by TR Cameron
They navigated two more of the invisible tripwires before the passage changed, widening out ten feet ahead. Khan stopped them and warned, “Moments of transition like this are always good spots for trouble. Especially right before the changeover.” He spoke with the confidence of long experience rigging traps. As the agents’ primary demolition man, such things were his specialty. He led them into the larger space cautiously, everyone scanning the walls, floors, and ceiling for dangers.
When they were all inside, an unexpected set of metal bars dropped into place in front of and behind them. They all crouched, seeking additional threats. The sound of hissing announced the dispersal of gas into their area. Thank goodness our masks filter out hazardous chemicals. Ruby felt good about that for almost an entire second before Khan observed, “That’s gasoline vapor.”
The tunnel widened ahead, and Diana took the lead position from Rath. She sent the other agent, Tony Ryan to the back. She gripped the rifle hanging from the strap at her chest and pointed it forward, then moved forward in a slow crouch, walking heel to toe and keeping her balance centered. The comms fell suddenly silent, the hiss of the open channel that was their constant companion absent. Ryan said, “Jamming. Working on it.” He was responsible for local tech and operated effectively even without Glam and Deacon backing him up.
She replied, “We can’t wait. Keep moving.” She spotted the openings in the wall an instant before the bars tried to slam out and trap them. Dropping her rifle, she summoned force magic and pushed back, holding them immobile. “Go through quickly.” The strain against her power wasn’t an immediate problem, but she couldn’t restrain the barriers forever, either. When the others were through, she released the rear one, moved out of the planned trap, and let the other go. As it locked into place, gas hissed from vents in the ceiling. She led her team farther down the tunnel, then turned thoughtfully. “Automatic trap, or did someone deploy it?”
Rath replied, “I didn’t see a trigger.”
Morrigan said, “Me neither, so maybe they turned on the jamming to hide the system of cameras or whatever they’re using?”
She nodded. “Possible. Let’s not disappoint them.” She summoned an orb of fire in her hand and threw it at the bars. When it met the gas, it exploded in a fiery conflagration. “Hopefully, that’ll confuse them. Time to move.”
Ruby created a gust of wind and blew the gas through the metal fence and back along the tunnel. “Don’t know if they were trying to suffocate us, incinerate us, or whatever, but let’s not find out. Idryll, can you do something with those bars?”
The shapeshifter nodded. The rails were fairly far apart, and a few more inches on each side would give them room to squeeze through. She performed the partial transformation Ruby had watched her often practicing in the recent past, adding the musculature of her tiger form to parts of her body while holding onto the benefits of leverage and, well, hands her humanoid physique offered. She strained at the bars, and Ruby envisioned a horizontal line of force between them, calling the magic into being and attempting to widen it, adding more pressure to the vertical rails. They parted with a groan, and the team went through cautiously, one by one. Khan said, “The time for subtlety seems to be at an end. Let’s do this.”
They charged forward in a line, and when the tunnel ended in a door, Ruby used force magic to blast off its hinges and send it into the room without breaking stride. They entered a large space, roughly rectangular, that looked like it had been chopped out of the stone by physical labor. It was home to a half-dozen tables with surprised-looking beings around them, as well as a bunch of guards. She noted two other entrances to the chamber, a broad set of double doors to her left and one identical to their entry portal ahead of her. That one banged open an instant later to reveal the other team moving at speed into the area.
Ruby strengthened her shields, drew her pistol, and yelled, “Everyone down and no one gets hurt.”
Predictably, not one of them dropped to the floor. Instead, half of the group started to grab things off the tables while the other half moved to attack the invaders, particularly the one who had shouted at them a moment before. Why doesn’t anyone ever listen to me?
Chapter Three
Diana noted the other team’s presence across the room, but the scene inside caught her attention. A dozen magicals were on the move to repel their invasion, and about that number were grabbing stuff off the tables and shoving it into bags or bins. She snapped, “Barb, engage anyone at range. Stark, you stay back. Make sure they don’t escape through these tunnels. Rambo, you have right. I’ll take center.” She had to shout the words because the jamming was still interfering with their comms.
Mental note, have Glam and Deacon figure out how they compromised our communication and ensure it never happens again. She lifted her rifle and squeezed off three bullets at the lead enemy. The elf summoned a magical shield, but the anti-magic rounds ignored it on their way to lodging in his chest and shoulder. His last-minute flinch saved him from her center mass aim, but he was out of the fight. If he doesn’t get quick medical attention, he’ll soon be out of everything. Diana recalled moments in her career where she’d felt concern and remorse about such events. Now, after her team gave a warning, she considered combat damage simply the result of a foe’s poor choices and slept soundly afterward.
To her right, Rath hurled knives at high speed, depleting all six of his daggers in twice that many seconds. They flew true, and while they succeeded in impaling the first enemy he targeted, the second summoned a shield to block them. She traversed her aim to the next target, then had to dive aside as one of the tables hurtled forward directly in between her and her objective. Dammit, they coped with the anti-magic bullets much faster than I would’ve liked. She dropped the rifle to hang from its strap and drew her sword, Fury’s battle cry echoing in her head. She charged at the one who threw the table at her, a dwarf with a nasty scar wearing an expression to match.
Morrigan had few targeting options, given the general melee that was developing. She let the first arrow fly in a shallow arc over the heads of the front ranks. It landed in the back of the chamber, smacking one of the people fleeing toward the room’s rear exit. The impact only caused her target to stumble forward, but when the knockout gas spread, that person fell. Another was quick on the uptake, casting a spell to move the vapor away, smartly sending it back at the nearest attacker. If we weren’t wearing masks, that play might have been effective.
Her fingers had already found the next arrow in her quiver, and she fitted it to the string and loosed it. It slammed into the rear wall, discharging vibrations that would mess with the inner ear of anyone in a six-foot semi-circle. She assumed the stone would stop it from penetrating beyond the room but had never tested to see. Another item for the to-do list. Its effects were immediate, and those nearest stumbled and fell to the floor as their sense of balance abandoned them. The power cell in the arrow was only good for about ten seconds, but it would be enough to keep a few people out of the fight during its active stage and for however long it took them to regain their equilibrium after.
Her fingers brushed against an explosive arrow, but she decided that would be literal overkill in such a small space. Instead, she chose one of the sharpened arrows that had inspired her call sign and searched the battlefield for the most powerful-looking enemy who wasn’t currently paying attention to her. She found a hulking Kilomea that had been standing guard against the back wall and was now charging into the melee. An instant later, the missile was speeding toward him.
Idryll had charged forward as soon as the enemy had moved. She concentrated to maintain some extra strength in her arms and torso, not as much as she’d needed to bend the bars, but sufficient to give her an additional edge in the fight. Not that I really need another edge. She extended her claws, the sharp talons coming out of her fingertips, and leapt with a shout toward the closest elf. He summoned a fast shield that wasn’t strong enough to stop her completely, and she scor
ed a trio of bloody furrows along his cheek. Only his last-minute twist saved the eye she’d targeted. She stabbed the other hand in at his sternum, but he blocked down with a hard strike, numbing her fingers. It was only when the knee crashed into her stomach ahead of her instinctive block that she realized he had amplified his speed. She straightened from her reflexive protective curve and retreated into a fighting stance to await his next attack.
It didn’t take long to arrive. His combat style was quick and short-range, intended to offer an opponent the smallest possible amount of time to react to his incredibly fast strikes. She let her thoughts go and trusted instinct, and her claws sliced along both of his arms as she deflected punches that were almost too swift to see. She caught a rising kick on her foot and spun as soon as she returned it to the ground, bringing a heel around toward his head. He dropped to avoid it and punched her knee.
Idryll twisted enough that the joint didn’t break, but the leg collapsed underneath her. She rolled in that direction and came up quickly, jamming her leg backward in a back kick. It caught the incoming elf and knocked him back a step. She set that foot down and spun, feinting another kick and bringing her fist around at temple height. His effort to deflect it was too slow, and he flew sideways from the force of the amplified blow, no longer a threat.
She pointed across the chamber at one of the two Kilomea who had been flanking the rear doors when they’d entered. He nodded and beckoned her forward, drawing a long ax from a sheath on his back. I do so love a good playmate.
Ruby still hadn’t developed the instinct of going for her gun first, and by the time her brain thought of it, furniture was already flying through the room as a physical barrier to defend against the anti-magic rounds. In the interim, she had whipped a line of force at the nearest enemy, wrapped it around his feet, and yanked it hard to drop him onto his back. A stream of flame followed immediately after, but the elf had the presence of mind to summon a shield to intercept it. She charged toward the center of the chamber, leaving him for someone else to finish.
The clatter of a grenade accompanied by billowing smoke signaled Khan’s entry into the fight, and Croft was already halfway through the space, daggers in her hands as she raced at a pair of defenders who were falling back toward the rear doors. It had quickly become evident that members of the enemy group were heading through that exit, carrying items away that probably included the artifacts they sought. Ruby used a force blast to launch herself into the air, fully intending to sail over the fray using the two-story height of the chamber to her advantage. It was not to be, however. A gnome employed her tactics against her by wrapping a line of shadow around her ankles and jerking her toward the ground.
The touch of the dark power woke the artifact in her arm, and its chatter in her mind urged her to put it to use, offered help with no strings. Right. As if. She pushed the idea aside as she used force magic to cushion her impact on the stone floor. Ruby rolled and sent a stuttering blast of fire darts at the gnome, forcing him to summon a shield and abandon the shadow rope around her ankles. She drew her sword in one hand and her dagger in the other as she rose, and used the latter to call up a shield to intercept the shadow bolts he threw at her face.
For a moment, they remained motionless, regarding each other. He was of average height for his species and wore a vest full of bulging pockets. A screwdriver handle stuck out of one, and she wondered if he was a technomancer like her and Margrave. She decided it was something to check out later because that might have implications for the bigger picture and charged him. By the time she crossed the distance, he had summoned a large staff made of force, with a wicked edge along the top and bottom portions. It was a magical weapon of the type she’d never seen before, most analogous to a double-ended spear. It gave him the reach his size took away, and he spun the object with more skill and strength than she would’ve expected.
Ruby deflected the first swing with a raised sword, but he quickly disengaged it and stabbed at her eyes, again much more skillfully than predicted. She took a step backward and yanked her head back to avoid it, then threw out a force blast intended to knock him off his feet. He let go of the spear with one hand and cast a spell to nullify hers without breaking the rotational pattern of his defense. Damn, the little guy’s good. Not good enough though, unless he has eyes in the back of his head.
She reached out with her force magic, grabbed one of the tables already in midair, and pulled. The gnome—who was halfway between her and the object—lost his grip on the spear at its impact and stumbled forward in an uncontrolled rush. Her knee snapped to meet his head as he came into range, and he went down. She yelled, “I’m going after the ones who escaped,” then turned toward the doors.
They slammed shut in front of her, and another one of the heavy gates fell to block her path, dropping several inches under the floor’s surface into a hidden channel. These bars were so close together that there would be no bending them aside. “Dammit,” she muttered and spun back to deal with the bad guys who weren’t on the other side of the barrier.
Chapter Four
Cleaning out the remainder of the enemies took only a few minutes. After their numbers fell below a critical mass, they dropped to their knees and surrendered, and Diana’s agents converged to bind their hands and feet with zip ties and stabilize those in need of medical attention. Meanwhile, the rest of them moved to the back of the room. Diana slammed a force blast out at the gate, but it did nothing more than rattle it.
Morrigan asked, “Maybe fire?”
Ruby shook her head. “We don’t have the sort of temperature to melt metal without additional chemicals or whatever. We have to either figure out how to raise it or brute force it.”
“I am the brute squad,” Rath replied and grew to his seven-foot size in the time it took him to reach the gate. He motioned to Idryll, and the shapeshifter did that thing where she made herself stronger, the muscles in her body bulging enough to seem downright unnatural on her humanoid figure. Together, they gripped the bars and tried to lift the barrier, but it wouldn’t budge. Rath, his voice much deeper in this form, said, “Something must be blocking it.”
Diana nodded. “Makes sense. Deploys by gravity, probably with a latch that holds it in place on each side once it falls past. Wouldn’t even have to be a big one. Let’s try again, but use telekinesis to help.” They summoned their magics and worked together, and while the metal groaned, it steadfastly refused to rise. Diana sighed. “We’re not going to let this stop us. Whatever your hardest-hitting magic is, do what you can to build it up.” She raised her voice and called, “Croft, get over here.”
It took them a moment to organize the plan, then they created a semi-circle around the door and launched all their magics at once. The gate blew back through the doors, hurtling into the room beyond. It slammed into the tail of a heavy truck headed up a ramp on the opposite side. They charged in, throwing magic at the departing vehicle, but nothing hit. Tony Ryan ran over to some equipment set in the wall, and suddenly their comms worked properly again. Diana snapped, “Glam, Deacon, tell me you have them.”
Deacon sounded slightly offended. “Of course. Two drones on the vehicles now. Several are on foot, heading cross-country. We’re tasking additional drones to them.”
“Good work. We’re going after the vehicles. Are the drones armed?”
Glam replied, “Non-lethal only.”
“Dammit, why?”
“Because we chose the ones with longer range since you’re out in the middle of freaking nowhere, and they can’t carry both weapon types because of weight and power issues. Plus, you know, it’s not nice to kill people.”
During the conversation, the teams moved toward a pair of vehicles the escapees had left behind, presumably those that would’ve contained the defenders. Diana ordered, “Jewel, Barb, Cat, Rambo, with me. We’re going after the cars. The rest of you clean up the runners.” Affirmative replies came as Diana climbed behind the wheel and Ruby took the shotgun position
. The truck wasn’t as big as a Humvee, but it was larger than any commercial model she’d ridden in. The tires spun, then grabbed as Diana slammed on the accelerator, and they shot out after their targets.
Now that the comms worked again, data flowed to the lenses of her mask. A small window filled with the feed from the drones and overlaid a wireframe map showing the road and their distance from the targets across the rest of one eye. Three vehicles had escaped, and fortunately the path ahead offered no areas where they could veer off for several miles unless they wanted to go off-roading. Diana ordered, “Bring down a drone. Let’s see what a stun blast does to the one in front.”
Diana piloted the car smoothly, and Ruby imagined the others were watching the drone feed the same as she was. Rath muttered, “Caltrops. Light, and would be good against cars.”
Glam replied, “Excellent idea, Rambo. We’ll add that into the next drone design.”
“And into my flight equipment, I think.”
Ruby made a mental note to do the same for her larger drones. The troll was right. Packed properly, they wouldn’t take much space or add much weight, especially if she used the correct materials. I bet Margrave would know the best choices to balance those imperatives. Plus, he’ll be totally into using such an old-school weapon in a new tech craft. That was one of the qualities they shared, the sheer joy of finding innovative uses for already existing things. The drone caught up and launched its attack. The car swerved slightly but didn’t otherwise react. Then the back window rolled down, and a fireball slammed into the drone, destroying it. Glam shouted, “Dammit, now I’m angry.”
Ruby watched the feed as the second drone swooped in toward the escapees. This time, it looped around the vehicle’s front and rammed into the driver’s side of the windshield instead of trying anything fancy. The video went dead, the last view a shocked expression on the man's face behind the wheel, but by then they were near enough to see the convoy in the distance. A cloud of sand, dust, and smoke flew up as the truck tumbled off the road, rolling repeatedly. The number of times it flipped ensured that anyone inside would be concussed, at the least, so they could collect them at leisure later. Ruby dismissed it from her thoughts and focused on the other two. “I have a solution for one, but not the other.”
