by TS Paul
Tina’s light illuminated the door, casting light shadows across the room. Suddenly, two eyes opened and gleamed in the darkness. “There!”
“Ron, stay with Tina. Tina keep the light on the room and radio Jeo to come in here.” Peter drew his gun and cautiously crept into the stone room.
~~~~~~
Bai Hu had run his last. He had made peace with the monster that lived within him, but in doing so, he doomed himself. This place of stone had neither food nor water. The only prey he could find was small and too high to catch. He could feel death at the door knocking. The human part of him wished to beg for food, and the wild part screamed run!
He was too tired to do either.
~~~~~~~~
Peter smelled it as soon as he entered the room. Cat! Not just any cat, but that of the Sacred Clan.
But what was it doing in Mongolia?
The attack and destruction of that branch of the Kurtherians happened months ago. The last report out of China was that the government was pursuing the survivors with Army units. None of failed Empress Samantha Lee’s technology or chief lieutenants had been recovered yet.
He had only met one of the species that wasn’t insanely loyal to her.
The light shining through the door showed an exceptionally large cat wearing what appeared to be a gold necklace. Unlike the one other cat he had seen, this one had been starved near to death. Peter could see its ribs. The gleaming eyes closed momentarily and then opened again. He could almost feel the pain and despair coming off the small body.
“Peter, are you alright?” Jeo’s voice brought his attention back to the real world.
“Jeo, I need water and food right now.” He carefully scooped up the cat. It barely stirred because it was so far gone.
Peter stepped out of the abandoned tower room with the emaciated, dying cat in his arms. “EI, I need an Emergency Medical Pod at my location ASAP!”
Trying to not jar the suffering creature, he carried it past the shocked students and laid it on the bench in the transport pod. “Jeo, clear the area. I have an inbound Medical Pod due any minute now.”
While he was waiting for the medics to arrive, Peter tried to get the cat to drink droplets of water from his fingers. A small tongue lapped at a small droplet. “That’s it. Drink it. Don’t give up!”
“Isn’t that a cat?” Jeo leaned in closer to examine the creature.
“Yes. It’s a member of the Sacred Clan. I’ve no idea how it got this far from China.” Peter fed the cat another handful of water.
“Isn’t it our enemy? I mean the Queen took down the Leopard Empress herself.” Peter stared at Jeo with narrowed eyes.
“Do me a favor? Tell your source to shut the hell up! Because if I don’t catch them first, I will beat it out of you. Some secrets are supposed to stay secret.”
“Fine, but secrets are like baseball cards for me. I like to know them.” Jeo smiled one of his infuriating smiles at Peter.
Peter snarled at Jeo in return.
“Baseball cards don’t leave you floating in space without a suit on. I’m serious Jeo. Can it.” Peter snapped back at Jeo. Peter swore he would have a private ‘chat’ with Jeo about his wagging tongue and lax attitude regarding security protocols.
“Medical Pod in one minute.” The EI broke into the conversation just in time.
“OK, clear the area.” Peter gave the cat more water.
Two of the standard two-person pods appeared and hovered above the camp. The first came down, and two medics stepped out. The second pod landed, and its door popped open. Unlike the standard ones, this pod didn’t have seats. Just a medical platform with some equipment built into the sides.
“Guardian Peter, what do you have?”
“Sacred Clan member at the point of starvation and dehydration. Somehow this kid managed to travel a vast distance to get here. I managed to get him to drink a few drops of water.” Peter pulled his hands away and let the professionals do their thing.
“Was he alone?” The assistant pulled out his tablet and filled out the vital statistics that health professionals always seemed to be collecting.
“He was when we found him. I called just moments after realizing his condition.” Peter pulled up his body camera footage.
“Understood. He is going straight up to Med Bay One. We will be in touch.” The two medics scooped the cat up and placed him into the empty pod. It took them only a few moments to get the small body attached to the sensors and connections that would stabilize the cat until they got him to the ship. Quickly closing the door to the medical transport pod, the pair ran back to their pod and yanked their restraints on. Both Med-Pods took off as soon as the last door closed.
“Those are new.” Jeo stared upward as the two pods silently rocketed up and out of the area.
“Yes. Someone in the Queen’s office came up with that. They are excellent at what they do, just all business.” Peter clapped Jeo on the back. “Let’s get the kids settled down. Tomorrow is a big day of hands-on lecture for you, sir.”
~~~~~~~~
“Did you see that?” Chang pointed toward the fire the two of them had been creeping toward.
Jìshù turned to look at his companion. “Hard to miss it. Those were TQB pods! Forget the beast. If we get one of those or even whoever is at the campfire, Beijing will stop chasing us. Hell, they might reward us!”
“I would be happy to not be chased. These are the space people you told me of?” Chang asked.
“Yes. They are the prize the world wants. Control the technology, control the world!” Jìshù waved toward the campfire.
“They are awake now. We should try in the morning when they are sleeping. Come, we should rest ourselves.” Chang led his companion over to the section of stone wall.
“But the technology!” Jìshù protested.
“Forget it. It’s dark, and I’m hungry. We will go before first light.” Chang began pulling out scavenged food from their long trek. Mumbling, Jìshù sat down and nibbled on some berries.
~~~~~~~
Jin Kuk was a Sergeant in PLASF, known in the western world as Chinese Special Operations Forces. Among the regular military, they were called the Sword of Southern China. When the call came for a chance to get back at TQB and possibly get some of the technology, Jin volunteered. He was a career man. Leaving his village at eighteen he and another did their service in the PLA honorably. His best friend in all the world joined with him. While Jin was destined for a Spec Ops position, Zeng trained for Officer Protective Services.
Thinking back now, he only remembered his oath, his vow to destroy TQB. The man he called brother had his head ripped from his body by something created by that devilish organization. After many false starts, this could be the one.
Wearing the newest stealth armor available, Jin jumped from the aircraft. He could only think about the silly Americans who mistakenly believed that they had invented this form of parachute jumping.
Chinese soldiers worked HALO drops as a fine art, and he was a master of that craft.
His usual joy in the exercise of something he did so well was threaded with tension. Today would be the only time in his entire military career that he would disobey a direct order. His orders were to infiltrate the area and set up an observation post. Others in his unit were doing the same. Shooting to kill was off the table according to those same orders. Jin meant to ignore those directives. He wanted TQB dead. By his hand. He had to do it.
He would exact revenge for his best friend.
For Zeng.
~~~~~
General Chun almost ordered a full attack when he heard the first report from the scouts. There was at least one TQB pod on the ground near the ruins. To him, this proved the duplicity of the two they chased. Most definitely spies. The reports about Mongolian forces in the area wasn’t good either. His counterpart, General Kou, wanted in on the retrieval and Chun was considering it. Too many things could go wrong.
“Colonel Jung? Order our li
ght units to surround the area an hour earlier, at 0900 hours. If they use high speed, they should make the new timeline.” He told his aide.
The Colonel froze. She thought for a moment and took the chance. “Sir, if we do that, the armor won’t be able to maneuver very quickly.”
Chun looked at the woman in a man’s uniform and smiled dismissively. “There isn’t anything they need to move against. Just trees and sand. Send the orders. When those two are in custody, and the technology is secured, we will have peace again.”
~~~~~~
Mongolian security officer, Major Shing, updated his tactical board. “Our scouts are almost in position. When do we expect the Hind?”
“I was promised it would be here at 0900 this morning. About half the promised tanks are on the move, ahead of schedule. We should be ready to attack momentarily.” Rong looked up from the map.
“Order them to attack at will as soon as they get into position. We will have to hope the helicopter shows up in time. This is our only shot at getting any part of the technology.”
~~~~~~~
“Sir, we have detected movement within one mile of your position. Ground forces are slowly encircling the area. Tanks and APC vehicles are moving in from both the west and south.”
Peter woke up with a jerk as soon as he heard the EI speak into his ear. “Do they have any air power?”
“Yes. Four Chinese Chengdu J-20 fighter aircraft are circling to the east of your position. To the west, a Mongolian Hind Mi-24 is approaching at top speed.”
Peter jumped off his bunk and started waking everyone up. “Jeo, time to go!” Peter quickly rattled off his orders. “We have military forces moving into the area from different directions. I need all of you to gather up any technology or irreplaceable items and store it in the pod. Leave the tents and food. Those we can destroy. Get moving, they will be here soon!”
Alpha Class jumped into action, breaking down the tents and grabbing food prep items.
“Ignore all that stuff. Make sure everyone has their tablets and locators. Other than that, forget it. We need to go.” Peter started yelling.
Peter took two steps toward the large pod with one of the packs in his hands when he heard a subsonic shot!
BANG! The echo of the shot echoed across the clearing.
Peter looked down, realizing that he had been shot in the shoulder. His specially designed armor had caught the bullet and deflected the force away from him. Its impact still unsettled him, making the next blow all the more painful and effective. This second shot caught him across the back of his head, pitching him forward in stunned unconsciousness.
“Sniper!” Maxim and Nestor yelled in unison as they grabbed Peter and dragged him toward a large pile of rocks. Yana and Tina had hit the ground at the first shot but now were in an exposed location between the tents and some of the ruins.
Using some of the lifesaving techniques that the Ds were drumming into them at every turn, Maxim began giving Peter mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while Nestor checked the unconscious Guardian’s vitals.
“Is he dead?” Yana yelled at Maxim.
“No. He’s breathing now. His amped-up Guardian healing has kicked in,” Nestor answered for Maxim.
“Does anyone see the sniper?” Ron called from inside the pod where he had been securing the luggage when the shot rang out.
“The shots seem to be coming from the stand of trees to our west, but there are others all around us. We need a miracle to get out of this alive,” Jeo joined the conversation. Glancing toward his voice, Yana noticed that he was under the folding picnic table.
“What’s that noise?” Yana called out to her friends.
The “whap, whap, whap” sounds of a large helicopter in flight drowned out any response by the others. The Mongolian Hind Mi-24 made its appearance over the stand of trees, obviously aware of the other forces in the area. The snipers were distracted as the chopper began firing at them, which gave the students a break.
“Get to the pod!” Jeo jumped up and helped Maxim and Nestor to drag Peter toward the entrance of the larger pod. The sniper fire picked back up, and bullets whined off the rocks and chunks of the ruins all around them.
“The girls are still pinned down!” yelled Ron.
As with many battles, the overall situation changed in an instant. Seeing that machine gun fire wasn’t working, the Hind pilot continued his barrage on the forces in the trees with rockets. Once again, the sniper fire lessened as the salvos started to take a toll on the shooters. Smoke began to clog the air as the rockets ignited the trees and brush.
Suddenly, there was a loud WHOOSH followed by an explosion as a Chinese Chengdu J-20 fighter destroyed the Mongolian gunship. The shock of the expanding fireball that had been a rocket-firing helicopter just seconds earlier froze everyone in place.
“Run!” Maxim bellowed at the girls.
Broken out of their shocked immobility by his yell, Tina, followed by Yana, scrambled to their feet and ran toward the pod. Realizing that this was the miracle that he had hoped for, Jeo exploded into movement, positioning himself by the open craft doorway, and reaching out an arm to assist his two incoming students. He watched helplessly as the two of them were forced to dodge left and right as burning shrapnel from the Hind began to scatter all over their former campsite.
The girls had barely entered the pod when Jeo shouted, “EI, launch the Black Eagle and provide covering fire for the Executive Pod.”
The Black Eagle fighter rose into the air like a spring, taking a protective position over the other TQB craft. Sensing that the priceless technology might be slipping through their fingers, the Chinese redoubled their attacks, committing all their forces to the effort. There was still one pod on the ground, still people to apprehend.
Chun stared at the reports and cursed. Two open pods with the pilots loose on the ground. It was almost a dream come true. Now was the time, and this was the place. Capturing even one of those would ensure his rise to power over Beijing and the rest of Asia.
~~~~~~
“Sir, we are under attack by Chinese troops. They have already shot down our helicopter.” Major Shing stared at the reports. Chinese snipers had the TQB personnel pinned down inside their ship. His armor was already engaged with that of the Chinese, and he was getting reports of Chinese aircraft bombing his tanks before they could fire.
“Inform command of the situation. Request that they send us the closest squadron of MIG-29s for support.” Shing almost wept. There were two pods on the ground, and he couldn’t do a thing to stop them. He might be the man responsible for starting a war with China that he knew his country couldn't win.
~~~~~~
“EI. Can you take off with all the gunfire around us like this?” Jeo was not a warrior, and it showed in the question and in the slight tremor in his voice.
“Yes. Please strap down all passengers and prepare yourself for emergency lift.”
The large passenger pod hovered off the ground for just a moment before launching straight up toward space. Halfway through the troposphere, the craft made a zigzag pattern to confuse any radar images.
“QBS G’laxix Sphaea, ETA is two minutes.”
“Has Peter stabilized yet?” Jeo tried leaning over his seat to look at the limp body of the Guardian.
“His wound closed all by itself. The medics can tell you for sure. We were only taught the basics.” Tina straightened Peters clothing and patted the unconscious man gently.
“That’s good, I guess. Did you learn anything from me this term?” Jeo looked into the monitor.
“How to get shot at in four countries?” Ron chimed in.
He got a dirty look from Jeo for that one.
“Anything at all?” Jeo looked out at the faces expectantly.
“We enjoyed all the ancient stuff. You are great at teaching information, Jeo. Thank you.”
“Thank you, Tina. We still have a couple of weeks of instruction to go, and I plan to wrap things up with how it all
ties together. We will explore how we built the QBBS Merideth Reynolds and why I made sure to put elements of what we’ve seen into it. I’m sorry we never got to explore the ruins. Who knows what secrets we may have found.”
Yana looked him straight in the eye. “We saved someone's life and may have gained a potential ally. That was something none of us foresaw. Do you know how the cat is? Have you heard?”
Jeo chuckled. “Peter is the one with a direct line to the Queen. I’m just his wimpy scientific sidekick. We’ll find out that and more when we get home. Look on your monitors. Home is but a short time away, I hope. Soon you will be in your own beds, and tomorrow the Ds will be after you to share your experiences with the other classes.