by M. Garnet
Well, he would try the easy way that he knew would not work; he would call one of the soldiers. He had a contact number that came upon his wrist comm. It was with all the other information that fucking idiot Ereck had sent over.
"Bruno, watch and protect yourself."
Using his wrist comm as a calling device, he punched in numbers and waited. To his surprise, a male voice answered.
"This is Soldier Meemo. Who is this?"
"Hello, I've been sent by Commander Ereck to pick you guys up and take you home." The following words shocked Keenan and Bruno, as he had tried the other teammate in on the conversation.
"Bless you. Tell us what you want us to do?"
Chapter Twelve
"Okay, guys, hang tight." Just as Keenan said those words, the war moved back into their area. Bombs began to land on the buildings to the left of where he was sitting on his ride, in a dusty alley. The blowback had heavy debris of blocks of buildings falling everywhere Keenan was looking, thinking he was about to move with the scooter.
"What do the drones tell you?" Keenan pushed back to avoid being hit by the large pieces of the building that was landing in the street.
"There is a group of people fighting just to the east of you, or where the bombs hit the area. Strange, none of them seem to be soldiers of any kind. But I would bet that some of them are pirates or part of an illegal band that is stealing whatever they can get their hands on. as they go through this town."
"Confirmed." Great, thought Keenan. Now they not only had the law out and fighting someone, but they also had pirates and rebels and locals. It seemed like everyone was picking up a weapon and going to war. "Bruno, I'm going on in, so keep an eye out if I need back up."
Putting the big scooter over against a wall behind some trash, he shut it down and locked it in his hand. Now he was ready to run across the street, with bullets flying. Taking a moment to go down on a knee and put his hand into the dirt, he called on the mother earth to let a bit of the beast feel what he could observe. With better eyes, he watched the few slugs and flash of weapons go past where he was observing. He was looking to see if there was a safe area, either over or under the danger, for him to move.
Satisfied, his first couple of steps were high jumps, then his last movement was a fast roll, and he was across the street to hit the building. He was into the small indent that held the door, and he punched it with enough force to soon be inside.
Fuck, he was looking up into six guns, pointing right at his face. Staying down on his back, he showed his empty palm and slowly reached for his wrist comm. "I have a message from your Commander Ereck."
A woman stepped forward. "You the one that contacted us?" She looked up in the dark, broken room and nodded. The weapons moved away.
"Yep. We are supposed to get you guys out of here." Keenan sat up and looked at the soldiers he was rescuing. It was dark in this large broken building with the walls almost destroyed, but no outside light getting in except the door. With his special ability, he could see, but the soldiers were unable to see a man lying on the floor. The wrist comm came up blue with the Commander's face in a holo view.
"It's okay, guys. This is the team sent for us."
Taking this as approval, Keenan stood up and contacted Bruno. "I'm inside and made contact. We have six."
"Confirmed. I will make my way over the buildings from the area in front of you, as buildings behind are destroyed."
"Gotcha'. Be careful." Keenan looked at the soldiers in the dark. "I have a friend coming in a vehicle across the street. Our big problem is getting out of here alive. Where is the weapon?"
There was a shifting of the bodies in the darkness, and the woman spoke as she pushed a youth who looked to Keenan to be too young to be a soldier. "It is in Shutter."
"The weapon is in his mind? What, he has an idea for a weapon?"
"No, the weapon is inside him." There was a pat in the area of the youth's stomach.
Getting up, Keenan pulled out a flash and turned it on. He kept it at low light and eliminated the youth. "What, did you swallow it or something?"
"No," the boy hugged himself. "They cut me and put it inside and sewed me back up to hide it. It can be taken out when I reach the Commander."
Now Keenan could see the other five people. The four men were standard, off the street, stick into a uniform and train the hell out of them. But the woman was an absolute stunner. Oh, she fit into the uniform, and it was obvious she knew how to be a soldier. She took the job serious. Both the long gun over a sling on her back and the hand weapon she was putting into a holster on her hip were clean and a good choice.
There was more than pointed out that she was an active soldier. It was the way she stood with her strong legs apart and feet planted firmly, one a bit behind. The way she carefully put away the pistol left the holster open for quick release.
Looking past the rough but tight gloves, he was fascinated by a face that could be two things at once. It was a beautiful woman with complete control and determination. Addressing her, he watched her green eyes that reminded him of the jungle on Veld. "You the leader?"
"Yes, Sgt. Mare Gilbert. We were escorting Trainee Shutter along to pick something up for the Commander, and it all went to shit." She turned to push against the door but hesitated to watch the action outside. "So, how do we get across to your vehicle?"
At that time, through the small opening, they all could see some people running past, guns firing. One went down in flames and lay in the street as he burned on the rough road. More bodies ran past, and the smoke became thicker, making it hard to discern the shapes. Even Keenan could no longer tell the bodies apart or the slugs moving, but the flash of fusion weapons burned through the dark vapor.
"Well, if we can get the fucking idiots to shoot at each other in another spot, that should leave this area free, and we will just walk across to get my scooter."
"Sure, hero." It was one of the soldiers who stepped away from the noise and into the darkroom. "Just step out there and tell them what to do, and maybe they will listen."
"Hey." Mare had a sharp tone, and everyone did get quiet.
"Hey, is correct. See, that friend of mine can be pretty creative. Just sit tight." With that, Keenan went to the back and grabbed a beam to pull himself up above their heads. Now he was up on the next level of the broken building and working even higher.
"Bruno, swing by and pick me up. We are going to create our little war."
"Sure, why not. Life was getting too boring for me anyway. Two minutes and I have the big group. You can wipe out the small fighters."
By the time the two minutes had passed, Keenan was on the top of the last beams that had the shape of a roof. Balancing on one beam and his short weapon out, he heard the sound of the vehicle with Bruno. Not getting into it, Keenan hung onto one side as the scooter pulled him up, and then they were flying between buildings.
Bruno shifted the small unit down between buildings on a dirty street that showed the debris from a battle. "You take out the small group as you move back to the soldiers, and I will delay the big bunch with something explosive."
"I'm ready. Meet you at my ride." Dropping down onto the street, Keenan didn't hesitate. He immediately moved forward, gun in hand, to come up behind a couple of men who were going through the case of a dead man lying against a building. Without a moment's thought, Keenan fired a shot into each fucking man before there were reactions from the thieves.
Through the smoke and over the tumbled blocks from another building, Keenan had to stop and decide how to make his next moves. There were three males in front of a door, and one was using a bar to try to break into the structure. One turned, watching with a long weapon that looked like some type of fusion gun that would shoot out a flash of deadly controlled hydrogen fire.
Again, he shot first without any warning, aiming at heads and needing to kill. He had to get these soldiers off this battle-torn planet and get back to find the location of the man who ordered his parent's death.
At last, he heard heavy bombing and knew that Bruno was causing a distraction to keep the more extensive group busy. Now he picked up speed, and when he reached the broken but closed door, he yelled.
"Time to run; we only have a short time to get onto our rides. Follow me." The door opened, and the good-looking sergeant was first out, pulling the trainee. He nodded at her and pushed off to get across to the dark alley where his scooter was waiting.
Hearing the feet pounding behind him, he let his long legs gain the speed needed to get over to his ride. Of course, nothing is easy, as two guys were on top of the floater with one trying to get it started. Since it was locked to Keenan's palm, they were not having any luck, but that didn't stop them from tearing at parts.
One bullet each was the answer for that problem, and Keenan had to push the one left inside over and out. He then jumped in, straddled the saddle. These small machines were made to hold four people, but the seating was very close and not comfortable. The saddle would hold the driver and one more behind, hanging onto the driver. On each side were jump seats that someone could sit in with their inside legs against the back saddle rider. Close and carrying four riders, but not especially comfortable, it would work for what they needed on this trip.
Bruno was quick and settling down next to them in the alley to carry the extra soldiers. The sergeant pushed the trainee into a jump seat by Keenan and put her leg over behind the tall man. She didn't wait, just wrapped her arms around him.
Keenan did have a second to think that he might like to have those long muscular legs in another position. Too bad there wasn't time with the fighting going on in this neighborhood. He made a note to find time to be alone with the sergeant later. Fuck yes.
Getting his mind back into the situation, as the weapon fire got close again, he shifted the vehicle. The last soldier loaded up, and Bruno's scooter was full. Nodding, Keenan gunned the engine and led the way, pulling into a floating position and moving up above the buildings.
Pushing the right buttons, the clear top covered the small scooter, turning it into shuttle mode. Rising fast, as weapon fire began to follow their ascent, they headed upward to leave the atmosphere as fast as possible.
Coming fast on their heels was a small ship.
"Who is that?" Bruno spoke in Keenan's ear.
"Trouble." Keenan leaned into the shuttle and headed straight up, regardless of the push of air on the small ship. They were moving fast, and the noise and tremor they felt were hard to dismiss, as the nose was pointed to the stars.
"Poly, we need help."
"Confirm, Captain." That was the little robot speaking in the internal connection built into Keenan's bone behind his ear.
Slowly, the noise and rough ride let up as they passed out into the thin air, getting close to leaving the planet. But the small, heavily armed ship was still on their tail, following in the same pattern.
The small shuttles that they were using were fast and maneuverable but did not have stealth ability or weapons. If that ship following them got close enough to fire, they were dead meat. Feeling the beast breathing inside of him, Keenan knew that if the following ship fired, he would be the only one to live. He also knew he would hate the shift, but he would do it to live to go after his father's killer.
Just as his grip on the handles was so tight it might bend the metal; the Adamant came out of stealth in front of them. The ship behind had fired off a missile, and either Thea or Poly fired off a couple of missiles in response. What came from the Adamant passed close to the two shuttles, and one stopped the moving missile. The other one went on to take out the small ship in a burst of white light.
"What is that?" It was the sergeant who was hanging on tight, speaking close to Keenan's ear.
"That is your ride home." Keenan moved the shuttle around to the second hidden bay that was open and flew through the flickering shield. Settling down on the metal floor, he opened the transparent hood as Bruno settled beside and had his shuttle open.
They got out of the small units, and Keenan looked over and smiled at the small bot that was floating across the area to greet them.
Two of the soldiers raised their weapons to point at the strange bobbing robot.
Chapter Thirteen
"Hey guy, put the weapons away. This is part of my crew and, believe me, it was just responsible for saving us. Hello Poly."
"Welcome, Captain," Poly spoke in its cultured female voice.
The soldiers were out of the shuttles and looking around with a bit of awe, looking at the other larger ships and the inside of the clean bay.
Turning to the sergeant and flagging Bruno, Keenan spoke. "Why don't you people wait here for a few minutes. I need to check on some things, and I'll be right back."
Without waiting for a response, Keenan went up the steps to the hall. Passing the cabins and storage areas, he glanced into the large galley. It gave him an idea as he made his way up the slanting ramp into the airlock door to the bridge.
Bruno was on his heels and went to his favorite place at the console. He took off some of the plates from his uniform but kept most of the black protective outfit he preferred to wear and sat down. Thea had several screens up, showing the outside dark with the stars and the ships that were still fighting, and one that showed the soldiers wandering around in the small bay.
Poly bobbed into the bridge and took its place between Thea's seat and the pilot's seat. Now his crew was complete, but Keenan had some action to put into place.
"Poly, set a course back to that motherfucker Commander Ereck's location but take the long way. I want some time to talk to our visitors. Thea, I want you to use your charms on the guys, especially the young trainee, to find out what that weapon is and why they put it inside him."
"Wait," Thea spun around in her chair to look at the tall male. "Did you say they put the weapon inside someone?"
"Yep, it is in the kid. So be careful, but find out what the hell it is, and if we need to put him inside the hazard cabinet."
"I can remove item and save person." That came from Poly.
Raising a hand, Keenan acknowledged the bot. "That will be a last resort. For now, you and Bruno take care of the ship. I'm going to get the sergeant separated and have a personal chat."
"You need a personal talk with a beautiful soldier. Sure." The snide comment came from Thea as she enlarged the screen showing the sergeant who was talking to one of the soldiers. The woman was something special, with those large green eyes. Now she pulled off the tight cap and shook her head. She wore her hair short, but it was heavy and a dark red.
"Thea, you do your thing, and I will take care of my job." With that, Keenan turned and left. He first stopped at the galley and pulled out two of the largest mugs he could find and filled them with hot black coffee. His guess was that a sergeant in the military would take her coffee straight, so he went on back and down the steps into the small bay.
Walking up to the sergeant, he held out a steaming mug. "Can I bribe you for some conversation?"
Smiling, Gilbert accepted the mug and took a sip of the hot drink. "You got me. Pure coffee. I haven't had good coffee for months. What are you thinking to talk about?"
At that moment, someone made a low whistle. Both Keenan and Mare looked over at the soldiers and then followed their eyes over to the steps. Standing there was sex embodied.
"I thought you boys would like some hot food." Thea's words were just a female's purr, and Keenan was surprised that there wasn't a rush to the bottom step. As for Thea, she was using one of her best weapons, her body. She stood on a step, halfway down into the bay. Her full breasts and tiny waist were accented by the tight black bodysuit she wore, which ended in the tall black shoes with the bold six-inch thin heels. Those long gorgeous legs were turned just right at an angle to show a tight ass that called for a squeeze.
A couple of the soldiers moved forward as the others looked back and forth between the sex symbol and their sergeant.
Ma
re smiled. "Go get something to eat; you have earned it, soldiers." The sergeant waved her hand, and there was almost a stampede. Keenan was surprised to see the trainee be the last one up the stairs. Perhaps he was still a newbie to sex and an unusual, beautiful hostess.
"So, is there somewhere we can sit down and have our talk?" The sergeant looked around the working bay area.
"Let's take a short tour, and I'm sure I can find us a quiet place to talk." Keenan led the way up the steps onto the narrow, slanted hallway. Passing empty cabins with the doors open and storage areas with the doors closed, he walked slowly, sipping his coffee.
As they passed the galley, they could hear the laughter, some comments as well as smell the good odor of hot food. He went onto the crew quarters and finally stopped at the Captain's quarters. His cabin was larger than what was found on most ships, and he appreciated the extra room. Placing his hand on the palm reader, the door slid open, and he entered, going over to a table that had a couple of chairs.
"If you're more comfortable, leave the door open." He took his jacket off and pulled on a white tee shirt. He took off his holster from his hip and put it on a shelf at the end of the bunk. At last, he sat down at the table, where he had put his mug.
Mare stepped into the cabin, looked around, and smiled. She placed her hand on the palm reader and let the door slide shut. Taking his lead, she took off the sling with the long gun and sat it by the door, and then took off her jacket. She had on the regular military loose tan tee shirt. But this lovely soldier was all female and had the right shape under that soft shirt. He could think of things to do with her if she only had on that shirt and nothing else.
All of her movements were careful as she juggled the mug of hot coffee. At last, she moved over and sat down across from him, and smiled. Now they could talk in private.
"Let's get into the meat of the subject. You are not the average person under contract to the Transformed." She tipped her cup at him and then drank.
"I'm sure. Actually, I'm only in this for the rescue of your troop and the weapon. I need a favor from Commander Ereck, and it seemed the only way the bastard would co-operate was to do something for him first."
