Days of Future Past - Part 2: Present Tense

by John Van Stry

  "There you are," Sarah said as I joined her back at the tent. "We were wondering where you went."

  I took off my pack and set it down on the ground with a clunk from the weight of all the ammunition inside it, "I replenished our ammo supply."

  "Ah, that will make Heather happy," Sarah nodded.

  I looked around, "Where is she?"

  "Getting replacement rations for what we ate on the hill yesterday."

  "Ah," I nodded.

  "What are we off to next, Hon?"

  I shook my head, "No idea."

  "None?" She looked surprised. "Nothing from Coyote?"

  "No, but Riggs wants me to come to the planning meeting today. I suspect Hakk will be along shortly to take me there."

  "Do you think he's going to do something to you?"

  I shrugged, "I dunno. The Indians are all kind of afraid of me now."

  Sarah laughed, "Why would they be afraid of you?"

  "Because they know about my association with Coyote of course. They've seen what he's done to me, and what happened to the chief's son who messed with me. So most of them just want to stay well away. I feel like a plague carrier over there."

  "Well, at least that solves any slavery problems," Sarah smiled.

  I smiled back at her, "My sentiments exactly. But still, I wonder what Riggs wants from me? Mostly he's wanted me to be far away, a sentiment I share to be honest. But now he calls for me?"

  "Everyone knows about the dragons now, Hon."

  "Everyone?"

  Sarah nodded, "I spent some time gossiping with one of the Navajo that I know when I ran into him after yesterday's battle. They were having problems with the dragons every day on their journey to take Tahoe. Now, they haven't seen any. The dwarves didn't hesitate to tell the others all about it as well, they are rather proud of your achievement and their helping you with it after all."

  "I wonder if the enemy knows?"

  "Why should that matter?"

  "Oh, I don't know, maybe because I don't want to have to worry about every dragon in the world trying to hunt me down?"

  "That's assuming they know who you are, or even care."

  "Well, let's hope not."

  Heather showed up then, with Hakk and his captains close behind.

  "Morning, Heather, Sarah, Paul," he said. "Ready for the meeting?"

  I nodded, "Just as long as we stop by the mess tent on the way."

  "Oh, don't worry, there will be food there. These things go on for hours after all."

  I leaned over and gave Sarah a kiss, then stood up and gave Heather one too.

  "Let's go."

  Riggs' command tent was a big one, but unlike Hakk's, this one had sides, as well as guards stationed around it to keep anyone from getting close enough to eavesdrop. As it was already getting warm outside, this was Nevada in late April, I wasn't looking forward to being inside an enclosed tent all day.

  But once inside I found there were several mage lights floating by the ceiling, keeping everything well lit, and that it was cool inside as well. Magical air-conditioning was my best guess.

  I saluted Riggs when he approached, this was neither the time nor the place to get into a confrontation with him, and to be honest, I was starting just to be a little bit afraid of him.

  "Lieutenant," he said returning the salute.

  "Major."

  "I wanted to thank you, personally, for what you did about our dragon problem," he said with a smile.

  "The pleasure was all mine, Sir," I said and smiled back. "Though I don't know if I could have done it without the help of Hakk and his men."

  "Still, you were the one who made it happen, and we'd run out of our stinger missiles fighting them off. We lost more than a few men to them, and now that the dragon's numbers have been reduced, it has helped tremendously."

  "Thank you, Sir," I said a little nervously. I knew that Riggs didn't like me; honestly I was fairly certain still that he hated me. Yet here he was being polite, and I don't think it was because the room was full with his commanders.

  "Well, have a seat, and let's get this started."

  I went and sat down at a table with Hakk and his men. Sure enough there was food, so we sat there and ate breakfast while Riggs went over the situation.

  Over the next hour I learned that the army he had annihilated yesterday was two-thirds of the enemy's Reno contingent. Riggs had been taking the enemy's smaller forces apart for weeks now on this campaign, and they'd thought that if they committed a significant percentage of their resources against him this time, that they would win.

  Riggs had a lot of praise for the elves and dwarves at that point, for keeping the enemy from being able to flee back into Reno. I could see that he meant it too.

  He then detailed Reno's defenses. Reno I learned, had apparently survived the war or whatever it was, relatively untouched. So most of its skyscrapers were still standing. Its power had not come from a fusion plant of its own however, but from the electrical grid.

  So after the fall, it really hadn't had a lot of power to use and so it didn't prosper like any of the high-tech islands out there. Further, it didn't have any powerful defenses. So when the forces of Aybem finally decided to capture it, it had eventually fallen and the Washoe who had lived there had fled south.

  With that background in mind, he laid out for us what was known about the current defenses, both locations and strengths. The biggest problem however was that the ruler of Reno, the wizard Khasan, had taken up residence in the towers downtown, where the biggest casinos had once been.

  He had his elite guards there, as well as two dragons.

  "If he has two dragons, why didn't he send them to come and attack us yesterday?" One of the people in the room asked.

  "Because he doesn't want to risk his personal defenses until he absolutely has to," Riggs said and then looked at me.

  I swallow what I was eating and wondered just what he had in store for me now.

  "Our biggest problem in this fight is Khasan's elite forces and those two dragons," Riggs said looking over the room. "The dragons can move quickly and do a lot of damage to us. Once they discover we no longer have the stinger missiles, they're going to commit those dragons to a full on attack.

  "Then there are his elite forces, from what we've been able to learn, they're impregnable inside the fortress that the towers have been turned into. Taking them on inside there would take weeks, perhaps even months, with a lot of losses on our side.

  "However," Riggs turned and looked at me, "I have a solution."

  I suddenly had a real bad feeling about just why I was here, and Riggs' next words confirmed it.

  "Paul Young here was able to take out the dragon's isle with just a small select force using one of the ancient's more powerful weapons. He's very familiar with the territory around here, even more than I am. I will send him with a small team to use one of those weapons to blow up the towers."

  I groaned and almost banged my head on the table, but the clamor of the others hid my own response. From them at least, Riggs had seen it and was smiling.

  "But that will destroy the whole city!" Several of what I guessed was the Washoe leaders were yelling.

  "Gentlemen, please!" Riggs said, waving them back into their seats. "Mr. Young, as well as myself, are both knowledgeable in the way that these weapons work. Yes, there will be some destruction beyond the towers, but not much. If you ask the dwarves, they will tell you that the isle still stands. I will simply have Mr. Young set the weapon to minimize the damage.

  "After all, would you rather have the city back, missing only a small portion of the old town, or not have it back at all?"

  They fumed a little and argued some, but I wasn't paying much attention to it at that point. Another suicide mission. Riggs was seriously doing his best to get me killed off, and doing it in such a way that I couldn't even refuse!

  I wondered if he'd been taking pointers from Coyote? Coyote at least seemed to want me to survive.
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br />   I listened half-heartedly as he went over several more battle plans, all depending on just how much damage I did, and how the enemy forces reacted. He then dismissed everyone for a half-hour break and waved me forward as I stood up.

  I sighed and walked over to him, I didn't even realize Hakk was following me until Riggs raised his hand, "If I could talk with Paul alone, please?"

  I turned and nodded to Hakk. I wasn't happy about it, but I couldn't blame Riggs for wanting to keep any details of my mission a secret. It was my hide on the line after all.

  "You sure, Paul?"

  "Yes, I'm sure. Thanks."

  Hakk grunted and clapped a hand on my shoulder, "If you need anything, just let one of us know." With that he walked off and left us alone.

  "Let's step into the back here; I don't want anyone listening in."

  "You're not going to shoot me, are you?" I sighed.

  Riggs laughed, "Oh, don't worry about that!"

  I followed him into a small room that was behind where he'd been standing while briefing us. Once inside, it was fairly quiet, I couldn't hear any of the noise from the rest of the tent. Obviously this room had been shielded some how.

  "You know," I said, "there isn't any way to dial down one of those nukes. If I set one off down there, it'll destroy all of Reno."

  Riggs nodded, "I know that, you know that, but no one else knows that."

  "So you're just going to level Reno?" I said looking at him surprised. "That's not going to win you any favors with the Washoe!"

  "I couldn't nuke Reno if I wanted to, Paul." Riggs said shaking his head. "I don't have any left."

  "What?" I looked at him, "There were seven there when I left! Didn't you take them all?"

  "Yes, of course I did. But when I ran each of them through their self-tests, four of them either failed their self-tests or were just plain dead. I mean all things considered, after five hundred years I guess we were lucky that we got four that worked."

  "So then what's this all about?"

  "What this is about is I need those dragons neutralized and I need those elite to come out of their stronghold where we can kill them."

  "Any my trying to blow them up with a bomb that doesn't work helps you how?"

  I had to admit it; I was completely lost at this point.

  "Only two people know that the bombs are duds, you and me," Riggs started off. "However, everyone knows what you did to that dragon breeding ground that one of Aybem's lords was in charge of. When he sees a small group trying to head for his stronghold, he's going to be forced to launch everything he has at it."

  "And our getting killed helps you how?"

  "Ah, but what happens if instead of trying to fight your way through, you retreat?"

  I shrugged, "They go back inside?"

  "And miss out on capturing a functioning nuclear warhead?" he laughed. "One that could easily be used to destroy my army, just like I destroyed theirs yesterday?"

  That stopped me a moment. "Is that why you used the nukes yesterday?"

  Riggs nodded, "Partially, I wanted them to see the power of them, so they'd be interested in grabbing one, should the opportunity to get their hands on doing so present itself to them. Also, I just didn't want to lose anymore of my people fighting them. These are my people after all, Paul."

  "So when do I leave?"

  "In the morning, a few hours before dawn. This battle is going to be a long one, so I'd like you to make your attempt the day after tomorrow. Take whoever you want with you, and as many of the LAW rockets as you feel you can safely carry. If you can take out those two dragons, that alone will be a massive help. But the primary mission is to get those elite guards to chase you as far as you can. I have a counterattack planned to cut them off if you can get them to McCarran," Riggs said tapping the map. "However, I will take whatever you can give me."

  I thought about that for a minute, "So the plan is to let them think they can capture a nuke, and draw them out of position for you to be able to exploit it."

  "Exactly," Riggs nodded.

  "But for that to work, don't they have to know that I'm coming?"

  Riggs smiled then, so wide that I thought he was going to hurt himself.

  "There are a few spies in our midst, I've been very careful in making sure that they hear enough to be considered valuable, but never enough to ruin my plans. I made sure that the one who has been giving them the most reliable information heard everything today.

  "So don't worry, they know you're coming. They just don't know that the plan isn't to plant a bomb."

  "Why me?" I asked.

  "Because they hate you, almost as much as they hate me."

  "Gee thanks," I sighed.

  "You're welcome. As much as I may not like you personally, Paul, you have proven yourself a resourceful and motivated officer. I can't think of anyone else with as good a chance of success."

  I had to admit that he just might have had a point. Especially if Coyote was still on my side.

  "Could I get a couple of those railguns?"

  "Why?"

  "Those elf marksmen will fall all over themselves to volunteer for this mission if I give them one. They're really your best chance at taking out those dragons."

  Riggs looked surprised, "They're really that good?"

  I nodded, "I was up on the hill with them all day yesterday, they'd make a Marine sniper jealous."

  Riggs thought about that a moment, "I'll send two over to you before the day's over, and if they're that good, maybe I should arm a few more of them myself."

  "Just wait until after I'm gone, okay? Don't want my bribe to lose any of its allure."

  Riggs nodded, "Of course," and he picked up a pack that had been sitting on the floor and handed it to me.

  "Is that one of the duds?" I asked.

  "Training simulator I found. I'd rather not chance even a dud falling into the wrong hands."

  I nodded and took it with my left hand.

  "I'll do my best," I said and saluted.

  "I know you will," Riggs nodded curtly and returned my salute.

  I left the room and ran into Hakk as I was headed for the exit.

  "Is that?" Hakk asked nodding at the pack I was holding.

  "Yup, that's it."

  "I will talk to my people, and get you some volunteers tonight."

  "Thanks, Hakk. But I need to keep it small. This one is going to have to be all about sneaking. I'm going to ask a couple of elves to come along as well. Once we plant this thing, I'm going to need people who can run very, very, fast."

  Hakk nodded. "I will talk to you later then."

  "Okay," I said and left. I slung the pack on my back and instead of heading back to the tent and the fireworks that no doubt awaited me there; I headed to the elven encampment instead.

  I quickly found where the marksmen were all settled and it didn't take me long to find the female elf who had been using my railgun yesterday.

  "Does this mean you've reconsidered my offer?" she asked smiling up at me from where she was sitting eating lunch and talking with some of the others.

  "I have two extra railguns, and you can have one, but," I kneeled down next to her.

  "But I have to do you and both your wives?" she asked, with a giggle.

  "No." I lowered my voice, "I'm going on a mission tomorrow. Several days, high risk and serious danger. You come along, and the rifle is yours."

  "No kinky sex?" she mock-pouted.

  "The wives would kill me."

  "I could just do it with them," she teased.

  "And I'd kill them. So, you interested?"

  "What time are we leaving?"

  "Be at my tent three hours before sunrise," I then told her how to find it.

  "You said you had two railguns, right?"

  I nodded, "Know anyone else who might be interested?"

  "Of course!"

  "Fine, bring them along."

  "See you tomorrow!" she said brightly, then stood up and whistled rath
er loudly.

  "Lylor!" she called and a male elf talking with another group looked up. "Yes?"

  "My tent, now!" she said with a smile and sashayed off towards one of the tents.

  "Yes Ma'am!" he laughed and dashed off after her as I turned around and left, wondering if I could get away with that with Heather sometime?

  "Take the girls," I heard, as I was halfway between the elves' camp and the dwarves'.

  "Oh, hi Coyote," I said without bothering to look.

  "Take them with you, pack all your gear."

  "So we're not coming back here I take it?"

  "No, once this is done, assuming you survive of course, I have something for you."

  "Sure," I said and then I stopped and turned and looked down at him.

  "If either of the girls gets killed, I promise you that I will spend the rest of my life finding out how to destroy you, okay? Just so we're clear."

  Coyote bark-laughed, "I will do what I can, but understand, Paul, there are no guarantees, there are always risks."

  "I think I preferred my risks back when they were all on the card table," and I headed back to the tent, trying to decide just how to break it to the girls.

  - 19 -

  "So, what's it this time?" Heather asked me as I came up to the tent.

  "Nothing fun, that's for sure," I sighed and set the pack down on the ground between her and Sarah.

  Heather immediately opened it and looked inside, then looked up at me with a curious expression, "Why does this one got a stripe painted on it?"

  "Different type," I sighed.

  Sarah leaned over and looked inside the pack and then back up at me. She didn't look very pleased.

  "Again? They want you to do that again?"

  "Inside the tent," I said and grabbing the pack I got down and crawled into the tent.

  "This is not a time for fun and games, Paul!" Was I mistaken? Or did Sarah sound unhappy.

  "I don't want to talk about it in public," I hissed softly. "In the tent, please?"

  "Oh, okay," Sarah huffed and followed me inside.

  "Heather?" I called.

  "I'm coming!"

  I waited until they were both inside and then I looked at Sarah, "Can you keep anyone from hearing us?"