Standish

by Donald B McFarlane

  The bikes, which were usually used by reconnaissance forces, were fast, and very quiet, making them ideal for slipping in and out of enemy territory. Standish was slightly worried that the bikes wouldn't work correctly in the extremely wet conditions that they found themselves in, but Reyn assured her there wouldn’t be an issue, and once Bender was happy that the perimeter around the ship was set, he wished his recce duo good hunting and sent them on their way.

  When Standish and Reyn cleared the massive spray that the falls were putting up, they accelerated the bikes to their top speed and raced across the flatlands towards Standish’s family home. Tearing across the plains at close to three hundred and fifty kilometres per hour, the duo was dried within minutes, allowing their helmet’s advanced optical systems to give them a crystal-clear vision of the path ahead.

  Prior to the mission, Bender had decided to have the team paint the armour sand coloured which was tactical, but he also wanted to send a clear message to the other pirate elements operating in the Etelainen that things were on the cusp of change, so he had each team member carry an ancient weapon as a back-up, just to make the signal clear that there was a new force in town, and they were going to make anyone who opposed the powers on Mechcharga suffer.

  Standish had chosen a traditional Nadoloian fighting sword, which was custom made on Terascova before the launch. The sword was half a metre long, and had one sharp side, while the other was blunt. There was a short hilt and was designed to be handled one-handed, leaving the second hand free to use the dull side to parry in combat. She wasn’t sure if she was going to use the weapon, but she did like the way it looked hanging off her left hip.

  On her right hip was a heavy calibre blaster, perfect at short range, and across her back was a compact rifle, capable of dual ballistic and laser fire. Finally, her trusty Dynamic Operations fighting knife was secured at the small of her back horizontally.

  As the pair continued to race across the plains in silence, a million thoughts ran through her mind about how that night and the next day was going to unfold. She wanted to believe that nothing had happened since she had received her last communique from her father, but she knew that in a world without order, anything was possible. The rule of law was gone, along with decency and respect. And that was why she had returned. To put things right.

  The closer she and Reyn got to the small hamlet she had grown up in, the sharper her focus got. It was as if everything thing in her vision got clearer, every sense she had become more acute. She knew that the Prime augmentation had given her exceptional skills and capabilities, but this was something more. Her mind was tingling, and when she finally got sight of her family home, her brain was working at a rate where she no longer thought, Standish just acted, and in the back of her mind, there was a quiet voice saying that she was ready. It repeated itself over and over again. And for some reason, it sounded like Reyn’s voice.

  “One vehicle outside target house.” That was Reyn, actually speaking. Not the voice in the back of her head. “Does your father own that vehicle?”

  Standish was way ahead of him. “Negative.”

  “Halt at one hundred metres and advance on foot.” He ordered.

  It might have been her operation, but she knew that Reyn was the best, and she wasn’t about to question his instructions.

  The hoverbikes stopped, and both operators killed the engines and dismounted. Twenty seconds later, the bikes hover function cut out, and they slowly lowered themselves to the hard-packed dirt.

  “Lights are on.” Standish said.

  “Move ten metres to my left. Stay five metres behind me.”

  Reyn was in his element, and he was the perfect teacher to help Standish hone her craft.

  Looking over to Reyn, she noticed that he had pulled both his pistols and was advancing towards the house at a light trot. Standish had four clear options for weapons at this point. Her rifle was best suited at her current distance to the house, but once she was in the front door, her pistol or her Dynamic Operations knife would be most practical. Her traditional Nadolian sword was not going to play a part in the affair, so she quickly unhooked the belt, and set it by the speeder, then took off after Reyn.

  Fifty metres from the house, Standish pulled up her helmet’s advanced sensor system’s and checked for audio coming from the home, and even without the enhancements, she could hear raised voices and the sound of something being shattered.

  “Stay loose.” Reyn said over the net.

  She wasn’t clear on all of Reyn’s unique skills yet, and that bothered her just a bit. If he could read her mind, she’d liked to know. Either way, they had a job to do, and without giving it a second thought, she pulled out her D-O fighting knife from the small of her back and held it in a reverse grip, ready for action.

  Ten metres from the house, Reyn slowed to a walk, and five metres from the front door he stopped and dropped to one knee.

  “What’s the layout?” He asked, his pistols continually sweeping from the front door of the modest house to the windows and then back again.

  “Main room once you enter. Study on the right. Kitchen to the rear.”

  “I breach and push forward.” Reyn said coldly. “You follow me in and push right.”

  “Understood.”

  There was a pause of almost ten seconds before Reyn came back on the net. “Three occupants.”

  “I confirm.”

  “Ready to move?”

  “Ready to move.”

  “Move.”

  They were up and approaching smoothly. Reyn reached the houses front door first, and he wasn’t subtle about his entry, putting his right shoulder down, and busting through the door open as if it weren’t there. The old door had been there since Standish was born and proved little resistance to the armoured operator when he made contact.

  Standish knew that whoever was in the house with her father probably wasn’t expecting company. When the door went down, Standish did her best to be right on Reyn’s six, and when he moved straight ahead, she immediately cut right once inside the door and quickly encountered a scene that nearly drove her into a rage.

  Her father was laying on the ground, beaten heavily, blood coming from his face and his legs, and his hands, most likely from defensive wounds, and above him stood two males, bats in both their hands.

  Once Standish got over the shock of seeing her father in the state he was in, she instantly went to work. The two pirates, or whomever they were, posed no threat to her, but she felt that it was necessary to send a signal and a message right quick about how things were going to happen, so without hesitating, she moved towards the closest assailant, grabbed the wrist of the arm that was holding the bat, then delivered a punch to the elbow, snapping it completely.

  As his scream rang out, Standish rapidly focused her attention on the second villain. Using her fighting knife, Standish rammed it into his shoulder, then quickly delivered a sharp blow to his chest with her left fist, sending him crashing to the ground.

  Re-directing her attention to the first pirate, she delivered a swift kick to the side of his left calf, breaking the bone, sending him to the ground next to his compatriot. Both attackers neutralised, she looked down at her father, bruised and beaten, then flipped up her blast shield, to reveal herself.

  “I’m home.”

  Her father lay on the ground in silence, unsure of what to make of what had just happened, but when Reyn appeared over Standish’s shoulder, he was able to put a smile on his face, either through his magnetic charm or by other supernatural powers.

  “Why don’t we have a drink?” Reyn said in a boisterous tone. He had already taken his helmet off and was helping Standish’s father off the ground.

  Standish wasn’t sure what to do for a moment until Reyn shot her a serious glance. “Take these two outside and secure them, at least twenty metres apart, and with gags.”

  Standish nodded then went to work.

  When she got back inside, she found her father
chatting lively at the kitchen table with Reyn sipping on cocktails. Standish pulled off her helmet, and walked towards the table, picking up the bottle of spirits. “Since when did you drink cocktails?” She asked, setting the bottle back down, then taking a seat at the table.

  Her father finished off his glass and looked at his daughter. “Your friend brought it.” He said in a very nonchalant manner.

  Standish looked at Reyn. “You carry expensive liquor into combat?” She shook her head.

  Reyn took an empty glass and passed it to Standish. “I thought that your father might need it, considering what’s been going on recently.” He leaned towards Standish. “I trust our friends outside are secured.”

  Standish nodded.

  Reyn sat back and rubbed his face, then looked at Standish’s dad. “Your daughter is a special woman.” He shot a glance over to Standish. “She is on the verge of greatness.” He smiled, took a sip from his glass, then took a deep breath, then cast a gaze towards her father. “What did you do to produce such a driven kid?” Reyn took another sip. “She’s got a desire to be good.” Reyn said, his eyes drifting towards Standish, a wry smile on his face as his eyes darted back and forth from Standish to her father. “But she’s better than good already.” He said, taking a sip of his drink. “I think that all she ever wanted was to get out of this dump, and into the Empire, but hey,” He looked up at the ceiling. “The Empire is dead.” He shot a glance in Standish’s direction. “But she also wanted to be among the best.” Then a smile appeared on his face. “And maybe she will be.” He finished his glass, then poured himself another shot. “One day.” He downed that shot in one sip, then looked over at her father. “Whatever you did, to raise this girl, you should be proud.”

  Standish’s father said nothing and took a sip from his drink. Reyn poured himself another shot. “Now, Standish tells me that there is a problem with the Yellow gang in Port Sunlight.” He slowly sipped his drink.

  “Yes.” Standish’s father said calmly.

  Reyn smiled. “Good. Now tell me everything you know.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Reyn and Standish walked out of the house and interrogated the two gang members they had detained. They didn’t seem all too loyal to their superiors, and information was extracted without too much effort. Once Reyn was satisfied he had all the information he needed, he slit both the gang members throats and left their bodies outside.

  “Go inside and tell your father not to leave the house until we return tomorrow.”

  Standish looked at the bodies. “What about these?”

  “These gangs prey on fear to get what they want. If they come back tonight, they’ll see these two and think twice about walking through the front door.” He replied before putting his helmet on and walking over to his hoverbike.

  Standish did as she was told and caught up with Reyn who had powered both bikes back up. It took them almost three hours to get back to the ship and waterfall. Some of the team members were asleep inside the ship, while two were on guard duty.

  “So?” Bender asked, standing under the short wing of the Havoc.

  “We questioned two gang members, looks like seventy to one hundred hostiles in Port Sunlight.” Reyn replied. “An additional one-hundred in the surrounding area.”

  “What about ships and heavy weapons?” The team leader asked.

  “They’ve got some short-range transports, but nothing that would be considered military-grade, and weapons wise, nothing to be too worried about.”

  Bender looked over at Standish. “What do you think?”

  Standish looked at the team leader. “We should be able to take them without too much trouble.”

  Bender nodded. “How do you want to proceed?”

  Standish presented her plan, and it was approved. She and Reyn would enter Port Sunlight before sun-up and attempt to identify any buildings with civilians inside them and mark them using infra-red spray. Once that had been accomplished, they would join the rest of the team that would arrive in the Havoc, and sweep through the town, clearing it of all pirates.

  When Standish reached the hoverbike, ready to make the final run towards Port Sunlight, she made sure her sword was firmly attached to her left hip while her rifle was slung across her back under a light-weight desert cloak. Looking over at Reyn, she could see that he was wearing his customary twin-blasters on both hips, ready for action. She had never seen anyone from his species before. His skin was brown, but his eyes were light blue. He had a short-cropped beard, and just by looking at him, you wouldn’t be overly impressed by his physicality, which masked his true capabilities.

  “Ready?” He asked, glancing over at Standish.

  She nodded. “I am.”

  Reyn walked over to Standish's bike, and put his hands on the seat, then looked up at Standish. “Are you angry?”

  Standish blinked twice. “What do you mean? Of course, I’m angry.”

  “What makes you angry?” He asked.

  It took Standish a moment to think of the right reply. “Seeing my friends and family hurt.”

  Reyn nodded, then pointed in the direction of Port Sunlight. “Then let’s go down there and get some payback.”

  The hoverbikes tore across the open plains of Nadolo Prime at three hundred and fifty kilometres per hour. The capes on the back of the two operators were blowing fiercely in the air as they ripped through the night's darkness.

  There was vengeance in Standish’s mind.

  She wasn’t sure how Reyn had flipped the switch, but there was no doubt that she wanted blood. These might not have been the same people that killed her brothers, her Rescue Tech team, or Cryne and Mils, but they had hurt her people and her family, and they were going to pay.

  When they reached Port Sunlight, Standish and Reyn parked the recon bikes on the edge of town, removed their helmets and sat them down on the well-worn. They had decided to launch their attack without waiting for Bender and the rest of the team. For Standish, it was the final step that needed to be taken to become the uncompromising warrior she wanted to become all those years ago in the amphitheatre of the capital. Her body was ripped, and after her Prime upgrades, she was nearly indestructible. Now it was just a question of flipping the mental switch that would unleash her inner savage; the cold assassin that would be unstoppable.

  Standish looked over at Reyn. His blue eyes were fixed on her. A gentle smile on his face revealing his white teeth. “Ready?” He asked.

  Standish nodded and pulled her sword from its sheath. “Ready.”

  As the pirates started to rush to the scene of their attack, Standish felt her blood pumping through her veins with a rage and power like she had never felt before. With every shot she fired, or every pirate scum she cut down with her sword, she sensed her strength and ability heighten to an almost euphoric level. This was her planet, and she was going to take it back, and when she was finished, there was going to be a stack of bodies high enough that no one would ever dare to threaten the planet ever again once the story of what happened got out.

  By the time the Havoc arrived with Bender and the other six members of the team, most of the Yellows were dead. Standish and Reyn had moved from house to house. Building to building. It was the same with every door they reach a door, breach it, move fast, identify who was in the structure, conduct business, then back out onto the street. When the mighty warbird streaked low over town, dropping in the rest of the team, save Bender, onto the ground, Standish’s armour was covered in blood, it had been peppered with bullets that had failed to pierce it, and she had been hit, shot, and stabbed a dozen times, all without effect.

  The Havoc had dropped the rest of the team a block behind Reyn and Standish, then swooped down over the pirate's headquarters and vaporised it, along with a pair of shuttles that were trying to take off.

  Standish and Reyn might have gone off script, but at the end of the assault, no one cared.

  As more of the town was cleared, the locals came out of their houses, and
even some who lived outside the city came to see what all the commotion was about, seeing the flames reaching up into the pre-dawn sky.

  The Havoc had set down in the middle of the town square, and the team had formed up around it. They weren’t sure if they had got all the Yellow’s; there were undoubtedly some still in the countryside, but there was a great deal of confidence that the bulk of the villains in Port Sunlight had been killed.

  Sitting on a bench, Standish sat in silence next to her father, who had come into town. There was no sense of jubilation from the citizens of Port Sunlight. Relief perhaps, but no joy or celebration. Many of the men had been killed since the Yellows had taken control of the planet. Most of the shops and other facilities in the town had been destroyed. It was going to take years to rebuild.

  Looking over the faces of her fellow Nadolans, Standish felt a sense of pride that she had been able to help them, and it was only then that she realised that the goal she had set for herself years ago in the amphitheatre was finally reached. She was at the pinnacle of her profession, and only because of that had she been able to help her people.

  When Reyn and Bender finally wrapped up their conversation with the leaders of Port Sunlight, they walked over to where Standish was sat with her father. Reyn quickly sat himself down on the ground and looked off towards the sun rising on the horizon.

  “You should be very proud of your daughter.” Bender said, a smile on his face.

  Standish’s father looked up at the armoured warrior, then to his daughter. “I never wanted this life for her.” He said in a sombre tone. “I never thought things could get this bad.”

  Bender looked at Standish, then back to her father. “It is bad, but we are going to put things right again.”

  Before anyone else could contribute to the conversation, a sonic boom roared out from above the town, drawing everyone’s attention.

  “The admiral is arriving.” Bender said.