Gragas ran up to the lodge and burst through the open doorway with the rest of the Knights and Jozi and Ozzy following.
Ozzy halted and surveyed the great room. What looked like an information desk sat at one side, and dirty, worn chairs and sofas littered the area.
The place looked untouched for years. Cobwebs covered the walls and corners. Soot sat atop the window frames, and dust was everywhere.
Quad stood at the entrance as Dizzy was the last to enter. In all, the Galactic Knight count was seven. Jozi and Ozzy made nine.
It would be nine against hundreds or more.
To say they would be outnumbered was an understatement.
Gragas found a window and aimed his photon rifle at the forest line. “Everyone, find a window. Break it if you have to. We’ll shoot at them from here. Be calm, precise, and communicate.”
Ozzy pressed up against a wall and unstrapped his rifle. He targeted the forest, waiting for the Dunrakee.
Jozi was a window down from him.
“I’m pulling up the troops’ location. Give me a sec.” Quad paused, eyeing something in his helmet. “They’ll be in the clearing in less than ten seconds. They don’t seem to be slowing down.”
A Galactic Knight in all black with silver eyepieces stood next to Ozzy. “Do you need assistance, my friend?” Her voice was robotic like the rest of the Galactic Knights. An orange and silver tuft of fur peeked through her battle suit collar. There was a familiarity to her that Ozzy couldn’t pinpoint, and in this short time, he didn’t have the desire to figure it out.
“I probably do,” he replied but couldn’t get his archaeology mind off of the race this Galactic Knight might be. “Are you a feline, like Lyra No Tail?”
“I’m an Elix, yes. Just call me Kat. And Lyra—”
“Fire when I give the order,” came Gragas, his voice booming over Kat’s words.
Ozzy brought his attention to the clearing outside, and the first Dunrakee soldier walked past the tree line, moving slowly toward the lodge. He held his gun, pointing it forward. The trees behind him shook, and one tree fell, pounding against the earth and sending a cloud of dirt and leaves into the air.
A hovertank floated over the debris, and the tank’s turret rotated, aiming the large barrel at its intended target—Ozzy’s section of the lodge.
“Get ready,” yelled Gragas.
More troops trudged out from the forest, walking almost in a crouch and looking all around, being observant and ready.
Ozzy wiped the sweat off his upper lip. “Why couldn’t I have taken a career in carpentry?”
Kat mewed, sounding much like Lyra No Tail. “You aren’t the type, Ozzy.”
“It would have staved off half of my stress in life, if not more.”
She snickered. “And what’s the fun in that?”
“Quad, on my mark, target the tank. And the rest of you, on my mark, give ‘em hell,” ordered Gragas. A brief pause ensued as more soldiers entered the clearing. “May the Great Spirit be with us. Now, fire!”
34
Earth • Ancient Athapaskan Land, California
Ozzy pulled the trigger, and his photon rifle vibrated and bounced off of his shoulder. He took shot after shot. All around him, the Galactic Knights lit up the clearing with weapons fire, and the Dunrakee fell, slumping over onto the grass with their blood turning the brownish-green groundcover into a red-toned liquid.
The hovertank’s cannon spun and let out a cracking bang. Fire expelled from the muzzle, and Ozzy spun from his position and jumped toward Jozi.
He slammed his shoulder into Jozi’s back as she took a shot. Her rifle flew from her hands, and she hit the dusty floor.
Kat grabbed them both and covered them with her body.
Krakoom!
The lodge shook, and the portion of the wall near Ozzy crumbled apart. Chunks of rock and crushed cement fell to the floor and fogged the room.
Ozzy’s ears rung like a bell, and he grabbed Jozi’s rifle and handed it to her. “Keep firing. You’re our crackshot.”
Kat thrust a weapon in Ozzy’s hands. “You’re not a crackshot, but honey, keep shooting.” She spun around and leaned next to an opening, pointing her rifle toward the oncoming Dunrakee. “I, on the other hand, am better than a crackshot.”
She lit up the clearing, downing several soldiers.
Another blast rattled the other side of the lodge, and a gun went flying, twirling across the room and sliding against Kat’s boot.
She kicked it back across the room. “Keep your guns to yourself, Avax.”
A big guy with a shimmering blue battle suit, nearly three meters tall and built like a rock, grabbed his weapon. “My apologies, Kat.” He dipped his head and went back to shooting.
Jozi wiped dirt off her face and crawled to another window, keeping low.
Quad walked forward and stood in front of a blown-out wall and aimed his cannon at the tank.
Kakoom! Kakoom! Kakoom!
Any other man would have fallen off his feet from the recoil, but Quad wasn’t any man.
Several photon cannons blasted the tank, lifting it high into the air and sending an inferno through it.
The tank expanded, and a large concussion burst blew out the top and sides. Armor from the tank rocketed outward in shards, slamming against Dunrakee soldiers.
Ozzy rolled to his stomach and set up position next to Quad, using the impenetrable alien as cover. Quad continued to litter the clearing with fury; his shots sending globs of dirt and Dunrakee into the air.
Ozzy held his trigger down, not knowing if he were hitting anyone and not caring. As long as he was sending photon bolts into the clearing, he was slowing down the enemy.
“Keep hammering away,” shouted Gragas.
Quad stopped firing. He put his hand on his helmet, watching something inside it. “We have incoming starfighters. They’ll strafe the lodge.”
The sound of the craft was already piercing the structure and vibrating the walls. They were coming from the east.
Jozi rushed to an eastern wall. It was made from rock like most of the building. She placed her palmed against the rock structure. “Get against this wall. It’ll block the strafing run. The roof won’t.”
Ozzy glanced at the roof. It was made from logs. A barrage of photon energy weapons would burn through it quickly.
Gragas rushed in Quad’s direction. “Let’s get on the roof and shoot as many down as we can.”
Quad held up his thumb in agreement, and they went through a busted window.
The starfighters rumbled closer.
“Brace,” yelled Jozi, getting into a crouch and pressing against the wall. The rest of the Galactic Knights mimicked her. Ozzy went low, holding his hands over his head.
Zoota! Zoota! Zoota!
The starfighters let loose, and Ozzy pulled his arms close to his sides, making himself as small as possible.
The first photon blast hit, striking against the upper wall they were leaning against. It crashed and broke into a thousand pieces, puffing out dust, rock, and smoke.
A thick blanket of pulverized rock tumbled over Ozzy, pushing him facedown. He spun, pushed away the debris, and found another portion of the wall as cover.
The building jostled, and another strafing blast went through the roof, cracking through a few logs, and slamming into the floor.
A broken log plummeted, pushing through the floor when it hit. A plume of dirt and dust stirred the air.
Wapooh! Wapooh!
Ozzy looked up.
Jozi and the Knights were already at the windows, firing at the enemy.
A concussion cracked the air, and starfighter engines screamed across the sky.
Did Quad or Gragas down a Dunrakee pilot?
He scrambled to his feet.
A fire burst through the windows, and a boom picked up energy and grabbed him. He lifted off his feet and was tossed against a far wall. Upon impact, he went limp like a rag doll, sliding down and slumping t
o the floor.
He stared into yet another hole in the wall. A starfighter was in pieces in the middle of the battlefield. Dead Dunrakee soldiers littered the ground, and others were frantically rolling around to put out the flames consuming their bodies. Gragas and Quad had indeed downed a starfighter.
Ozzy went to stand but fell on his haunches. He was dizzy, and his muscles were suddenly weak.
Quad and Gragas rushed through an opening in the wall and dashed toward Ozzy and the rest of the Knights.
“More starfighters are on their way. Inbound in five minutes,” yelled Gragas.
Ozzy glanced around. All the Knights were lying on the floor, lined up along the wall Ozzy was thrown against.
Jozi was on her side, rubbing her back and clearly in pain.
A few Knights were lying motionless. Dizzy was next to one of his comrades, jabbing a device under the fallen Knight’s chin. It was Ajax. His battle suit was half melted, and chunks were broken off the shoulder and arm. A red burn mark streaked the guy’s now bubbled and blistered purple neck.
Ozzy went to get up to help Jozi—to get her out of the building and as far away from here as possible. For all he knew, more Dunrakee troops were advancing, readying to end the human and Galactic Knight threat.
He hobbled to a standing position and tried to take a step, but his knees buckled, sending him to the floor. He had a headache, and he was nauseous. He was everything he didn’t want to be during a fight for his life.
He reached for Gragas, who was attending to another motionless Knight.
Gragas nodded at him. “Ozzy, our ship is fixed and ready. It’s on the way.”
Quad lifted Ajax’s arm and let it flop to the floor. “This one is dead.” He pulled out a golden ball, no bigger than a pinball and just as shiny.
He tossed it in the air. It transformed into a small spider-looking robot. It landed on Ajax’s chest and crawled under his mask. It was heading to the Knight’s mouth where it would climb inside and heal the dead warrior from the inside out.
It was how Quad saved Ozzy’s dying brother not too long ago.
“More troops are amassing and will be here soon,” said Quad, tapping his helmet, reading his helmet’s internal heads-up display.
The small robot emerged from under Ajax’s mask and turned into a golden ball. Quad grabbed it and lowered his head. “This Galactic Knight will live in infamy.”
“His name is Ajax,” cried Kat, moving toward her friend. She bent down and touched his heart. “May you rest among the great warriors forever and in the Arcturus star of glory.”
She took off his helmet and mask. He was also an Elix. She touched the black fur between his eyes. “All of Halos, our home and mother planet, will raise their arms for you in honor, love, and respect. I will see you again one day.” She touched her forehead to his and stood, attaching his mask and helmet to her belt.
Gragas held his hand over another fallen Knights chest, staring at Kat. “We honor Ajax for his sacrifice, and here we honor Showjeen for her sacrifice.” He stood and bowed to his fallen warrior. He turned and eyed his Knights. “It’s time to go.”
Jozi crawled to Ozzy, putting her hand on his back. Black soot covered her face and blood streaked down her temple. She coughed. “Are you okay, Ozzy?”
He nodded. “The question is are you okay?”
Jozi shook her head. “We have to get out of here. We won’t survive another attack.”
Ozzy stared at Gragas. “Use your mechanical wings and jets you have on your battle suit. Take Jozi out of here.”
“Quad and I are the only ones equipped and skilled enough to use that technology. We stay until you all get out.”
Krakow!
A small explosion kicked up grass near the lodge’s perimeter.
A hoard of Dunrakee troops was pushing through the tree line.
“Here they come,” said Gragas, turning around and aiming his weapon, letting shot after shot fly.
Jozi stood and brandished her sidearm. She took a step forward, pointed the gun, and pulled the trigger. “I don’t know how we’ll survive this.”
They were massively outnumbered, and them being surrounded by elite Galactic Knights didn’t guarantee survival.
Even for the Galactic Knights.
“Here they come,” growled Quad. “Brace yourselves and take this like a warrior.”
35
Earth • Ancient Athapaskan Land, California
Gunfire from the Dunrakee soldiers blasted through the holes and windows.
Knights dove to the floor, waiting for the shooting to subside. It didn’t.
Ozzy hugged the wall. He was out of the line of fire and crawled over to Ajax’s photon cannon lying on the floor.
An enemy photon beam crashed against the wall next to him. He dropped to the floor and pulled the cannon closer to his body and placed the cannon’s strap over his aching shoulder.
“Quad,” he yelled. He pointed to a blown-out wall across the lodge. “You blast them from there.” He patted his cannon. “I’ll blast them from this side.” He dipped his head toward another opened wall.
Quad, his back against a wall, slumped low and gave a thumbs-up. “On your mark, Ozzy.”
Ozzy nodded. He placed his fingers on a windowsill and pulled himself up.
Another beam zipped through an opening, scorching the wall.
He twirled away and rushed toward a broken chunk in the wall. He slid next to it, pressing his back against the wall. “Quad,” he shouted. “Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.”
Dizzy laughed and said a few clicks and clacks. Apparently, he wanted to join the fray.
“Go,” ordered Ozzy.
Ozzy turned, pointing the cannon barrel out the hole and pulled the trigger. Dizzy and Quad did the same.
Waboom! Waboom!
Ozzy lurched back and fell off his feet from the cannon’s thrust. He landed hard and dusted himself off, picking his cannon back up. He stood and widened his stance, targeting troops that were now running away from Quad’s, Dizzy’s, and Ozzy’s cannon barrage.
The blasts poked holes in the clearing, tossing soil and roots into the air. Everything clouded, creating a soil- and weed-filled fog over the battlefield.
The Galactic Knights jumped from their positions, pressing their weapon’s triggers.
Dunrakee flopped to the ground and others dove.
“They’re retreating,” called Jozi.
A roar blanketed the sky. Ozzy moved back.
“We have a fleet incoming,” screamed Quad.
“A Galactic Knight’s fleet?” asked Ozzy, hopeful.
Gragas shook his head. “We don’t have a fleet.”
“Okay, not good,” Ozzy replied.
“When is your ship coming, Gragas?” Jozi asked.
Gragas held up his hand. “Five minutes.” He stood. “Knights, listen to me.”
They lowered their weapons and eyed Gragas as they all stood behind a rock wall for cover. Dunrakee photon shots crashed against the outside of the structure, doing minimal damage.
“We are going to make a run for it. We’ll head south, away from the soldiers.”
“Haven’t they surrounded us?” asked Ozzy, having no desire to run through a mass of angry Dunrakee troops wanting to end his existence.
Quad leaned against the wall with his photon cannon by his side. “Some have, but there aren’t as many troops toward the south.”
Gragas didn’t wait another second. “Let’s go.”
He jumped through an open window, and the rest of the Knights followed. Ozzy did the same, landing on the grass and racing after the Galactic Knights, heading for thousands of trees a hundred meters away.
The Knights sprayed the area with photon fire, giving themselves a safer perimeter.
The roar in the clouds grew louder as the Dunrakee fleet closed in.
“Two minutes until the fleet arrives,” hollered Quad.
And about two minutes u
ntil pick up.
They pushed through the tree line and around stumps, ferns, and other plants Ozzy couldn’t identify.
Jozi was in front of him, hurrying as fast as she could.
“One minute.”
Ozzy dodged a bird that soared from the ground and into the air. It squawked loudly. More birds joined the fray, and Ozzy batted them away with his hands.
“Our ship is overhead,” said Gragas, his hand motioning toward a beam of light poking through the forest canopy.
Ropes fell from the ship’s belly and swayed and dangled in front of them.
“Grab on,” ordered Gragas, snatching a rope and holding on tightly.
All the Galactic Knights grabbed a rope. Ozzy curled his fingers around the black, thick material. The rope moved and pulled Ozzy toward the craft’s underbelly.
A gush of wind consumed the forest the farther Ozzy rose toward the tree line. The trees bent, and the branches thrashed against each other.
“The fleet is nearing us,” said Quad.
The wind picked up more.
Quad held out a photon gun while grasping onto the rope with one arm. “They’re almost on top of us.” He raised his weapon, pointing it at the canopy.
Wapooh!
A photon bolt expelled from his muzzle, slashing through tree limbs.
Zoooph! Zoooph!
“Keep your wits about you because incoming missiles are on their way,” screamed Quad.
A missile launched and then another.
They zipped through the branches, clobbering the ground under Ozzy’s feet. A blaze and a ferocious heat lifted and swirled in Ozzy’s direction. He raised his boots, doing his best to avoid the flames.
The fire spread to the trees.
A third missile impacted the ground. A tree cracked and fell, its fiery branches swiping Ozzy’s arm and leg.
The rope pulled him higher, and he closed his eyes as he burst through the tree canopy. When he opened his eyes, he was only a few meters from the ship’s opening, and he glanced at the incoming Dunrakee ships.
His eyes went wide.
Martian Quadrilogy Box Set Page 74