by James McEwan
Kára entered the fight with an entrance befitting a Valkyrie. Her armor seemed to be encased in blue electricity. Under her, each foot was a disk of pure energy, which enabled her to float above the battle. She would hold her hand up as if she had a spear in her hand. Then, in a flash, she would move her arm as if she was throwing something, which she was. Every time she did this, a lightning bolt would fly from her hand and strike the ground, tree, or marine. No matter what she hit, it exploded. She was blowing holes in the floor and weakening the building even further.
One of the holes she created in the floor was close enough that a marine fell through and landed on the bed of the room below. He was burned from head to toe, the poor elderly couple that had been on their first vacation in years was huddled together trying to hide between the bed and the wall. The old lady screamed when the body hit the bed, bounced off it, and landed next to them.
The marines had walked into an ambush, and they were trying to gain fire superiority, but all the smoke and fire was making their lasers ineffective. So they abandoned their rifles for grenades. The remaining marines started to toss grenades up and onto the floor above them. Thud after thud shook the floors as the grenades started exploding. One landed near St. Claire. He saw the grenade and dropped his weapon. He was diving for cover behind a large planter when it went off. Because he was in midair when it exploded, the shockwave pushed him into the wall. Luckily for St. Claire, the planter took the brunt of the shrapnel, but he didn’t escape unscathed. His right shoulder slammed into the wall and he heard a sharp crack.
Thad was overcome with tunnel vision. The only thing he cared about was killing Marcus. He jumped over the handrail and dropped the eight feet to the floor below. He hit and rolled to lessen the shock of the fall. As he rolled to his feet Marcus fired, the laser burned through Thad’s right chest, collapsing his lung. The pain was intense, but strangely, the more he was injured the more he could handle the pain.
Thad returned fire, letting loose a long burst, the rounds striking Marcus in the right arm. The explosive rounds shredded it. Marcus lost his weapon when he lost his arm, but he was driven to kill and he didn’t stop his advance. With his left arm, he pulled a force blade from its sheath, which was attached to his belt behind his back. He flipped on the force field and the familiar green glow lit up the blade.
Thad pulled the trigger again, but the weapon jammed and only a single round left the barrel. Marcus was too close for the explosive head to arm, and passed through Marcus missing everything crucial.
Marcus closed the distance, pushed Thad’s rifle aside, and jammed the force blade into Thad’s abdomen. The blade burned as it went in. Marcus pushed it so deep that it severed Thad’s spine. He lost control of his legs and fell backward. Marcus wouldn’t let go of the blade and it was pulled clear as Thad fell. Marcus held the blade up high ready to deliver the coup de grâce when a plasma grenade went off near them. A wave of plasma washed over the men and both Marcus and Thad suffered third-degree burns over most of the right side of their bodies. Wounded and severely burned, both men lay on the edge of death.
Kára witnessed the plasma explosion and watched as Thad was badly burned. She dropped down next to him. She gently cradled him in her arms, and the two of them floated back up to the top floor. The marines were quick to understand that they were not going to win this fight. The highest ranking marine still alive was a master sergeant, who ordered them to pull back. The arboretum was on fire and the smoke was getting so thick that it was hard to see and even harder to breathe.
Two marines grabbed Marcus’s burnt and broken body and dragged him to the stairway. He was still alive, if just barely. The unit’s medic was called for and when he got there he went to work stabilizing him. There they did their best to stabilize him before they carried him back downstairs.
On the top floor Mr. Black, Quincy and Doctor Hammer left the safety of the armory to find the others. As they made their way through the smoke towards the arboretum Quincy asked. “Doesn’t this building have a fire suppression system?”
“Yes it does, but the controls for it were in the lobby and I’m afraid they must have been destroyed” Mr. Black said, as he choked on the smoke.
The found St. Claire sitting with his back to a wall behind a destroyed planter. He was a mix of dirt, plant matter, and blood. Doctor Hammer went straight to his side to examine him. “Where are you hit, son?”
St. Claire looked himself over. “Not sure, but I can’t move my right shoulder.”
“Hm. Looks like it is dislocated, maybe broken, can’t tell. I need to get you to a med bay. Can you walk?” Doctor Hammer asked.
“I feel like I just got hit by a car, but I think I can walk” St. Claire said, as he tried to stand. Quincy and Doctor Hammer helped him to his feet.
As they got St. Claire to his feet, Kára walked up to them carrying Thad’s burned and broken body. “I’m sorry, but he didn’t make it, but he fought like a true warrior and he died like one as well.”
“If we don’t get out of here we will all be joining him.” St. Claire said. They all knew that escape was now their primary concern. They followed Mr. Black to the roof access stairwell. As they climbed the stairs to the roof everyone left alive in the building chose to flee the building any way they could. The badly damaged building, with smoke and fire billowing from both the top and bottom, could no longer sustain the Holographic façade. It blinked several times before finally going out leaving the battered building naked for the rest of the world to see.
Outside there was a massive response of emergency vehicles and personnel. The media was thick as a swarm of bees with their robotic cameras floating all around the building trying to jockey for the best shot of the action. Down at street level reporters were speaking into lenses, reporting on the event, calling it the biggest terrorist attack in city history. Little did they know that the real terrorists were the government troops.
Marcus was carried to a waiting medical van, which whisked him off to the nearest hospital. While on the roof, St. Claire and the others watched as a Thunderbird class attack transport landed. The large tilt jets blasted them with a wave of hot air. The ramp lowered and they climbed aboard. Mr. Black left them in the back and went to the cockpit. He placed his hand on the shoulder of the helmeted pilot, who looked up at him. “Did you take care of any air support?”
The pilot was a woman, a former Starguard marine fighter pilot who had been discharged for having a gambling problem. Her debts got out of control and she was told that excessive gambling was considered conduct unbecoming of an officer. Those debts happened to be owned by Mr. Black and he allowed her to work them off by being his personal pilot. “Yes Sir, shot down their drone and they never even seen it coming. The airspace is clear of any police or military craft for the time being, but that won’t last.”
“Good work, now get us out of here.” Mr. Black said.
“Where to, Sir?”
“Take us to the yacht, we have a trip to Earth, I think.” he said in return.
“Yes Sir.” she turned back to the controls and gently, but quickly lifted off, just as the fire was starting to lick the sides of the landing pad.
In the back, Doctor Hammer found a med kit, and was working on dressing St. Claire’s wounds, while Kára lay Thad’s body down on one of the benches. She found an emergency blanket and draped it over Thad’s head just as he gasped for air. The sudden movement and unexpected return to life startled her and she jumped backward knocking over Quincy in the process.
“Hey, what the hell!” Quincy said, as he hit the floor.
“He’s still alive!” She cried out.
Doctor Hammer left St. Claire who was as good as he was going to get until he got to a medical facility of some kind, and went to Thad’s side. His eyes blinked open and he tried to talk, but Doctor Hammer hushed him. “Don’t try to talk son, your throat and lungs were badly burned and it is going to be a while before you can talk.”
Thad
ignored him and in a raspy whisper he asked. “Why can’t I feel my legs?”
“It looks like your alternate stuck you with his pig sticker and it severed your spine. Now you rest up and if my nano's are as good as I think they are you will be up in a day or two.” Doctor Hammer said as he gave Thad an injection, a mixture of painkillers and sedatives. Thad tried to talk again, but his eyes rolled back and his lids slid closed.
“How is this possible?” Kára asked, stunned at what she was witnessing.
“It’s a bit of long story, one that I will be more than happy to tell you once my patients are taken care of.” Doctor Hammer said, as he did everything that he could to make Thad comfortable.
Quincy looked at everyone. “I guess I will go check on Mr. Black.” He entered the cockpit where the pilot was busy flying the craft while Mr. Black was sitting in the copilot’s seat with a headset on busily screaming at someone or something. Quincy turned around and returned to the back.
It was a ten-minute flight for the high-speed transport and when they touched down, they were at a private spaceport on the very back end of the city. Once they landed, they were met by two men dressed in the traditional white uniforms of a ship’s crewmen. They were pushing two gurneys, but when St. Claire saw them, he refused it. He walked with Kára’s help.
Thad was wheeled into the medical bay and even though St. Claire refused, he ended up there too. Doctor Hammer and the ship’s doctor went to work removing the shrapnel from St. Claire’s back, butt, and lower legs. Thad was placed in a bed and given an IV, as well as an NG tube to feed him. It had only been a short time and he was already looking better.
Mr. Black went see the yacht’s Captain, while Quincy, not having an idea what to do, watched as the fighter pilot supervised the loading of her craft into the cargo bay of the yacht. He found her quite attractive, with her deeply tanned skin, which was almost caramel in color. Her soft brown eyes with her striking sharp facial features reminded him of a gypsy girl he once saw when he was just a kid back in New York.
She noticed he was watching her, and so after her baby was safely stowed away, she walked up to him. “She is a beauty isn’t she?”
He was so engrossed watching her tight body as she approached him he blurted out. “Yes, you sure are.” She laughed at him and that snapped him back to reality. “What, no, yes your ship is beautiful.” he stumbled over his words.
She smiled at him and took him by the arm. “Don’t sweat it. Do you think I have never been ogled by a man before?” He was a loss for words. “Come on, you can buy me a drink in the onboard bar.” She tugged him up the gangway and onto the yacht. Shortly after the ground rumbled as the pleasure yacht slowly lifted off the pad and took to the sky. She had been built for luxury and not for speed. It was going to be at least two weeks to Earth, more than enough time for Thad and St. Claire to recover.
Chapter 32
Marcus was rushed to the local hospital’s emergency room, where he was treated and stabilized. Minutes after surgery, a tall dark haired woman dressed all in black showed up at the hospital and took charge of Marcus. She had him transferred back to the secret medical center at the Red Star Mining company building in New Dallas. Once there, he was fitted with a robotic prosthesis to replace his right arm. He didn’t want to wait for the tech to dye the plasta flesh to match his skin color. He chose to leave the arm uncovered, and with the slowly healing burns, it made him look really creepy.
A day passed and Marcus was back on his feet ready to continue the fight. Marcus dressed slowly as the pain from the healing skin hurt every time he moved. He strapped his trademark pistols to his thighs and dressed in a new set of black body armor when he went to see Thorne.
Thorne sat in his office reading over the after action report. Outside, his secretary was busy typing death notices to the families of the lost marines. Marcus limped up to her desk. “I need to see him now.” He was curt with her.
“I’m sorry Sir, but he gave me strict orders not to allow anyone in today. Besides, he is not in a good mood after yesterday’s events” she said, holding her ground.
“Dammit, woman, he will see me now! Llt me in!” he barked at her.
Not phased a bit, she stood up --- all five foot four inches of her. “Sir, yelling at me is not going to help you. He said 'no', and that means 'no'. Now, you are not even supposed to be out of medical for another week, so I suggest you turn around and march your ass back to medical before I call security and have you dragged back and sedated.”
Marcus was not about to be stopped by anyone, let alone a small woman. He grumbled and walked past her desk, and grabbed the door handle with his flesh arm. “Sir! Sir, you can’t go in there!” she yelled, as she grabbed his robot arm trying to stop him.
He shook her loose and opened the door. She tried one more time to stop him, when he let her have it. He slapped her across her face with his robot arm. She crumpled like a paper doll. Her mouth exploded with blood as several teeth went sailing. From inside Throne watched the monster of a man strike his secretary.
Thorne stood up and in his best commanding voice yelled. “Marcus, control yourself. Dammit, man! When did you start going around slapping women?” Thorne was many things, but in a lot of ways, he was old-fashioned. He believed that women were to be treated like ladies and if one had to be killed, it was to be done quick and clean. He had never struck a woman and never tolerated it from his men.
Marcus looked at Thorne with fire in his eyes that was as hot as the fire that had melted his face. “She was in my way.”
“It’s okay Captain, go to medical get yourself looked at then take the rest of the day off. Oh and then go buy yourself something nice and put on my personal card.” The Captain picked herself up, nodded, and then left.
Throne then turned on Marcus. “What in hell are you doing here? You are supposed to be in medical for another week, at least.”
Marcus limped into the room and stood across from Throne’s desk. “I’m fine and ready for duty.”
Throne sat down. “Marcus look at yourself. You look like a monster, with the burns, and with that arm.” he paused as he pointed to the uncovered hand. “You will stick out like a sore thumb. No, you are to stand down and rest. I have already ordered Sasha to complete your mission.”
“Sir, I have never failed a mission and I’m not going to let my wounds prevent me from doing so now. I’m fine, and by the time, I get to Earth I will be healed up enough to do my job. I want to finish this.”
Throne’s jaw tightened a bit. “Marcus, your devotion to duty is admirable. However, you are in no condition to carry out anything. My God, man, you can barely walk. No, you are to stand down and return to the medical center. That’s an order.”
“But Sir, all I need is clearance to use your stealth ship. With it, I can beat them to Earth and I have a plan. I can finish this.” he pleaded with Throne.
“I have already ordered Sasha to use the stealth ship, she leaves within the hour. Now, no more talk of this. You are to go back to the medical center” Throne said, through clenched teeth.
Marcus stood there not moving, something deep inside his psyche snapped. Completing his mission was the only thought in his head. It blazed away inside of his mind. It became all-consuming. Throne looked at him. “Did the explosion damage your hearing? Get out of my office and get your ass back to medical.”
Thorne picked up the report and continued to read. Marcus unholstered his pistol and with his robot arm he aimed it at Thorne’s head. Thorne heard the pistol clear the holster and without looking up he said. “I wouldn’t bother. You can’t kill me, no matter what you try.”
Marcus struggled for a minute, and then he said. “Sir, you are in my way.”
Throne looked up at the pistol pointed right between his eyes. “Excuse me?”
Whatever had snapped inside of Marcus’s mind somehow allowed him to override the programming that prevented him from harming Thorne. He squeezed the trigger and in a flash,
the back of Thorne’s head and most of his brains splashed the back of his chair and onto the wall behind him. Thorne slumped forward onto his desk, blood drained from the hole and started to pool beneath him.
Marcus reholstered his weapon and limped out of the office. He went straight to the lift and pushed the button for the aircraft bay. He stood in the lift formulating his plan as the lift carried him upwards. The lift dinged, then the door slid open. In front of him were two crewmen loading supplies into the cargo hold. He limped up to them. “Hey guys, have you seen Sasha yet?”
“Yes Sir, she is already on board.” one of them answered.
“Thanks.” he said, as he climbed the ramp with much effort.
Inside he found Sasha in the corridor that led from the crew quarters to the bridge. She was surprised to see him. “Marcus! What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in medical for another week?”
“I’m fine, and I wanted to see this through” he replied.
“What about Thorne, does he know? He would never give you clearance to come out on a mission when you are this bad off.”
“It was a hard sell, but I just came from his office and he finally saw things my way and gave in. You can check with him if you want.”
Not sure, she believed him. “I think I will. You wait here, I will be right back.” she turned and walked away. She didn’t walk more than ten steps before she heard the click of the hammer being pulled back. “Shit.” was all she said, then it was over for her. Marcus shot her in the back of the head. It only took one shot. He stepped past her body and the gore on the walls. He entered the bridge just as the Captain stood up.
“Was that gunfire I just heard?” he asked.
