by R. E. Graham
A Republic Hunter rounded the corner of the same road in a hard pursuit to defeat the invader. It used its right hand to slow its momentum and crushed the outer wall of the building like it was nothing. Once slowed it broke into a full run.
“You want some now too?” Daena screamed as she twisted her mech at the torso and fired two deadly streams of lasers. The red bolts chewed into the Hunter’s chest armor, but the pilot was persistent. They triggered their own wave of lasers from its four repeaters built into its chest.
The pirate mech sustained even more damage to its right leg, and right torso as its armor was being destroyed.
“Critical damage to the right knee,” the Sentry’s AI said throughout the cockpit.
Seeing the Sentry dip to the side to try and protect the wounded limb the Hunter locked its claws into positions over both of its hands, and it lashed out. It swung wide with its right arm which sheered through armor plating that had covered the larger mech's right lower leg.
“Gah!” the Major cried out as she was banged against her command chair from the ravaging attack.
Skarr noticed on his radar that his commanding officer was in danger and turned back to help her. More and more Republic WarMechs were closing in, and Iso saw the newbie heading toward the defenders.
“Kid, you need to break off and get out of there!”
“I can’t leave her to die,” the ex-mechanic said as he could see flashes of laser fire bouncing off windows coming from up ahead.
He held his left hand over the jammer switch to cut the device early. To generate enough power to sustain a strong jamming signal most of the mechs had to divert energy from at least some of their weapons to do so. The Goblin was unfortunate enough that both of its primary armament had to be deactivated when it went into hiding.
Nothing in any of the simulators prepared him for what he saw as he turned the corner and stepped onto the street that the battle waged on. Somehow the Major had knocked the Hunter down and lifted its large left foot over the enemy mech’s chest. The noise from the stomp was so terrible that the young mech jock could hear it audibly inside of his own cockpit.
Daena stomped two more times and only stopped because the limbs of the Hunter went limp. Her mech staggered toward the pirate Goblin.
“What are you doing here Gold three?”
Skarr was a bit shocked by her tone. “I came back to save you.”
“Do I look like…” the Major was interrupted by a severe hit to her mech’s already damaged back, shredding what was left of her armor.
An eager Republic Enforcer stepped out clearly into the road and fired another blast from its mech sized scattergun. Nearby windows were shattered as large pellets just missed the Sentry and hit two buildings behind it.
Daena spun about and targeted the new threat with the last of her homing missiles. They had just exited the launch tubes, shooting straight up into the air, when the Enforcer triggered both of its large focus beams and sheered the Sentry’s right leg off. Losing the limb caused the hefty machine to tumble backward and slam hard onto the road crushing a light pole and an abandoned car.
The Republic pilot fired his double barrel machine gun at the approaching missiles as they rushed down on him. It stepped out of the smoke and ash, its armor left in tatters. Seeing a golden opportunity, Skarr slapped the button and deactivated his jammer. His plasma slingers came back online, and he took aim and fired.
Not having time to react, the Enforcer took the brunt of the globules of plasma and crashed through most of the front side of a turquoise building on its right. Debris from the rest of the structure caved in and covered the mech with enough to keep it from moving.
“Major are you alright?” Skarr shouted through his radio.
There was no response. More and more of the Republic mechs were getting close. He turned his jammer back on and stepped up to the battered Sentry.
“Major!” he said over his external speakers.
A few seconds later he could hear heavy coughing. “Ah…get…out of here.”
“No, not without you.”
“Stubborn…ass,” she said as she fought to undo her harness and reach up for the button to pop the seal on her cockpit.
A growing rumble was getting louder, and the veteran mech pilot knew that it meant more mechs were on the way. She finally reached the button. The protective cover had to be shoved open, but she was able to get free.
Skarr carefully lowered his Goblin’s right arm and opened its hand. “Hop on.”
“Don’t…you start giving me orders,” the Major muttered as she did her best to climb on.
A whole pike of Republic mechs came across their downed allies just as the Goblin disappeared around the corner.
The Ignis could be seen way up ahead lowering into the city.
“We aren’t gonna make it,” Daena said to herself as she held onto the Goblin’s index finger.
“Major, they say they can’t wait for us,” Skarr said over his external speakers with worry in his voice.
She looked back at the camera pod nearest her and pointed Northward. “Go that way!”
Lasers and missiles chased after the captured transport as it lifted back up and headed away from the city.
“Why would we go North?”
“Because,” the Major said as she spoke as loud as she could. “Lord Mikhail is that way.”
Jax kicked a console as the Ignis took off. Republic mechs that had been chasing after Silver team had spotted the pirate transport and opened fire. They couldn’t afford to be shot down at this point in the mission. They were so close to achieving their objective, but they had to leave Skarr behind.
“Dammit!” the overrider exclaimed as his anger surged through his body.
He had tried to be meticulous in assisting Mikhail with every detail of this plan. However, he was quickly learning that the moment the shooting started that no plan was able to stay intact. Nonetheless, he felt the choice to leave was on his shoulders, even though Sahara made the call.
“There’s nothing we could have done for him,” the acting captain said as she leaned over in her seat so she could see the enraged pirate.
Jax placed both of his hands on the back of his head, and he looked at the ceiling of the bridge. "Doesn't make it any easier," he said quietly.
“It’s part of being in charge,” Sahara said as she turned around in her seat.
Feona pulled back on her controls and the captured ship continued climbing higher and higher in the planet’s atmosphere.
“Incoming fighters!” Mr. Colbert said nervously.
“We’ll make it,” the acting captain said calmly.
She held up her hand to ease everyone else's concerns, but Jax still felt like garbage for leaving someone behind.
The Republic must have realized that the Ignis was making a run for it as multiple cruisers and other spacecraft was heading straight for them. They knew there would be a very limited window before the pirate vessel would hop away.
While still at long range, the Republic ships opened fire. Lasers sizzled through the air, narrowly missing the Ignis as it swayed to the left.
Captain Nero closed his eyes as hard as he could and prayed. His stomach felt like it was moving all over the place as his ship was guided this way and that to avoid being shot down.
Sahara eyed the advancing ships and was beginning to get worried. She knew though that sharing that with the crew would only make things worse. While never having the opportunity to captain a ship before, she had watched each one she served under closely. Her longest dream had been to lead a spacecraft of her own one day, and she wasn't about to lose that opportunity to some spunky Republic defenders.
“If we get hit, we’re dead,” she said coldly. “Feona, you can do this. Evasive maneuvers.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to die here!” Nero shouted above the tension.
The acting pilot gripped her controls much tighter than was required, but she was well aware that
everyone aboard the ship would perish if she failed. She bit her lip as the words from Sahara sunk in, but she was much too focused to reply.
As the Ignis dodged right a barrage of cannon fire barreled through that exact spot.
“Charge the HOP Drive!” Sahara shouted as she pointed at Mr. Colbert.
He reached over from his seat and typed the command for their main escape route to be activated. The HOP drive located on the underside of the ship revved up and started charging for a hop.
Feona continued to do her best. Unfortunately, a lone laser lanced through the forward armor of the Ignis. A warning light shown on Sahara’s side screen.
“My ship!” the Captain exclaimed pathetically.
“A little farther!” Sahara said trying to encourage her pilot to keep at it.
“HOP drive charged.”
A loud shrill echoed through the bridge as an automatic alarm sounded that the ship had been locked on by at least one of the Republic ships.
“Punch it!” the Captain ordered just before Mr. Colbert slapped the “Launch” key and the ship hopped to safety. A swarm of missiles zipped through the now empty space where the Ignis once was but burned up in the atmosphere before they hit the snow-covered ground below.
Another one of the pirate ships was destroyed as it was ganged up on by a Republic battleship and a flight of fighters. The flames of the explosion were snuffed out by the vacuum of space as debris and crew were dispersed in every direction.
“I have located the Ignis,” Sandy said as a small trickle of blood ran down her face.
The Midnight rocked from another barrage of cannon fire from a Republic cruiser.
“We’ve had enough. Signal Lord Mikhail that we are leaving then hop us out of here!” Deimos ordered as he jumped back to his seat and fumbled with his harness.
They had held their own against the blockade, but it was very clear that the Onyx fleet was losing and soon there wouldn’t be enough of them to distract the Republic forces anyhow. The Midnight broke off from its fighting, and the rest of the pirates got the message as they too spread out to position themselves to leave the system.
Just before the Oxen transport went through the Nth dimension, the Ignis hopped as well. Flashes of light emanated from each of the Onyx ships as they disappeared leaving the blockade behind.
Chapter 26
Cycle: 434 Month: 4 Day: 7
Corre Republic Space
Prefecture: Colonial
Planet: Frost
Location: Winter Haven, Redbeard’s mansion
The fighting inside the mansion itself had stopped, but gunfire was getting louder and louder within the secondary building. Hern’s strike team was busy clearing out the structure while Mikhail’s team got into position.
A chirp sound came from the gauntlet Mikhail had donned before leaving for the raid. Jole moved up to his right and kept an eye on the central doorway while the pirate lord used his finger to press the flashing icon while he held his rifle in his left hand.
“Alright, the Ignis and the fleet are gone. We need to Finish this before the Republic heads our way,” he said with a low growl.
“All that is yours is so close. Reach out your hand and take it!” the voice said with a silent whisper into the pirate lord’s mind.
Jole nodded to Barber who moved up on the other side of the door opening. He raised his rifle up to his shoulder and twisted to enter when he was blasted in the face. His body flew backward and crashed against the ground.
To Mikhail time slowed down as he watched Barber come to a halt with his head angled away from the pirate lord. A small wisp of smoke lifted up from his face as his limp body crumbled to the floor. An incredible surge of anger welled up within the pirate lord, and he let out a visceral scream.
“Aaaaaah!” he bellowed as he charged into the doorway and fired his rifle instantly killing the Ruby pirate that waited on the other side.
Jole and Dirk’s eyes grew wide as they watched their lord rush in without them.
“Get in there!” Jole shouted to the rest of the team.
Dirk quickly entered with two others rushing in behind him.
More gunshots rang out as the strike team pushed deeper into the building. Mikhail paid no attention to his own life as he cleared room after room. The rest of the Onyx pirates struggled to keep up, but Jole managed to get past the others and back with Lord Onyx.
“Lord!” he called out as Mikhail’s eyes glossed over and he continued his rampage.
An enemy pirate rounded the corner, and the pirate lord struck him with the butt of his rifle across the head. As Mikhail dropped his gun, he used his left hand to block a fierce strike from the man as he regained himself. With his arm stuck in the air, the pirate lord drew his pistol and jammed it into his attacker's chest. He fired multiple times while simultaneously pushing the man backward until he slammed into a wall.
Jole chased after with his rifle up. A Ruby pirate stepped in and took aim with his scattergun but was gunned down by the vigilant bodyguard.
Mikhail spun around to see the other pirate collapse on the floor. Before he could speak a voice broke through over the radio.
“Redbeard is downstairs.”
The bodyguard reached down and retrieved his Lord's rifle. He tossed it to him, and the two men were off.
For the most part, the gunfire had now quieted down. Mikhail and Jole made their way to the center of the building in a big open room. A secret door built into the wall had been left open, and the rest of the Onyx pirates had all converged on this one point. Ling had a large group of Ruby's down on the ground with their arms behind their heads while Dirk and two other Onyx pirates held another group at gunpoint.
Hern stomped over to the pirate lord. "We have secured this floor and the second level. Scrub found the open door, and we figure that Redbeard made his way down."
“Any idea how many men he has with him?” Mikhail asked as he carefully moved toward the doorway but was careful not to get too close.
“No. Our suits scanners can’t get a reading. He must have something beneath the flooring that shields the level from being visible from detectors.”
The pirate lord scanned the people in the groups. Many of the men looked defeated and weary, with none truly standing out until he recognized one of them. He pointed toward the large man at the center of the second group. “Bring him forward.”
One of the strike team men moved up and motioned with his rifle for the prisoner to stand up.
Looking as disgruntled as ever, Cinder got to his feet, moving slowly so that someone didn’t think he was being aggressive. Mikhail smirked at his newest captive and felt a sensation of pride tingle his mind.
“Nice of you to join us. Is your big boss downstairs?” he asked as he gestured with his head toward the hidden staircase.
“We got separated in the fighting. I really don’t know.”
It was no secret even in Onyx that Cinder was Redbeard’s right-hand man. There wasn’t much point in trying to get him to be disloyal. Time was already running out for them. Mikhail knew they needed to act fast if they were going to be able to Finish up their plan.
The pirate lord was about to issue a command to charge down the stairs when a glimmer of light reflecting off of an object caught his eye. Time again slowed as he saw the most beautiful woman, he ever laid eyes on across from him.
“Who’s that?” Mikhail asked with bewilderment.
Jole turned in the direction that his lord faced and spotted what he figured was the cause for the interruption of the moment.
“That is Samantha Henders…Redbeard’s wife.”
The woman noticed the two men staring, but instead of quivering, she glared back at the pirate lord. Contempt obviously displayed on every centimeter of her face.
“Reach out your hand and take it,” the voice said again into Mikhail’s mind. “…even her.”
His eyes lit up at the idea of taking the wife of Redbeard as his own, but fi
rst things first. The rival lord needed to be dealt with.
“Bring her forward as well,” he ordered forcefully.
Sam had her hands placed behind her head, but when the Onyx pirate gripped her forearm, she yanked her hand free.
“Release me you insect!” she hissed.
The pirate raised his rifle stupidly, but Lord Onyx held up a finger. “Uh, uh. No need for that.”
He motioned with his hand for the woman to come towards him, which she did hesitantly.
“Does your husband love you?” he asked as he took a moment to admire her beauty.
Try as he might, he could not find a flaw on her. Everything about her totally engulfed him mentally, but in a way that his wife never did. Unbeknownst to him, his interaction with existence was changing rapidly.
Mrs. Henders resented the question. "He will not cooperate with you. Soon his men will storm this place, and you will be killed like a hound."
Mikhail grinned at the woman’s ferocity despite the danger surrounding her. “We’ll see about that.”
Downstairs Redbeard was sheltered with only a couple other of his men. He shook his head as he tried to come up with a plan to communicate with his people that were positioned all over the city.
In anger, he threw his personal communicator against the wall of the underground bunker. It smashed into tiny pieces as it collided with the thick inner wall.
“This is absurd. I am Redbeard! Men shake at the sound of my name.” He paced around the room anxious but feeling defeated without his wife being safe.
Cinder had volunteered to go in search of her, and now here he was stuck beneath his attackers without so much as a working radio. He gripped his Incinerator Laser Cannon tightly in his hand knowing that his fate couldn’t be far off. But rather than give in to the inevitable, he decided fighting was the only way out of this torment.
