb toward the looming monster above them. “I'm afraid you're going to have to direct your criticism to our complaints department.”
“You should have run when you had the chance,” Ares said, replacing his helmet.
As the brothers walked away, the Dro-Khan looked between them and the remaining merc. It tilted its head, making a whining noise like a dog longing for its master.
“Come on, then!” Marco said, waving his arm over his head.
The demonic alien yipped in contentment, plucking Vanemar from the ground, screaming. It trotted over to its new group, happy to be free of the icy spiders that had crawled through its brain since it was a hatchling.
“Can we keep him?” Ares asked.
Ajax shook his mane. “Don't make me hurt you.”
The wall over the plane shattered, rupturing into a shower of resicarbon. The Drodassa Khan kicked through the vessel, first bending it sideways, then rupturing it in a ball of flame. Throughout it all, the creature didn't even slow or seemed fazed by the blazing inferno that was the warlord's previous escape plan.
A gaggle of remaining troops loyal to Sorkabi surrounded him with their rifles held forward. They were all wearing modern, military grade armor, under a helmet that probably cost more than the average citizen made in a year. Sorkabi had spared no expense on his protection team, except for one detail. They all looked like they were playing dress up rather than being comfortable with any of it.
“No! I will not be bested by some foreigner and his dog!” Sorkabi was incensed, to the point of furiously spitting his words through animated gestures.
Marco felt a wave of something wash over him in the Crucible. The Dro-Khan shook its head, trying to clear a haze that was making it dizzy.
“Seconder?” Ajax asked.
“That would explain how this gangly little twit became the dominant warlord in the city!” Ares laughed.
Marco raised his hand, making a grasping gesture. An invisible influence pulled the rifles held by the protection team, releasing them to snap back into their teeth. Most dropped their weapons to hold their bruised faces while a few held on but dropped to the ground.
“Fools!” Sorkabi screeched. As he pointed to the intruders, a torrent of heavy blaster machine gun fire tore through the space, striking each marshal in the chest several times. The gunner shifted position, shooting at the head of the Dro-Khan. The beast roared at the newcomer leveling suppressive fire at its face. It seemed more annoyed than injured, trying to get a bead on whatever insect was stinging it from the ground so it could squash it.
“Sleep!” Sorkabi yelled.
The Dro-Khan stutter stepped, trying to find its balance. It toppled over, crushing the flaming ruin of the plane, falling unconscious.
“Ow! Can't believe I got shot with brain bullets.”
“Ares, those were bolts from a machine blaster. There are no such thing as brain bullets,” Ajax said in an exasperated tone.
Marco's shield swung around to his chest, covering him as he rose to protect his team. A gargantuan alien covered in armor over a hydration suit settled into a gunfighter's stance in front of the ruined protection detail. He threw the machine blaster to one of the body guards, the weight of the weapon knocking him back to the ground. He pulled the helmet from his head, spilling water as he dropped it to the deck.
The alien was a Kuldomida, one of the native species of the planet Sythia. Although they were humanoid, the Kuldomidae were shark like in appearance, with mouths of serrated teeth set into a massive muscular body that could withstand dramatic fluctuations in temperature and depth. Unlike their cousins the Nascillian, they were hyper aggressive and extremely hard to kill. “I've been asked by our Company Commander to negotiate on our client's behalf. My name is Yorikado, and I am the executive officer for Moritai United, a security company hailing from Sythia.”
“Walk away and I won't kill you,” Marco said flatly.
“That's not much of a negotiation. Have you been hired or asked to intervene in Doshu affairs? If I guarantee safety to the Elysian supply depot, will you withdraw?”
Marco stood up, lowering his shield to his side. “These braided cords on my shoulder are all earned as part of being a marshal with the Lions of Athalon. The gold represents being selected to serve House Liau. This one, the gray, is given after you've served as a lion force commander. Red, given after a military campaign in service to the Athalon. Black is for the Grim Patrol, the only way a marshal should ever retire. But this one, the black and gold, is unique. The black mixed into the gold, is the dried blood spilled over the mane of a lion king. You see, some petty little punk who fancied himself a warlord sent poachers into the pride lands to take a lion prince. They killed his mother to get him, then had someone with a sniper blaster put a bolt through his sire, who was charging in to kill them. I didn't get there in time to stop it, but I was in time to kill every poacher sent on that run except one. I left one alive to deliver their heads to him.”
The cocky warlord standing behind the shark-faced alien blushed, his haughty expression falling off his face to make room for the fear creeping in. He tried pushing his thoughts through the Unseen, only to run into the burning reality that was the Crucible wielded by a Marshals Templar that wanted him dead.
Marco dropped his shield and lance, stepping face to face with Sorkabi's shark-like protector. “I stood guard over that little cub for days as he cried into the sky, into the Crucible. I finally got him to come away so we could return their remains to Sadosia. I raised him, trained him, taught him what it means to lead his pride! I taught him to roar and to kill! I waited until he had claimed his place with the pride before I stalked the man who'd robbed him of his family.”
Marco's tone had dropped through the floor, becoming more of a growl than a voice. The Executive Officer serving as security for his client lowered his head, slowly backing away. “You weren't even man enough to hunt them yourself so you sent men into the pride lands to hunt one of the most beautiful creatures on Sadosia. You had them kill two lions, a king and queen, for no better reason than it would be easier for them to take their cub!”
He let his anger loose, waves of power radiating from him in the Crucible, “But now they know the evil of men and woe to anyone who tries that garbage, again. I didn't come here to liberate the city from you! I came here to liberate you from your head and I will kill anyone who gets in my way!”
“I can't let you do that, sir,” Yorikado whispered, pulling a wicked looking knife from the back of his armor to go along with the grizzly pistol in his other hand.
“It's your life. Up to you how you spend it,” Marco said.
“General, take cover at the back of the hangar.”
Sorkabi glowered at the men on the floor who'd failed to protect him. “Leave me! You are less than worthless. When my protector kills these Shaytan, he will get the spoils of war, not you!”
Yorikado's pistol jumped in line with Marco's skull. There was a blur of movement, displacing him from the environment, as though there were four red crested helmets the shark man didn't have enough time to shoot. He pulled the trigger, sending a bolt past Marco, into the wall behind Ares. The sparks from the impact was all the motivation the brothers needed.
Both flew from their spots, taking wide arcs around what was left of the hangar. A blaster turret unfolded from the back of Ares' armor, taking shots at the Kuldomida tr
ying to stab their brother. Ajax did the same with the plasma caster over his shoulder. Both lion and shark dodged out of the way of the molten gob of energy that splashed where they'd been standing a moment earlier, showering the space behind them in liquefied stone.
A part of the igneous rock hit the downed Drodassa Khan. The contact of the fiery speck was enough to wake it, propelling it back to its feet. It roared at the chaos playing out beneath it, finally figuring on a target.
“No! No! No!” The motion of the recovering monster right before the ear crushing roar was enough to wake the unconscious Vanemar. He pounded against the giant's grip with his exposed hand, trying anything he could think of to escape. The beast seemed as concerned about the punching as it was with the blaster bolts it ignored. Instead, it choked up on the helpless mercenary, holding him by his legs. His position worsened as he flopped around in its grip, trying to find some semblance of stability. With his other hand free, he pulled his pistol, dumping the magazine into the Dro-Khan's wrist. It stopped its forward momentum long enough to regard the insect that had stung it.
“That's not good.”
The Dro-Khan hurled Vanemar into Yorikado, the two coming to a bone-crunching stop against the far wall.
Marco took the brief respite from his fight to unbuckle the hitches holding the weapons system onto their gargantuan friend. Unseen strands of force worked the pack free from the creature's back, crashing into a ruined mess behind it. Marco waved to get its attention. “Nice one! Now go so they can't hurt you anymore!”
Somewhere in the Crucible, words were translated into something it could understand. The monster vanished through the smoking hole it had created. Marco turned his attention to where Yorikado had been man-pummeled, just in time to see his opponent barreling in at him. Without the weight of the crushing depths, a Kuldomida was a destructive locomotive.
The two men tumbled through the hangar, ending near the flaming wreckage of the plane. Yorikado held Marco's helmet, straining to push his head into a pile of burning scrap. The marshal slammed his fist repeatedly into the alien's ribs, to no effect. Switching tactics, he made a fist. Sensors inside the gauntlet detected the shape of his arm, using it as a biometric trigger. Two twenty-five centimeter long blades ejected from each arm guard, locking onto the top of the gauntlet. He pulverized his opponent’s ribs again, this time sinking the blades deep into his lung. Flexing his calf snapped two claws from the top of each boot. Marco became the epitome of a cat, using the bladed gauntlets to latch onto his prey while dragging his feet up to slash at the belly.
The Sentinel: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Hunter's Moon Book 3) Page 16
