by Mikayla Lane
When the last body hit the floor, Cin reached down and took the small mic device from the man’s ear and pocketed it before moving to the door and peering into the hallway. Lanie joined him when Cin waved her over, and they headed into the corridor.
The map of the facility popped into Lanie’s mind, and she knew Cin was showing her where they were going. They only encountered two more raiders on the way to the door leading to the stairs, and Cin quickly took them out.
They were rushing down a flight of steps when a door flew open, and several raiders ran into the stairwell and headed up. Cin waited until he knew the raiders weren’t coming towards them before continuing to the bottom floor.
Once they reached the door, Cin stopped and pulled Lanie alongside the wall beside him. “There’s going to be a lot of raiders in here, Lanie. At least a dozen, maybe more. Stay invisible but go ahead and use projectile weapons and turn on your nanites recording capabilities. I have a feeling we’re going to want the evidence before we blow this place.”
Lanie had no idea she had recording capabilities with her nanites and was pretty impressed when she asked her nanites to do it and felt their compliance in her mind.
Moments later, all thoughts left Lanie as they rushed inside the room, and Cin started shooting at raiders. Momentarily stunned by what she was seeing, Lanie finally pulled her weapons and fired on what she believed to be raiders.
“Don’t shoot the Letranian people!” Cin shouted before running further into the room.
Lanie didn’t even have to ask who that was because the sight of the strange dwarf-like people had startled her when they first entered the room. Instead, she ran after Cin, hunting the raiders trying to escape them while the small people scattered and tried to hide.
Half a dozen raiders turned at a door and opened fire on where they thought Cin and Lanie were. The blasts flashed off Cin’s armor, and instead of backing off, Cin raised his weapons and continued shooting until the last body slid to the floor at the door.
The electronic door was sliding open before Cin even reached it, and Lanie followed him through only to be thrown back several feet by a hard hit to her chest. Whatever the raiders were shooting was powerful, and Lanie asked her nanites to help compensate for it.
Gripping her weapons tightly in her hands, Lanie got to her feet and ran after Cin, who was taking repeated hits to his chest as he advanced on the small group of raiders trying to get into a large UFO behind them.
“Get down!” Cin shouted as he threw a bomb, then turned to tackle Lanie to the ground.
The ensuing explosion rocked the complex, and the ground rolled beneath them as debris showered Cin and the entire area. Lanie didn’t even try to move as flaming pieces of metal continued to crash onto the floor around them.
Cin suddenly got to his feet and reached a hand down to help Lanie to hers. They both watched what was left of the UFO burn in front of them. Turning around, Lanie looked at the room they were in and tugged on Cin’s hand to get his attention.
“I think that’s what Niama and Adamo were after.” Lanie pointed to the other side of the room.
Tables and crates were stuffed full of wrapped packages and bottles of liquids. Sand dragon blood was clearly visible even from across the room because of its luminescent properties.
Cin opened a comm. “Dar, Charriat’s Gorge on Letrania. We got another raider base, and it looks like more artifacts and magical items. You guys may want to come and secure it.”
“You bastard!” Dar snapped. “You can’t be doing this shit without me!”
“You gotta take that up with the elves, my friend,” Cin chuckled. “We had to come to save them.”
“On our way,” Dar promised, and the comm cut out.
Cin turned to Lanie. “We need to get the rest of the raiders and secure the safety of the Letranians until LAW can protect them. Are you all right?”
“I’m good. Let’s finish this,” Lanie manifested her projectile weapons, figuring it didn’t matter who heard them now.
Four and a half hours later, Lanie was exhausted and leaning against a wall in a cafeteria of sorts while Cin tried to calm and assure the Letranian leaders that their people were safe.
“Safe!” a Letranian tribal elder spat. “You may have saved us, but you killed our people in the other three bases further down the gorge, you idiots!”
The man had barely finished speaking before Cin was already searching for any information about other facilities within the gorge.
“Your people are fine,” Cin assured the elder. “The raiders do not know of what has transpired here. I’ve shut down communications and coded it to look like a system program if the other compounds look into it. LAW will be here in under two hours, and we’ll free the rest of your people. On my word.”
Muttering went up among the crowd of little people, and Lanie was startled when an adorable little girl handed her a cup of water. Lanie slowly reached her hand out for the mug so she wouldn’t scare the tiny girl and smiled.
“Thank you,” Lanie whispered. “You’re very sweet. I’m Lanie.”
The little girl walked right up to Lanie and cupped the elven pendant in her small hand. “Are the elves all right?”
Lanie smiled and nodded. “Yeah, they’re healing just fine.”
An idea struck Lanie, and she searched her nanites to see if it was possible, then grinned broadly at the girl.
“Watch,” Lanie whispered.
Holding up her hand, Lanie created a storm of nanites within her palm and concentrated as hard as she could on what she wanted to make. She ignored the little girl’s sharp intake of breath and didn’t even look until she felt the nanites were finished.
Lanie couldn’t be happier as she clasped the similar pendant around the girl’s neck. “Now you have one of your own.”
Catching the little girl when she threw her arms around her, Lanie hugged her tightly for a moment before gently standing her back on her own feet.
“You’re very kind.”
Lanie smiled up at the older woman moving close to them. “I’m just a normal person who can’t resist someone as adorable as this little one.”
Lanie gestured to the little girl now running over to the woman and throwing her arms around her waist.
“Madreka, did you thank the warrior for your gift?” the woman asked the smiling girl.
The child ran back to Lanie and executed a perfect bow. “Thank you, Lady Warrior.”
“You’re very welcome, Madreka.” Lanie couldn’t help but smile at the girl and her mother. They seemed to be decent and kind people.
“Lanie?”
Lanie was surprised to see Cin holding out a hand to her and allowed him to help her to her feet.
“Are you well?” Cin asked, already scanning her body systems.
“Of course,” Lanie smiled and looked around for the girl and her mother, but they were gone. “Just a little tired. When are we hitting the other three bases?”
“Dar is meeting us in a few minutes and bringing some food with him.” Cin continued to lead Lanie out of the room and down a corridor. “We’re going to grab something to eat while we plan the assault.”
Lanie sighed in relief. She was starving.
After half a dozen flights of stairs, Cin popped open a horizontal door above them and stepped out at the top of the gorge near where they’d first arrived.
Swirling winds drew Lanie’s attention to the sky where dozens of LAW ships were landing. The sight was so similar to the one on Raider’s Moon that Lanie got a chill from watching the black-clad soldiers pour from the vessels.
An hour later, Lanie was stuffed, reenergized, and listening intently to the plan to lay siege the other three compounds while remaining glued to Cin’s side. Thankfully, Cin didn’t seem to mind and helped the awkward situation by holding her hand or keeping his arm around her.
Lanie wasn’t frightened. She just felt weird under the intense scrutiny and awe of the LAW officers, excep
t for Dar, who treated her as an old friend. She knew it had to do with her armor and weapons systems, but Lanie had lived her life in the shadows and preferred to keep it that way.
In the three minutes, Lanie had been left alone when the LAW officers first arrived, she was asked repeatedly to join LAW or about her weapons and armor systems. None of which she could answer. Not because she didn’t know, but out of an abundance of caution.
Lanie didn’t know what, if anything, could be said about the codes running through her mind from her AI and nanites, and she wouldn’t take a chance of saying something that could compromise Cin.
“Let’s go.” Cin stood and held his hand out for Lanie.
They immediately broke into three teams and began running across the plateau next to the gorge toward the other complexes still under Consortium control.
Lanie easily kept pace beside Cin and prayed they’d be in time to rescue more of the enslaved Letranian people. They left the first team at the next compound and continued running until they reached the middle one.
This complex was Lanie and Cin’s stop, and they ran to the edge of the gorge and waited while the LAW team rigged up ropes to rappel down to the cave opening. The rest of the Law officers were heading to the third compound.
When the LAW team was ready, Cin wrapped his arms around Lanie and lowered them down the gorge until they were right above the opening. LAW officers streamed down the sides until they were just below the ledge of the cave.
When everyone was in place, Cin dropped them onto the ledge and immediately attacked the three guards in the cave's mouth. The first body had barely hit the ground before the LAW officers streamed up the sides and overwhelmed the remaining raider.
Cin moved to the door and held his hand above the scanner, locking down all communications at the three raider controlled compounds. Once they entered the complex, Cin and Lanie led the way down the long corridor.
They already knew that shipments were being readied in the docking bays, and most of the compounds were sparsely staffed. It had shocked Lanie to discover how easy it had been for the small raider contingent to take over the population through nothing more than fear and threats of violence.
The Letranian people had the numbers, weaponry, and technology to defeat the raiders when they’d first arrived. Still, the moment the thugs killed a few of the Letranians, the rest had surrendered.
It was hard for Lanie to understand why anyone would give up their freedom so easily until she remembered that it was happening right now on her own world.
It had only taken an hour to completely subdue the remaining raiders in the other three compounds through sheer force and greater numbers. The only casualties were among the Letranian who’d tried to fight back when they heard the LAW officers battling in the hallway.
Lanie was looking around the artifact packed docking bay when Dar stormed into the room, heading right for the three raiders that were still alive, though badly injured. Once he reached the floor where the raiders were receiving medical attention, Dar studied each of them for a moment.
Suddenly Dar snatched one man by the throat and growled in his face, “Where are you getting the relics?”
“Fuck you, Major Dar Vacanow,” the man spat. His wild eyes looked around the room. “Fuck you all. Cindrac of Earth. Lanie of Earth. You’ll all be dead soon. There’s a price on your heads. You’re dead!”
The man started to cackle with laughter until Dar’s fist shot out. The medic working on the guy launched himself backward in shock while Dar blushed and slowly pulled his hand out of the raider’s skull.
“My bad,” Dar said with an embarrassed chuckle. “Might be something wrong with the gravity of this place making me stronger than normal.”
Cin laughed and patted Dar on the shoulder. “I believe my calculations will back you up on that.”
Dar caught a wash wipe thrown at him by one of the medic’s and wiped off his hand as he knelt at the heads of the two remaining raiders. He had barely gotten all the blood off before the raiders began babbling almost incoherently.
It was clear that the raiders were saying it was LAW officers involved in getting the items from the inventory of the outposts scattered throughout the universe. For LAW members, things like dragon’s blood and shaman bread were routinely kept on hand for the officers who come from the worlds where they originate.
Artifacts like the iberaria skins were being gathered by other LAW officers, using their league status to access the worlds. Until now, no one would have suspected a member of the league’s enforcement division to be compromised and working with the Consortium.
The elementals and even the elves wouldn’t think much of a member of LAW being on those worlds and would never consider them a threat to their relics.
That all changed when Cin sent a warning message to the elven and elemental Kings and the Madean. As a warrior cleric with the Dominion, Cindrac was honor-bound to warn them of the threat.
“Damn it to hell,” Dar growled in a fury, immediately realizing the ramifications of the news. “They’re trying to tear the league apart from the inside.”
“It’s going to work,” Cin nodded in agreement. “You know I had to warn the others, and LAW will no longer be welcome on their worlds.”
“I don’t blame them,” one of the officers said with a disgusted shake of his head.
Dar stood and looked at the other LAW officers. “Get these assholes out of here.”
Dar moved over to Lanie and Cin and waited until no one was around them. “I need your help with this. There has to be a way to find these bastards. Another major blow like we had with the LAW traitors working with those on Forchania will only cause more mistrust and drive a greater wedge between the member states.”
“I can look for communication patterns in your systems, but after Forchania, the Consortium and the traitors most likely stopped using anything I can infiltrate.” Cin would look into it but didn’t expect to find anything until an idea hit him. “Actually, it may be a perfect storm of information.”
“What do you mean?” Dar hoped Cin had a plan.
“I might find something by looking into those who have suddenly stopped using any electronic communications,” Cin said with a shrug. “We may catch a lot of innocent people in such a large net, but you’re bound to find some of your traitors among them.”
“I like it.” Dar put a grateful hand on Cin’s shoulder. “Everyone uses electronic communications, and anyone who recently stopped is worth investigating.”
Cin and Dar continued to discuss parameters for Cin to look for while Lanie watched the stolen relics being loaded up for transport to LAW as evidence.
“This is bullshit,” Lanie muttered.
“What?” Cin was immediately alert to Lanie’s frustration.
Lanie gestured to the officers loading the artifacts into crates.
“You’re putting it right back into the hands of those stealing it. Why don’t you let the elves, elementals, and the rightful owners come and claim it? Or put trackers or dye packs in the stuff so you can at least see where it ends up.” Lanie didn’t see sense in doing anything when it would just end up back with the Consortium.
Cin quirked a brow at Dar, and both men seemed to ponder Lanie’s suggestion before Dar nodded his head and turned to the other LAW officers in the room.
“Clear out!” Dar gestured to the door.
The three waited until everyone left before Dar looked at Cin and Lanie.
“Everything has to go into evidence at LAW,” Dar explained. “But putting trackers on the stuff before it gets there is a great idea. But only if it’s something the traitors and Consortium won’t find until the product reaches its destination.”
Cin knew what Dar was asking. “I can make something that’ll bypass any security sweeps. I can’t make any promises about what’ll happen to the idiots if they try to consume any of the products with the trackers inside of them.”
Dar’s blue eyes turned
hard. “I don’t care what happens to anyone that’s a part of stealing these items.”
“Put dye packs in it and turn them all bright blue or something,” Lanie laughed. “They’ll be easy to find when they’re converging on doctors to get their normal skin color back.”
“Dye packs?” Cin was confused.
“Yeah, banks put them in money stolen from them. When the robbers open up the cash, the packs explode, covering the robbers and the loot in a bright color like red, purple, or blue,” Lanie explained and smiled when the guys realized what she meant.
Dar’s gaze when to Cin, who nodded his head. “Yeah, I can come up with something. Keep everyone out for a little while so I can plan this. Lanie can help me make them.”
“Take all the time you need.” Dar headed to the door and turned back to look at them. “I’ll get you guys some food and drink. You’ll probably need the energy to make so many trackers. We have to do the same to the products in the other two compounds here as well.”
Cin held his hands out in front of him, and Lanie watched in awe while thousands of nanites passed from one palm to the other, and numbers flickered rapidly in his eyes.
Not wanting to bother him, Lanie sat in a chair and waited until Cin designed the trackers and gave her the plans so she could help make them.
Twenty minutes later, Dar walked back into the room, and Cin was still in the same position. The giant handed several bags of food and water to Lanie before taking a chair beside her. He gestured to Cin.
“How long has he been at that?” Dar whispered.
Lanie shook her head. “A lot longer than I expected him to be.”
“Have you ever seen him take this long to make something?” Dar whispered.
“I should be asking you that,” Lanie snorted.
Dar blushed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ve never seen him take this long.”
“You know I can hear you, right?” Cin laughed. “I’ll be done in a minute. I just wanted to make sure these things came out perfect.”