by Saxon Andrew
Almost immediately, his remote began vibrating again and he jerked his headcover off to look at the remote’s small screen. He exhaled sharply, pulled the rifle off his shoulder, and dropped to a prone position in the pipe.
A woman was moving slowly inside the pipe calling out about every ten yards, “Tee, are you here?” Tee rolled his eyes and almost pulled the trigger…almost…but he answered instead, “Mer, you’ve made a big mistake coming here.”
“TEE, PLEASE!” Tee was silent and kept the red dot in the scope focused on her heart. “I have nowhere else to go, Tee! I’ve been attacked four times getting out of the city and I’m out of darts. You’re the only one that can hide me.” She took a breath and continued, “I didn’t bring any weapons with me other than this dart gun.” Tee knew he should kill her and toss her body away with Cha’s, but he just couldn’t make himself pull the trigger. “Tee, just hide me until the aliens leave, I’ll give you half of what I’m paid!” she yelled.
Tee started to pull the trigger but yelled out instead, “Get undressed Mer.”
“What?”
“Take your clothes off and turn completely around. If I scan any weapons on you, you’re dead!” Mer hesitated a moment before she began taking her clothes off. When she finished, she cautiously started turning around. Tee used the scope to scan her and nothing showed up. Tee sighed because he hated what he was about to do. He said where she could hear, “Mer, turn your back to me.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked with fear in her voice.
“I’m going to hit you with a paralyzing dart.”
“WHY?”
“There are others moving this way and I can’t deal with them and leave you conscious. Turn around!” Mer turned around and Tee shot her in the back. She instantly collapsed, as Tee rushed forward, picked her up, and slid her in the pipe he had hidden in earlier. She was filthy from the accumulated dirt in the pipe but that was too bad. He threw her clothes in on top of her and then looked down at the remote again. Seven assassins were moving through the pipe toward him, less than half-a-mile away. Six of them were wearing armor and the seventh was holding a scanner in front of him as he led the others through the pipe.
Tee pressed buttons on the remote and activated a camera behind the seven approaching assassins, there were four more following about a hundred yards behind them. Well, that should be all of them, Tee thought. He enlarged the image on the remote and exhaled softly, the other three assassins that had been to his lair were in the group. The group called themselves the Downtown Eleven, and they had been working together for some time to handle their contracts. They were lower-ranked assassins and lacked the skills to be successful on their own, but as a group, they were formidable. However, the pipes erased most of their advantage in numbers.
Tee turned up his audio plugs and heard one of them ask, “Do you see the woman?”
“No! She must have heard us and ran ahead.”
“Listen for a dart! How did she know about this place?”
“She and Tee had a thing years ago. He brought her here then.” Tee shook his head and knew with certainty that Jam was with them; Mer had brought him the night she came and told him goodbye to assist her in carrying her belongings out.
Tee stood up and rushed down to the intersection of the pipe the seven assassins were moving through and went to the floor. He raised the rifle, activated the scope, and watched the pipe closely. He pulled the rifle into his shoulder and held it still; any movement would be picked up by the scanner being used by the lead assassin.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going, Jam?”
“YES!”
“And there’s enough food for us to survive until the aliens leave?”
“WILL YOU SHUT-UP! I NEED TO HEAR MY SCANNER!”
Tee kept the rifle trained down the pipe and then he saw them enter sixty yards away. The seven assassins entered the pipe in single file with their weapons raised and then fanned out as much as the pipe would allow. Tee gently pushed the selector on the receiver from semi to auto and remained motionless. He had already changed the magazine to killing darts after shooting Mer. He waited until they were twenty yards away and pulled the trigger and sweeping it across the seven-assassins, hitting all seven multiple times. The assassins dropped like a bad transmission and Tee yelled out, “WE GOT HIM!! HE’S DOWN!!” Tee raised the rifle and sighted on the end of the pipe. The remaining four assassins came running around the end of the pipe stopping as they saw the seven lying in the pipe. Tee dropped them with four-well-placed darts. He remained in place keeping the rifle trained down the pipe. An hour later, he used the scope to sight in on each of them and shot them again. One of the bodies jumped slightly and he knew the assassin was still alive when the dart hit. He waited and increased the scope’s magnification. He looked at each of them in detail and saw they were all dead. He walked down the pipe and shot them again. Then he started the hard work of pulling them to the pipe he has disposed of Cha’s body and dropped them in behind him. He heard Mer moaning in the pipe, but he ignored her until he completed the grisly work. After the eleven were disposed of, he went to the pipe Mer was in and said, “Give me your arm.” Mer extended her arm and Tee pulled her slowly out of the pipe. She cried out several times as the pipe’s corrugated surface abraded her skin. She fell out of the pipe into his arms and he helped her to her feet, as she leaned against the side wall, “Are you able to walk?” he asked.
“Not yet.” Tee reached back into the pipe and pulled her clothes out. She looked at them and shook her head; they were covered in mud and silt. Tee held her up and put his arm under her shoulder. He selected the cleanest piece of clothing, put it on the floor, and lowered her down to it. She sat there with her back against the pipe and rubbed her head. He sat down next to her and offered his water container to her. She took a few sips and fell against his shoulder. He had a poisoned blade in his left hand and watched for her to try something…but she didn’t. He sighed and waited for her to recover. His remote remained silent with no other intrusions detected.
• • •
An hour later, Mer struggled to her feet and raised her eyes to him standing beside her, “I think I can walk.” Tee took her arm and assisted her as she began stumbling up the pipe. Mer’s energy grew with each step and soon she was able to walk without assistance. She held the piece of clothing she sat on over her chest and asked, “You said there were other assassins coming.”
“Jam led the Downtown Eleven here.”
“What happened, Tee?” Tee was silent, and Mer lowered her eyes, “They were stupid to come here.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I told Jam that if he ever came back, he wouldn’t walk out. He apparently didn’t believe me.”
“Why weren’t you with him?”
“Leaving you for him was the worst decision I ever made; we didn’t last a month.”
“Why did you leave me, Mer?”
“Living in this dark underworld of your pipes was more than I could take, Tee. I missed daylight and open air and thought I was more than I was. Now it’s the darkness that I hope will allow me to live another day. It’s so brutal what’s happening out there, Tee.”
Tee removed his headcover and exhaled a long breath before saying, “Mer, part of me is screaming to kill you now. How can I trust you after what you’ve done?”
“You can’t. I understand your feelings and my word or promises means nothing now. If you want, you can have all my payment if you’ll just let me stay with you until this is over.”
“I have a better idea, Mer.”
“What is that?”
“You keep everything you’re owed and promise you’ll not betray me.”
“I give you my solemn promise that I will defend you to the best of my ability and will never betray you again. You know I’ve never lied to you even though I could have when I left.”
Tee kept his eyes on her face and then turned to lead her down the pipe to
ward home. He assisted her up the ladder and led her to the shower, when they entered his quarters. She started her shower and Tee took her a large tee-shirt to wear when she finished. He took off his black suit and put all his weapons under lock. He knew that trust is earned not given.
Mer came out of the shower and Tee motioned to a chair he had pulled up from the kitchen table next to his. He went to a knee in front of her and started spraying the abrasions on her arms and legs with an antibiotic spray. “Raise your shirt and let me sterilize the others.” Mer leaned forward and pulled the shirt up off her shoulders. He sprayed five cuts and abrasions on her back and she leaned back. He sprayed her chest and she lowered the shirt.” Thank you.”
“We’ll need to do this again tomorrow.” Mer nodded as Tee put a soft sheet on his recliner and lifted her to her feet, “Use my chair until some of these cuts heal.” Mer stumbled to his chair and sat down cautiously with Tee’s assistance. He turned on the monitor and Mer was surprised at the images coming from around the planet. Tee motioned toward it, “I didn’t have this when you were here. It’s not so dark anymore.”
Mer’s eyes softened and looked toward the single bed in the corner of the room, “Do you mind if we share that, Tee?”
“Don’t really have a choice, Mer. We’ll find a way to come to terms with this.” Mer’s eyes lowered before she nodded and turned back to the monitor. The newscaster was reporting thousands of dead bodies being found all over the planet. It looked like the final payout was increasing by the minute. Later, Tee carried Mer to the bed and went back to his recliner to sleep. Some things aren’t easily forgotten.
Chapter Nine
The Alien Fleet Commander sat in his large chair listening to the reports coming up from the planet and turned to the Alien Liaison, “It’s happening just like you predicted. Those assassins are attacking each other and tens of thousands of them have been killed. It almost makes me want to call off the proposal. If this killing continues, I believe we could do this without the agreement.”
“You can’t call it off?” The AL replied.
“Oh, why not?” he replied smugly.
“The Prince Royal had to run the proposal by the Central Governors and they approved it, with the stipulation that if it failed, the fleet was required to leave.”
“I didn’t know that. That sheds a new light on what’s happening.”
The AL looked up from his panel, “We’d have been forced to leave any way if things had remained the same, so the outcome is pretty much identical. However, at least this way, we’ll make a profit when we get out of here.”
“But not being able to come back and take more metals is troublesome.”
“I suspect if anyone ever comes back they’ll be greeted with warships that will make the price much heavier.”
The Commander looked at the wall monitor and said quietly, I suspect you’re right about that.”
• • •
The ShaKa was flying at maximum-speed toward the Large Magellanic Cloud and Tal glanced at Jan, “Do you have a current star map of the LMC?”
“I have most of them plotted in my system; we won’t get lost,” Jan answered.
“Jan, I need you to find an alien warship to attack. Are you able to do that?”
“When we get close, I’ll be able to track in on their communications using our phase scanner.”
“How close?”
“I’m not sure, Tal. Just fly into the galaxy and I’ll keep my scanner set to maximum-range.”
Tal acknowledged her plan and turned to Jee, “You should activate the ShaKa’s weapons when we move into the galaxy.”
“They’re ready now, Sir. We won’t be taken by surprise, I can promise you that.”
Tal smiled at the youthful enthusiasm being displayed by his crew and knew that surprises could never be completely avoided. He looked at his panel with a big smile and announced, “By the way, both of you have been inducted into the Navy and are now Captains in Earth’s fleet.”
Jan’s eyes narrowed, “Why did they make us Captains?”
“The consensus is that you will be given your own ships to command before all of this is over; it saves on the paperwork.”
“I don’t want my own ship, Tal! I prefer to remain with you,” Jan protested.
“Jan, that’s not an issue to worry about now.”
“What about you, Tal?”
Tal turned toward Jee, “What about me?”
“You’re not in the Navy, you’re a General in the army.”
Tal raised his shoulders, “That appears to be no longer the case. Just before we shoved off, Duncan transferred me to the Navy and I’m now the Fleet Admiral Commanding the Epy Class of Warships. It was a small promotion and they didn’t ask my permission to make the change.”
“How do you feel about that?” Jan asked.
Tal released a very long sigh, before answering, “Initially, I didn’t like it.”
“Why not?” Jee asked.
“I was a General and Sha was the Colonel serving under me when we took the Epy out. This new rank is a change and I guess I wanted to keep things the same as when she was with me.” The twins were silent, and Tal finally added, “But Sha is gone, and I have to learn how to live without her. I guess this is a step in that direction and suspect that is why Duncan made the change; he’s concerned about me.”
The twins stared at Tal and he glanced at each of them before saying, “I know you’re worried that my urge to revenge Sha’s death might get us into trouble. But I’ve promised your mother that I wouldn’t take unnecessary risks, and I intend to keep my word. I will also make sure neither of you allow your anger at your father’s death to nudge me into making a bad decision.”
Jan lifted her left shoulder and tilted her head toward it, “That’s why I don’t want my own ship.”
“You won’t place your crew in unnecessary danger if that were the case. The three-of-us are more prone to doing something stupid together than being alone,” Tal replied.
• • •
The LMC was growing larger by the moment, when Tal slowed the ship down. “Why are we slowing down, Tal?”
“Jee, I always ask myself what could possibly go wrong before I go rushing into a dangerous situation. Now, both of you think about it and tell me what could possibly go wrong by rushing into the galaxy?”
They were both silent for a few moments and Jan was first to speak, “It’s possible the Aliens may have some of their warships out from the LMC scanning for any vessels moving toward it?”
“Very good, Jan. Where would those ships be located if that were the case?”
“They would put some between the Milky Way and more in line with the Andromeda Galaxy.”
“Why would they do that, Jee?”
“Because they aren’t certain the Epy came from the LMC, Tal.”
“And if they detect us moving toward the LMC from the Milky Way…”
“They’ll leave the LMC and head toward the Colonies and Earth,” Jan finished her brother’s statement
“Good answer…good answer!” Tal said smiling.
“So, what do we do about this possibility, Tal?”
“Jan, we’re going to see just how good your scanners really are. Start looking for any alien communications from those two positions and let me know if you detect anything. I know this ship won’t be seen on their scanners, hell, even ours can’t see it until it’s right on top of the ship scanning for it.” Jan turned to her console and began pushing switches and buttons. “What are you doing, Jan?” Tal asked.
“I’m ignoring communications; if there are ships looking for vessels approaching the LMC on those two lines, they may have been ordered to communication silence. However, I can detect any scanner energy they’re using and the detection range on that is a lot further than communications.”
“There might not be any ships outside the LMC,” Tal commented. “I’m just being my normal paranoid self.”
Jan smiled
, “I’m detecting scanner beams in the places we anticipated.” Jan turned to him, “They’re there.”
Tal eyebrows went up and he pulled back on the steering wheel. The ShaKa picked up speed as Tal flew the ship high over the LMC. He went to full speed and set a new course. They arrived on the other side of the LMC, three days later. Jee and Jan shared flying the ShaKa and Jee asked Jan on the second day, “What is he doing?”
Jan smiled, “Tal is a genius, Jee. He’s moving around the LMC and is going to enter it on a direct line from the Pinwheel Galaxy. The colonies have determined that the aliens came from that galaxy and what do you think they’ll think if we’re detected moving in from that direction?”
“They’ll wonder if the alien civilization scouting them is in their galaxy,” Jee responded.
“That should cause them some consternation.”
Jee’s expression showed his disagreement, “I don’t know about that, Jan.”
“Don’t know about what?” Tal asked as he stepped on the bridge and went to the pilot’s chair.
“Jan says you’re going to enter the LMC on a direct line from the Pinwheel Galaxy. I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Tal.”
Tal sat on his chair, before asking, “Why not, Jeremy?” Jee flinched slightly and Tal chuckled, “We should start using your Earth names, after all, you’re now citizens of Earth.”
Jeremy smiled, “You’re right. Anyway, I think any attempt to make the aliens think the civilization scouting them is in their home galaxy is a mistake.”
Tal nodded, “So do I. Tell me why.” Jan flinched, and Tal held up his hand for her to be silent.
“I believe the Aliens know their home galaxy as well as we know the Milky Way. They will immediately know where the imaginary civilization isn’t located and will only have to search a limited region to find them. They’ve sent most of their fleets to the LMC and if they change the search to their galaxy, they may decide to send some of those fleets out to attack the colonies.”