by Elin Wyn
Things hadn’t gone at all the way I wanted them to the night before.
The computers could only handle so much. I’d spent the majority of the day yesterday attempting to develop a new program capable of measuring and quantifying the energy signals from the Puppet Master.
I had a few more ideas to try. I’d definitely have to bribe Kenndrid in engineering.
Again.
Luckily, he had a weak spot the size of Duvest for my double dark chocolate chili brownies.
After I dragged myself home from the lab last night, I baked a fresh batch so I could just warm them up in the oven this morning. Getting them into the basket of my bicycle was a bit of a challenge, since the tin was just a bit too large, and I had to put them in at an angle.
If I was careful, they’d make it to the lab in one piece.
Kenndrid was going to be thrilled. No way he’d refuse my request.
My coworkers always made fun of me for my bike. It wasn’t one of the fancy ones most people on this planet had.
It wasn’t a hoverbike that ran on solar energy, it was a regular old pedal bike that belonged to my great-great-great grandfather. Maybe there were a few more greats in there, I didn’t really know.
It was technically a family heirloom, although I was always replacing parts with new ones, as the ancient ones rusted away.
The bike now looked like a mishmash of aged steel and shiny carbon fiber, and I was fully aware of how ridiculous I looked pedaling through the market district of Kaster.
And I didn’t care.
Everyone knew me by the bike. I even had one of those stupid little bells to ring when I passed someone I knew. Which was just about everyone.
When I rode through the market district today, no one waved or smiled as I passed. Instead, everyone was hurriedly packing up their wares and collapsing their stalls.
“What’s going on?” I skidded to a stop in front of Hudd’s stall. Hudd was an old friend of my family.
“A riot’s broken out in the East Quarter.”
My stomach sank. The lab was on the other side of the East Quarter.
“I’ve got to get to the lab,” I gasped.
“I wouldn’t risk it,” Hudd shook his head slowly. “Too much risk of the crazy spilling over.”
“I can go the long way around,” I insisted. “If nothing else, I have to make sure the lockdown protocols were activated properly. If anything in that lab gets damaged there’s no replacing it.”
“Be careful.”
I nodded to Hudd before pushing off, then turned down one of the back alleys so narrow my handlebars scraped against the wall trying to avoid people.
As I approached the East Quarter, I heard the sounds of the riot. Clashing and shouting. Banging and thumping.
Thankfully, I didn’t hear the sounds of blasters.
That was hopeful, right?
I passed a gap in the alleyway leading to the main road. Just as I did, a cluster of fighting humans barreled into me from the side, knocking me off my bike.
In the center of the fight was a red-skinned alien. A Skotan. He threw a punch, knocking out one of the humans attacking him.
This must’ve been some kind of anti-alien agitators. It made my skin crawl to think anti-alien radicals had made their way into my city.
Aside from my brief conversations with General Rouhr, my contact with the aliens was limited. There were some alien patrols stationed at Kaster but I had no reason to interact with them. My attitude towards the aliens was pretty neutral. I didn’t have any alien friends, aside from the Puppet Master.
Though, technically I was the alien in that relationship.
I bore no ill will towards the aliens that now called this planet home.
It was clear to me that they played an integral part in defeating the Xathi, forging an alliance with the Puppet Master, and rebuilding our planet into something better than we humans could’ve done on our own.
I also knew that many didn’t share my mentality. I just thought Kaster was better than that.
I scrambled to my feet after untangling myself from the bike. The Skotan overthrew another one of his attackers but didn’t see the man to his back begin to get up.
Not fair!
I dashed forward before I could think twice and kicked the man hard in the jaw.
Instead of a ‘thank-you’, the Skotan shot me a glare. In the moment of distraction, another man sideswiped me, knocking me to the ground.
The Skotan let out something between a howl and a roar, and I could physically see the rage building up in him.
I only looked away when the man who knocked me to the ground pinned my wrists into the dirt.
“Aren’t you a pretty little alien lover,” he sneered. Sweat dripped from his hair onto my face. The stench of him made me want to gag.
“Get off me.” I wiggled beneath him to no avail.
“Keep doing that,” he groaned. “You’re getting me excited.”
I went still immediately.
From behind the man, the Skotan appeared. His eyes were like fireballs. With one arm, he lifted the man off of me.
With the other, he punched the man in the jaw over and over until blood and teeth splattered on the dust beneath them.
I took the opportunity to scurry away. My ankle ached, but it wasn’t broken. I tried to grab my bike but it’d been damaged when I was sideswiped. The chain was broken. I couldn’t use it to get away.
Now what?
More rioters spilled into the narrow alleyway. The Skotan was at a deep disadvantage but he didn’t seem to care.
He thrashed about, his blows landing with expert accuracy. He lifted up the rioter that’d pinned me to the ground and threw him into the others. They fell like a house of cards.
I’d never had the opportunity to witness what the aliens could do first hand. I wildly underestimated their physical strength and battle prowess.
I always assumed they were just like humans, only with different skin colors. From afar, that’s what they looked like.
That was stupid of me. They weren’t just humans in costume.
Now that I had the chance to look at one close up, I noticed the Skotan’s arms were covered with sharp armor-like scales. He flexed his muscles and the scales retreated back into his skin.
“Come on,” he snarled.
It took me a moment to realize he was addressing me.
Yes, I appreciated that he saved me but he was still trembling with rage. Plus, he was the one the rioters were eager to fight. The last thing I wanted was a target on my back.
“Can you understand me?” He sounded annoyed.
I nodded.
“Then let’s go.”
“No.” My voice wavered as I spoke.
“I wasn’t asking,” he growled.
He stepped over to me and took me by the arm, his grip firm but not crushing. He tugged my arm, forcing my upper body to come forward. He bent down, put his shoulder to my stomach and lifted me clear off my feet.
Blood rushed to my head as I tipped upside down.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded, kicking my legs, despite the pain in one ankle.
My foot made contact with his head. He gripped my foot and firmly pulled it back down into place.
“I’m taking you to safety.”
“No place with you is safe!” Great, instead of having a target on my back I was now a target on his back.
“Would you rather take your chances on your own?” He demanded. “I could dump you right here and you’d never see me again. I wonder how far you’ll get with an injured ankle.”
When I didn’t say anything, he kept going.
“That male I pulled off of you isn’t the only one looking for more than a fight,” he warned.
“All right!” I muttered. “Will you at least put me down? I’ll come with you.”
“Unless you plan on running fast enough to keep up with me, this is the best way to transport you.”
“I disagree,” I grumbled.
He sped up into a jog. My ribs bumped painfully against the straps of the holsters he wore over his shoulder and my hip bone dug into his shoulder at a bad angle. I sucked in slow breaths. I could put up with this.
It was better than the alternative.
If I twisted my neck to the right, I could see the main road. It was clogged with rioters practically frothing at the mouth.
I wonder what sparked such violence. What was the point of attacking Kaster? All we had was a second-rate lab and an impressive fish market.
Every once in a while, I saw aliens in the crowd. They swung batons and other similar weapons but weren’t firing blasters. I assumed that meant they’d been sent to contain the rioters, not to kill them.
In my few brief conversations with General Rouhr, I didn’t get the sense that he enjoyed violence. That’s probably why the new Nyhiem mayor liked him so much.
However, if all the other aliens had the same mannerisms as the one who now carried me, I could understand some resistance on the part of the humans to making friends.
Riots, however, were not justified. I’d heard on the news about a shooting during the last electoral debate as well as an attack on the building General Rouhr ran his operations from.
Maybe aliens like this Skotan were necessary to bring the violence under control. If Kaster was a target, that meant things were only getting worse.
“Look! He’s got a human captive!” One of the rioters on the main road shouted.
“Shit,” I swore under my breath.
“Hang on.”
“To what?!” I demanded as the Skotan took off in a breakneck sprint. Pain exploded from my hip bone and ribs.
I didn’t care. Bruises would heal.
The rioters spilled into the alleyway chasing after us. The Skotan was far too quick. We left them in the dust.
Literally.
He sprinted until we passed two crudely erected barricades. Two aliens held the line with giant blasters. The rioters weren’t brave enough to test them.
I looked around even though my view was limited.
The Skotan had brought me to a makeshift base camp.
Well. This was going to be interesting.
Jalok
Behind us, the riot raged on, possibly due to spill our way at any moment.
Ahead, an overturned husk of a land vehicle acted as a bulwark for the rest of Team Three.
Navat spotted my approach and offered a wave. He stood atop the wrecked craft, balancing a belt fed riot control rifle on his hip. I saw Sk’lar barking orders at the rest of the team, shoring up the defenses.
“Jalok.” Sk’lar beckoned me over, and I jumped over the makeshift barrier to land in the middle of our hasty defenses. The commander’s eyes narrow as he regarded my squealing burden. “Where have you been? And more importantly, what have you done?”
I dropped the woman on the ground, none too gently as she really pissed me off with all the screaming and squirming.
“Hey.” She glared up at me with such indignity that I instantly regretted my decision to drop her.
Not just because I was so taken aback by her fury, but the moment I met her eyes, I could suddenly see the appeal of human mates.
She was worthy of a lusty Skotan song.
A dozen of them.
Her supple body drew my focus my blood began to boil as I took her full beauty in. Hair the color of the afternoon sun cascaded to her shoulders, framing her petite features.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to apologize to her.
Sk’lar was fuming. “Jalok, I asked you a question.”
“Sorry, sir. I was separated from the rest of the team during the riot. Once I was able to get clear of the melee, I spotted this civilian in distress. When I saw the rest of team three gathering, I followed in your wake.”
Sk’lar grunted, and squinted at the cut on my forehead.
“You’re injured.”
“It’s nothing. Already coagulated. Besides, none of us have time to fuss over a little blood.”
“True enough.” Sk’lar looked down at my former passenger. “Are you all right, Ma’am?”
“I’m fine now that this, this thug isn’t manhandling me.”
The little beauty shot me a withering glare.
I tried to pretend that I didn’t notice, but her barb stung.
Thug. That’s what she thought of me?
“Jalok is a little rough around the edges, but I’m sure he was acting in your best interests. Try to find a safe spot. Things are about to get ugly.”
“How you call this a safe spot?” she demanded. “I’ve been yanked from the street to the middle of a warzone!”
“Do you want to see a real warzone?” I snapped. “Try fighting ten Xathi. Oh right, you saw that when they invaded here, didn’t you? And guess who saved you? Us. The same people you’re protesting against!”
“I’m not anti-alien!”
“You’re not pro-alien either!”
“Can it, you two.” Sk’lar came to stand between us. “The enemy is out there, not in here. We need a strategy.”
“I’ll give you a strategy.” I hefted my rifle for emphasis. “Enough latex rounds will take the fight right out of these ignorant hairless apes.”
“Hairless apes?” The woman I rescued gaped in indignant disbelief at my words. “More violence isn’t the answer we’re looking for here.”
Navat called from behind me. “Hey, Jalok is an idiot, but I agree that we have to take the offense. We have to act before the riot spreads across the city.”
“It might be too late for that.” Sk’lar peered out of the dilapidated street we’d claimed as our momentary refuge. The whirlwind of chaos seemed to be getting closer. “Our best bet is to get back to the ship and lift off out of here.”
“What? Run away?” I gestured at the riot. “Do you just want to let these animals have the streets?”
“Animals?” Sk’lar glanced at the woman I saved, but I didn’t.
“Jalok, can the slurs. Now. We need to get this civilian to safety.”
“One human’s life versus dozens, maybe hundreds of lives lost during this riot?” I turned to the woman and offered a bow of my head as an apology, since Sk’lar was so sensitive about it. I kept forgetting his girlfriend was a human. “No offense.”
“Well, gee, offense has been taken.” She gave me a nasty scowl that said bridges had been burnt, collapsed, and sunk into the river.
“Commander.”
We all turned in the direction of Navat’s bellow. He pointed down the street at a rush of humanity. The anti-alienists had found our refuge.
“At least two dozen adversaries.” A projectile ricocheted off of the vehicle he stood upon. “And some of them have distance weaponry.”
“Probably commandeered from civilian security.” Sk’lar raised his voice to a shout. “Look alive Team Three. Don’t kill unless it’s absolutely unavoidable, but hold this position. If we die, she dies.”
“Great. More babysitting.” Cazak took up a position on the lee side of the wrecked speeder. Tyehn clambered up onto the skeletal remains of a metal staircase. I dragged the woman by the wrist into the burned out interior of the cruiser and crouched behind what used to be a window.
The rest of the team took up cover positions as the anti-alienist’s projectiles ricocheted off of our defenses. Sk’lar might be a stick in the mud, but he chose one hell of a defensible position. The rioters had to come to us, with next to no cover available. Unfortunately, there were a lot of them and being overrun was a distinct possibility.
I didn’t envy him the command. Far from it. It’s hard enough to make split second decisions once the weapons fire is rattling off all around you. It’s even harder to take into consideration the whereabouts and wellbeing of an entire strike team. I might gripe about his edicts, but I wasn’t going to question him in the heat of battle.
Balancing the end of my rifle acros
s the rusted window ledge, I took aim at an armed rioter. He had on a similar mask to the grenadiers to protect his identity. My crosshairs fell on his chest, but then I dropped my aim lower, to between his legs. One squeeze of the trigger, and the man doubled over into a mewling heap.
Unfortunately, one of his mates seized up the purloined firearm and started shooting at us anew. The rioters knew we were using non-lethal weaponry, so they charged in fearlessly. But they didn’t extend us the same courtesy.
A barrage of projectiles hit Navat’s position on top of the wrecked craft. I heard him grunt in pain, then return fire. Half a dozen rioters collapsed on the ground, taken down by his mercy rounds, but I knew he had been hurt.
As if in answer to my thoughts, a hot sticky droplet of blood hit my shoulder. I looked up to see it dripping steadily from a hole in the makeshift roof. I slapped a hand onto my comm unit.
“Sk’lar, Navat’s been hit.”
A heavy thump from overhead rattled the entire blasted out craft. It seemed the big man went down to one knee.
“I see. Navat, get down from there. Team, give him some cover.”
“Oh, I’ll give him some cover.”
I switched to full automatic and charged out from under my improvised bunker. Weapons fire ripped through the air all around me, but I stood my ground, splayed my feet and held the rifle at waist height.
The barrel swept across the road, hewing a path through the charging anti-alienists. They fell row by row, not only from my barrage but from the rest of the strike team.
Something streaked past me from behind, and I just caught a glimpse of a gas grenade before it exploded, sending a billowing green cloud over dozens of rioters. The gas was anesthetic designed to render most sapient species unconscious.
For a time, the cloud of gas kept them at bay. Sk’lar called out to the whole team.
“Weapons check.”
“I think we’re low on ammo all around, Commander.” Cazak checked his clip and shook his head. “I’ve got four rounds left.”
“We’re out.” Navat and Tyehn gestured at their rifles, both flashing the dreaded red rectangle of emptiness.
“I have one more RPG left, and a few shots in my sidearm.” Sk’lar peered out over the mist. “Heads up, they’re coming in again. All right. So it’s going to be melee combat.”
