Gunship - The Series

by John Davis

  Thousands would be the best estimate when it came to lives ended by the blade of Vladris, the same blade that was tightly strapped to his back as he looked across the bannister of the balcony. Built into the side of a stone mountain, the Hunters had fortified their base to protect and serve their queen. Though they never slept, each Hunter had a period of downtime in which it would rejuvenate itself.

  Vladris had been turned by Hunter Elites many years ago, giving such a valiant fight in protecting his King. He had been a Ronical Knight, at least throughout his human life and up until the Hunters felt the need to turn him into an undead warrior. The Ronical Kingdom fell shortly after, succumbing to the rule of Hunters. However, the fact that Vladris in human form had slain two of the mighty Hunter Elites earned him a bridge to immortality when he finally was killed in battle. The hand of a surviving elite turning him in only minutes. His former kingdom was one of nearly endless rainfall, and the sight of it brought a calm to his soul. At least what remained of it, as Vladris looked across the bannister and into the thick jungle as rain poured heavily, leaving with it a serene melody.

  “Our queen has commanded us to assemble a group of warriors. One that will prove the demise of the Benzans.” one of the elites said as Vladris continued to stand, his hands wrapped around the steel bannister as he looked into the heavy downpour.

  For him it was soothing, and many nights he would spend his downtime simply gazing into the rainfall and enjoying the gift of immortality.

  “Then it shall be so,” Vladris replied, slowly turning to face the others, reaching down for a moment to calm his hound. “Handpick our finest and outfit them with the basic tools of slaying. I will personally see to it that our queen's wishes are carried out.” he added in a rough but dedicated voice as both elites nodded and turned to execute his order.

  While they were all elite knights for the queen, the rest knew Vladris was by far the strongest. A few even suspected the queen had secretly feared him, something Vladris had also picked up on. His loyalty ran deep, but the fact that he was unstoppable led to a bit of envy by the queen. The Hunter race followed Victoria out of fear, but on the battlefield they followed Vladris out of respect.

  “You shall soon feast on an endless buffet of man flesh.” Vladris said, his muscular build kneeling to show affection to the most loyal of pets.

  The hell hound, which stood nearly three feet high, seemed soothed by the voice of his master, turning his head slightly as if to show off his pale white hide.

  “The speech was great my lady. Exactly what our people needed to hear.” Lieutenant Lassiter said calmly as Sarah sat in a chair of velvety red plush.

  “Thank you. I'm not sure how I got through it, Adam is the only thing on my mind,” Sarah replied. “I should be focused on the upcoming confrontation with the Legion, but I just can't. I feel so helpless.” she added, turning her head a bit to avoid tears.

  “About Adam my lady, I have a plan,” Lassiter said as he approached Sarah to sit in a chair beside her. “We have solid information on the Benzan's favorite hideout.” Lassiter said as Sarah looked at him with unconvinced eyes.

  “They are not a group to be negotiated with, so the hard part will be trying to convince the Benzans to allow us to speak with him,” Lassiter added. “I will assemble a strike team, and then plead with Adam to at least return here to meet with you,” Lassiter said.

  “I have known Adam for some time now. I feel confident he will at least meet with you Sarah, as long as I promise him he's not walking into a trap.” Lassiter added.

  “No. I will plead my own heart, it's the only way he will listen. I'm coming with you.” Sarah said.

  “Sarah, listen. We are to begin a major assault on the Legion in less than one day, not to mention the Benzans are not to be taken lightly. There is no guarantee that I will even walk out of there unscathed, the last thing our people need right now is to have its leader in harm's way. I would advise you to stay here and...” Lassiter replied, sharply cut off.

  “I'm coming Lieutenant Lassiter, that's an order. I ruined a good thing with Adam. It's my fault and now I have to try and make things right and hope he can forgive me. Just make sure the crew we take with us is loyal and capable. I will not let fear of the Benzan people stop me from seeing the man I love again. I'll make sure our war effort is in strong enough hands.” Sarah said.

  “At once.” Lassiter replied, turning to leave the room and assemble the best he could. He still wasn't sold on the idea of Sarah coming, but he was the ideal soldier.

  She had given him a direct order and he wasn't the kind to disobey them. All he could do now is place as much of a safety net around her as he could, and give his life for her if needed be. Especially with his growing feelings for her, though they remained hidden. Sarah continued to stand there, looking across the stars through a huge window of reinforced glass and Colonial writing.

  She wondered if Adam ever thought about their near marriage, or if he even bothered himself with thoughts of her. These past nine months had seemed like decades to her. Things were different now, and that was something that scared the hell out of her.

  Tameca City was once considered one of the best locations to live and prosper. Of course that was before war had torn throughout the Skyla System and pushed the reeling Legion into Tameca City seeking refuge. They were all but beaten, having lost the second war of Glimmeria, but more importantly the support of several planets following the loss. Planets who had shifted to the Colonial side, and now what remained of the Legion consisted of worn down troops, mercenaries and forced volunteers from planets once controlled by the ailing military.

  “They will be on us within days! Our own scouts have confirmed it!” Lieutenant Rommel shouted across the crude steel table as three more Legion officers remained seated.

  “It takes only one victory, one show of force to turn the tables in any fight.” a highly decorated officer replied calmly as he remained sitting.

  “My Lord, there can be no victory here! We must issue a formal order of surrender!” Lieutenant Rommel answered, shouting his reply furiously.

  Lord Riven stood to his feet slowly, as the highest remaining officer left among Legion forces, he embraced the fight to come and expected no less from those who served beneath him. Standing to his feet, dark red uniform of cotton stitch and black trim; a look of disappointment pasted onto his face as he held a Legion sidearm out and blistered a shot into the forehead of Lieutenant Rommel. Standing for a moment, Lord Riven casually wiped spotted blood from his officer's jacket as the lifeless shell of a body that had been Rommel abruptly fell to the floor.

  “Sometimes, it's simply a matter of rebroadcasting fear into those who look upon us,” Lord Riven said, slowly sitting back down and laying the glock style pistol onto the cold steel table in front of him. “There will indeed be victory here, and I will not tolerate anything less. Are you with me?” Riven asked sternly as both remaining men looked on.

  “Yes my Lord, to the end!” one of the men said loudly, reaffirming his position in the regime.

  “We'll see.” Lord Riven replied, standing slowly to walk out of the room and deliver his next order.

  It would be an order that would change the complexion of the war forever. Every epic tale of war had to include a good guy and a bad guy, it was a story as old as time. Lord Riven didn't just accept the role of bad guy, he embraced it. In order to be bad, truly bad, one had to be feared.

  Fear was earned through acts of violence so savage that onlookers dared not question. Only fear would turn the tide of this war now, and Lord Riven was the perfect man for the job. As he slowly picked up a com unit that would relay his orders throughout every Legion post on Tameca, he smiled a bit. Almost as if pleasure would be forthcoming.

  “I will be away briefly as the rescue mission begins.” Sarah said as a filled room of both Colonial brass and high ranking soldiers listened.

  “Rescue mission?” one of the soldiers sitting near the front of t
he room asked. Sarah looked across to the man who would be handling the Colonial side of the upcoming battle, General Ortega.

  “Yes,” she replied, turning to answer the soldier directly. “We received word only minutes ago that Legion forces in Tameca City have started opening fire on civilians. Women, children,” Sarah said, taken back by the freshly received report. “Anyone who is refusing to join their war effort is being executed on the spot,” she added. “General Ortega will lead our troops into battle, and it appears that we will be doing a bulk of fighting on foot. The Legion appears to have little to no air support left, which means more casualties on our end as well. We will have to meet them on their turf.” Sarah said.

  “I have asked General Ortega to begin the strike sooner than expected in order to save as many civilian lives as we possibly can. However, your lives will be on the line as well, so I thought it only appropriate to ask all of you face to face.” Sarah added. One of the Colonial Spec Ops soldiers near the back of the room stood to his feet, looking around for a moment before refocusing his attention onto Sarah Blaine.

  “We'll go. And when we arrive, the Legion will fall.” the soldier stated proudly as the room began to cheer.

  “Good. That means you are all out of gear, get your asses in check and double time it to the launch bay!” General Ortega shouted as the room of cheers turned to a full eruption of motivated yelling.

  As the group of soldiers began to file out of the room with courage and conviction, they immediately halted and joined the crowded lobby who stood quietly, stunned by the video footage being broadcast across the mounted video monitors on the adjacent wall. News coverage sending both still images and video feeds out of Tameca City, which was mostly engulfed in flames as explosions rocked throughout the city at random. Legion firing squads lining up and gunning down helpless civilians as they attempted to flee their homes. Sarah began to tear as did many of the Colonial soldiers, still images of bodies piled several feet high being shown, filled with both women and children who were still cindering from a fiery death.

  They watched as Lord Riven gave an interview to the news team, bragging of the Legion's hold on Tameca as he promised to continue the killing while daring the Colonials to intervene. General Ortega looked onto the gutless murderer as he continued his interview for the news crew, smiling as though he were proud of killing so many innocent.

  “The Colonials would be wise to stay clear of Tameca or any other Legion controlled ground.” Lord Riven stated in a threatening manner as the Colonial soldiers stood silent, watching in horror.

  “Let's go goddammit, these people need us!” General Ortega shouted, doing his best to break the shocking quiet of his best soldiers while showing them such threats did nothing to intimidate him. And they didn't, in fact General Ortega now thought of the upcoming battle as personal and would have gladly fought it for free.

  Other planets were sure to send help as well, but most were days out even by full burn. The Colonials were the closest force, stationed in Glimmeria and stocked with enough firepower to possibly put an end to the massacre at hand.

  “General Ortega, I am more than willing to come...” Sarah said as the stocky man turned for a moment to cut her short, scars across his face from past battle experience.

  “Thank you for the offer my lady, but that is not necessary. I will not stand for war crimes such as these and give you my solemn promise that when the black of our boots hit Temecan soil, the only massacre will be against those who have committed such butchering. You just work on bringing Adam back to us.” he said, smiling a bit before turning steadfast and following his soldiers to the three Colonial Star battleships which would be under heavy escort by several well armed ships filled with battle hungry troops.

  The city of Rockheed began to tremble as though a minor earthquake had set in, moments later the large outlines of Colonial ships both massive and commanding respect made their way into the pale green sky of Glimmeria.

  Citizens stopped to witness such a fantastic force of freedom seekers heading for war, and leaving behind just enough soldiers to hold the fort down. Ninety percent of Colonial forces were propelling into the sky, their ships in full burn and plotting course for Tameca City, and as the fully equipped soldiers glanced out of the windows lining each ship, the onlooking citizens quickly vanished and were replaced by scattered stars as they hit deep space in full burn.

  “So Adam, Sasha tells me that rescuing this prisoner Roman Raines is a priority for you?” Kraid asked as he sat calmly in his thick leather chair, a long desk of polished wood separating them.

  “That's right. He stayed behind and gave us an out, otherwise we'd all be locked up.” Adam replied.

  “You've been with us now, what six months?” Kraid asked. “Nine months actually.” Adam replied.

  “You could say six though because I've been drunk for at least three of 'em.” Dalton added as both Adam and Sasha turned to stare a hole through him as Whiskey barked loudly to testify to the truth of it.

  It was the moment Adam began to turn his attention back to Kraid that he first noticed it. A photo behind the desk on a small bookcase, Kraid holding Sasha with sheer love on the faces of both. They were ex-lovers, and that complicated things even more for an already overwhelmed heart that slowly beat inside the chest of such an honest man.

  “It's very important we get our friend back,” Adam said to Kraid, before slowly turning to Sasha. “He's always been honest with me and that means everything.” he added, letting Sasha know right away that he had become wise to her past relationship with Kraid.

  After listening to Adam and staring at Dalton for a moment, wondering what kind of first impression to make, Kraid reached into a door on his desk and pulled out a handgun of gold. Fully functional, it was an semi-automatic pistol although a bit larger than the standard. The bright light from the snowy day outside gleamed into the room and refracted off of the gold plating of the piece as Kraid laid it onto the desk, pushing it into Adam's direction.

  “Every ship's Captain carries one of these, about time you did the same.” Kraid said with a slight smile, glancing at Sasha for a moment himself.

  It was Sasha who had ended things between them after life became too complicated. Kraid had never gotten over her smile, the touch of her hand. He still held very strong feelings for her even though he dared not show it. As he and Sasha exchanged glances, Adam felt that there was a bunch of history between them, history that couldn't have blindsided him at a worse time.

  “The intel I have on the Gali ship is that it is maximum security, which is why I'm sending two of my very best along with you,” Kraid said as the two men from the lodge slowly entered. “Captain Michaels, meet Primal and Stage.” Kraid added.

  It was easy to see where Primal got his nickname. He looked more beast than man as both Adam and Dalton stared at him to determine if he was actually human or another race entirely. Indeed human, he was badly scarred with bushy brown hair on both his scalp and face. A very tall and stocky man, Dalton found himself instantly becoming more attractive standing beside Primal.

  Stage seemed to be the opposite. Well dressed with a finely trimmed pinstripe beard of black that perfectly meshed with his crop cut hair. He wore a set of reflective sunglasses and carried a very large pistol on his side that the Benzans referred to as a hammer. It was the most common firearm among their people, its deep and throaty firing sound resembling the strike of a hammer. “If your friend is still aboard that ship, we'll get him.” Stage said with calculation.

  Adam sat there in deep thought, he didn't like the idea of two men who he knew nothing about coming along for the ride. Especially having just pieced together a past relationship between Kraid and Sasha. He wanted to believe if it came down to it, they would put their lives on the line to save his, but he just wasn't convinced. In fact, he wasn't even sure he knew Sasha at this point.

  It's not the the fact that she had a past, everyone has a history. It was that he had to find o
ut about it by surprise when he had already started to favor her. This whole rescue plan was starting to worry Adam, but it was his only option at this point, and Roman had been locked up far too long. Adam owed his own freedom to the man and the least he could do was return the favor.

  “I appreciate the help.” Adam said, standing slowly to his feet and extending his hand. Kraid, who wanted to hate Adam so badly for capturing the affections of Sasha, extended his arm to shake hands. It nearly killed him, shaking hands with a man who would be walking back outside with the woman he loved so much. But she had made it clear that her love life wouldn't include Kraid, leaving him helpless to do anything more.

  “I'll have my men fuel a ship for you.” Kraid said, smiling a bit. Is this son of a bitch planning on killing me? Adam thought as he nodded while broadcasting a fake smile. He didn't want any trouble, but just like his life up until now, doing the right thing always seemed to surround him with it.

  Both Roman and Zane stood there with a small group of prisoners, watching the new arrivals slowly exit the Gali shuttle which brought them in once a week. While the rest of the group meticulously watched fresh meat exit onto the steel deck of the prison grinder, wondering who they could intimidate and control; Roman and Zane continued to look the shuttle over.

  “It's a Zion 400. Gonna take at least three men to pilot it out of here, and no less.” Roman said as he studied the ship from its rounded silver nose to the dual thrusters which were mounted onto the rear.

  “Going to have to try it with two, I don't know anyone else we can trust enough to include.” Zane said under his breath.

  “I do.” Roman replied with confidence as he watched a large man exit the shuttle under heavy guard. Slightly larger than Roman, the man's physique looked as though it had been etched with the sharpest of knives as his closely cropped black hair seemed as confident as his strut.