Ranger

by William Stacey

  "Please… please… please don't," she gasped.

  "Shh," he said softly. "It's okay. Close your eyes."

  When she did, he drove his sword into her heart.

  Alex stood watching Leela, who held Ylra's head in her lap as Lee, Martinez, and Specialist Flannors ran into the workshop. When Flannors tended to Ylra, Leela helped Alex remove his cut MR suit to examine his back.

  "It looks worse than it is," she said. "Just a shallow cut. The suit must have stopped most of the injury. You were lucky."

  "Was I?" he asked, picking up the chunk of twisted metal and burned circuits that had been their only keying device. "The mission is a failure."

  "We're still alive," Leela whispered.

  Alex glanced at Liv's corpse and once more noticed the glowing green light blinking on her rig's arm assembly. "Why is that light flashing?"

  Ylra pushed away from Flannors and scrambled over to the rig, ignoring both the blood still flowing from her scalp and the medic's curses at her for moving. She bent over Liv's corpse and lifted the arm to examine the console. Ylra's teeth flashed white in a smile. "The rig's in tandem mode," she said in wonder.

  "It's what?" Alex asked.

  "Tandem mode," she repeated. "It's linked to Boko's rig. Kargin and I built both gateway rigs to work together for greatest effectiveness, to share the load."

  "But... Boko's rig was…"

  "Captured with Kargin," Ylra answered, "and taken as a bounty to the queen's fortress with him. But someone has activated the rig and linked it with Liv's rig." Excitement flashed in Ylra's eyes. "Alex, don't you understand? Boko never used her Shatkur crystal. She never had a chance, so it's at full power."

  Alex stared at Ylra. "But that means—"

  "That a mag-sens, like your wife, can use Boko's gateway console and open a portal into the queen's fortress. We can go get Kargin—and the contact team's keying device. The mission isn't a failure, not yet."

  51

  "You're certain about this?" Huck asked Alex.

  "No," Alex admitted, "but Ylra is. She thinks Boko's rig must be with the contact team's keying device and Kargin in the queen's fortress on Wildspike Island. I'm not sure we have any other choice but to take the chance."

  Ylra, standing with Leela, Martinez, Veraxia, and Lee, bobbed her head in excitement. "The queen is too greedy to risk keeping the captured rig and Kargin anywhere but with her. She must know who he is by now, the last living dwarven technomancer. We'll find Kargin with the rig, and I'm sure we'll find the keying device."

  Huck lay propped up by pillows on a dwarven bed that barely fit her frame. Alex knew this was taxing her but had no choice but to bring this development to her. Not taking the chance meant everyone on Earth would die. Huck closed her eyes and composed herself, clearly already exhausted. "Sum up, Alex. What are you asking me?"

  He dragged a stool over beside her bed and sat, peering into her pale face. "I want to go after Kargin and the keying device, and I need to go right now."

  She placed her hand atop his knee. "You're a smart man, Alex. You know this sounds like a trap, right?"

  "Still have to go."

  She nodded, wincing as she did. "Godspeed, Ranger. Come back to us."

  Relief coursed through Alex. "I owe you one."

  "Name a baby after me," she joked.

  Alex rose and rushed toward the door, Leela, Ylra, and Veraxia on his heels.

  "Major," Martinez called out. "You'll need backup. Me."

  "Me too," said Lee.

  Alex shook his head. "Huck's gonna need a First Sergeant way more than I'll need another gunfighter." He glanced at Lee. "And you, not a chance. I promised your wife and daughter I'd save you. You're staying here."

  Lee's face turned crimson. "Major…"

  "Not a goddamned word, Lieutenant." Alex smiled. "Ranger rank isn't just an honorific, you know."

  "You can't do this without help," Martinez said.

  "Didn't say I was gonna." Alex stormed out.

  Valentin stared expressionlessly as Alex explained the plan. His soldiers, nearly forty men and one Russian mag-sens, formed a ring around Alex and Valentin, their faces reflecting their mounting excitement.

  "And you can do this, create your own magical portals?" Valentin asked in disbelief. "You have this technology?"

  "We can, and our gateways are much more stable than the rifts that led to this world. We'll need to carry Liv's damaged rig out past the anti-magic field surrounding this mesa, but Ylra is certain that my wife can activate the rig in the queen's fortress, opening a gateway to wherever it is, hopefully somewhere dark and quiet. We'll go late tonight, when most of her people are sleeping. Veraxia knows the fortress and can bring us into the dungeons to the grotto where she holds your people. But we need to be clear—first, we recover our keying device. Then we get your families."

  "And the suitcase?"

  "Once we find everyone, we set the bomb. Then we use Boko's rig to open a second gateway back here. The bomb detonates after we're gone. You can set a timer on your leaky nuclear bomb, yes?"

  "Yes, but we must set it before we go. That way, no matter what, the queen dies. It'll give us an hour."

  Alex bit his upper lip and nodded. "If we're still there after an hour, we're probably already dead, anyhow."

  "It will work. But the yield will be lower."

  "Even with a reduced yield, it won't matter if it goes off inside her fortress. The radiation alone will kill every living thing on that island." He watched Valentin, his face still expressionless. "I admit it's not the best plan."

  "Actually, it's a really, really stupid plan," Valentin said. "Fortunately, I rather like stupid plans. They're often the simplest." He grinned then surged forward, surprising Alex with his speed as he wrapped his arms around him and squeezed him in a tight bear hug. "Thank you," he whispered into Alex's ear, his voice filled with emotion. "Thank you and thank God for this chance. I will never forget this."

  It took the Russians far less time to prepare than Alex would have thought, but these men had been waging a bloody civil war on an alien world for years—and this time, they were fighting for their families. They moved with both a sense of urgency and remarkable professionalism, using their own body armor and weapons cached within the warehouse. Alex watched as Valentin's men loaded themselves with all of their remaining ammunition, including belts of 7.62mm heavy-machine-gun ammo they draped across their chests like Mexican banditos. Most of the men also armed themselves with short swords and hand axes. Dimmi and three others even carried thick wooden crossbows with quivers of wickedly barbed bolts. They rubbed black camouflage paste over their faces, darkening them.

  Alex joined Valentin, who was applying his own camouflage paint to his face and hands. "You sure you don't want our weapons?"

  Valentin shook his head and handed Alex the tube of paint. "We're old dogs. We have enough ammo for one last fight. After that, it won't matter."

  Alex squeezed paint onto his hands and rubbed it over his face and neck then strapped his helmet on. After Leela had shorted out all the helmets—and pretty much everything electronic—Ylra had only enough spare circuits to fix a handful of the helmets, including hers, Leela's, and Alex's.

  When two of the Russian soldiers carried out the iron locker containing the nuclear bomb, Alex felt a shiver of dread course down his spine.

  "Don't worry," said Valentin, slapping Alex's back. "If it detonates prematurely, you won't even notice."

  Alex snorted and went to check on the others.

  Ylra wore dwarven plate mail—stunningly beautiful armor with silver designs etched into the individual pieces. Breathtaking or not, it was almost certainly as tough as Kevlar plate. She wore Kargin's ax and hand cannon on her belt and carried her Light Fifty.

  Hrangar Shatter-Shield waited beside her, watching the Russians prepare. At Alex's approach, Hrangar cleared his throat. "It's not too late. I can have a dozen dwarven ax-bearers ready to go in minutes. We're very handy in
tight spaces. Be a nasty surprise for the fae. I'll come, of course. I'd love to see that queen-bitch's face when she realizes there still be free dwarves."

  Alex smiled but shook his head, placing his hand on the dwarf's massive shoulder. "Thank you, but no. We need to go in quietly. But when it's time to go loud, we'll need to engage the elves without fear of hitting friendlies. You've done more than enough."

  Hrangar grunted and yanked on his beard. "Me and mine would still be trapped in the Red Ether if it weren't for your wife, the Snowbird. Haven't done enough by half as far as me own self is concerned."

  Leela joined them, the worry clear on her face. Ylra had been showing her how to use Liv's rig's control console. Two Strike Force soldiers carried the damaged rig for her and placed it nearby. They'd need to move out onto the desert, away from the anti-magic field, to use the rig, but that would only take minutes.

  "You don't need to do this," Alex told Leela. "Dominika can activate the gear."

  She sighed in exasperation, cocking her head and looking at him as if he were an incredibly stupid little boy.

  "Never mind," he said.

  Veraxia stood nearby, watching the preparations. She wore her chain mail but carried no weapon other than her fighting knives. Alex had offered her an MR suit and a rifle, but she had refused.

  Valentin nodded at Alex.

  "Time to go," Alex said.

  A half hour later, with the twin moons of Faerum shining upon them, the Commando Force of Russians, two Canadians, a dwarf, and a dark elf stood ready as the two Strike Force soldiers set the damaged rig onto the desert floor, holding it so Leela could slip her arms through the chest harness. She wouldn't be able to move in it, but she wouldn't need to—as soon as the gateway was open, they'd leave the damaged rig in the desert and use Boko's. Only then did Alex recognize that the two men holding the rig were Martinez and Lee, their faces darkened with camouflage paint, both armed and ready for battle. They glared in challenge at Alex.

  He sighed. "Don't die," he told Lee. "You, on the other hand," he said to Martinez, "are too old for this shit and should know better by now."

  Martinez laughed. "Tell me about it, sir."

  Valentin secured the lid on the bomb. "Ready," he said to Alex. "One hour."

  Dominika held her arms out to the side, turning and channeling healing magic to everyone around her, cleansing them from the radiation.

  Ylra operated the control console for Leela. "When I say now, just channel mana into the rig's harness. The Shatkur crystal will do the rest. All it needs is magical energy to complete the link with Boko's rig."

  "Be ready," Alex told Valentin.

  The Russian commander drew his pistol and screwed a long noise suppressor to its end. The four men with crossbows drew back their arms, priming the weapons, then set their barbed bolts in place.

  "Be careful," Veraxia told them. "Once within the queen's fortress, use no magic. Don't even augment your vision," she warned Leela and Dominika. "Even a tiny trickle will activate the wards the queen will have in place."

  "What about the gateway?" asked Leela. "Won't that set off her wards?"

  "I have no idea," said Veraxia. "But dwarven magical items rarely register as magic use. If we're killed right away, I guess we'll have our answer."

  "Now," said Ylra, pushing a button on the control console.

  Leela closed her eyes. At first, Alex saw nothing and feared it wasn't going to work after all, but then a circular gateway four feet wide flashed into existence, the rim of the circle glowing red with mystical energy. The Russians stiffened in surprise. Two of the closest men with the crossbows shuffled back in fear before Valentin stopped them, putting a hand on each man’s shoulders. Both men raised their weapons, determination replacing the fear in their eyes. On the other side of the gateway, Alex saw a dark chamber, a large dungeon lit by flickering torches. And there, facing them, propped up against a wall, was Boko's rig, the articulated back arms bent forward over the frame, their sharp tips glowing with magical energy.

  "Go," said Alex.

  Valentin, holding his pistol in both hands, stepped through the gateway. The men with the crossbows rushed after him.

  52

  Alex followed Valentin and his men through the gateway, with Veraxia right behind him. Valentin moved left, the next man moved right, the next left again, and the last right, scanning overlapping sectors of the room—a textbook entry for close-quarters fighting. Alex, staying out of their way, noted they were in a dungeon chamber with wooden tables and instruments of torture. Rows of cells with rusty iron bars faced one another across a walkway leading to a large black door.

  There was a flash of movement in the hallway, a dark-elf guard running for the door. Valentin's pistol discharged, shattering the back of the elf's head like a melon. In the movies, silenced pistols never made noise, but in real life, they were still loud, and this one was no exception, especially in the enclosed dungeon. The noise-cancellation electronics in Alex's helmet muffled the gunshot. If anyone else was nearby...

  A second dark elf bolted from a cell, also sprinting for the door. Two of the men fired their crossbows, discharging their bolts with a crack, and the elf slammed forward, a bolt through his spine and another through his neck.

  No one else moved. The Russians spoke among themselves in their own language. "Clear," said Valentin in Empire Common. "No more Russian around our new friends. That's how misunderstandings happen."

  "I hear that," said Alex.

  Valentin and the other men secured the chamber and cells. Two men moved to either side of the black door. A thick iron bolt held the door closed. Dimmi pulled the bolt back and opened the door a crack, peering past it. As he spied past the door, Alex noticed he was wearing an odd weapon on his belt, a hand ax with a four-inch-long steel spike.

  Dimmi closed the door, looked at Valentin, and shook his head. "Empty corridor," he whispered. "I don't think anyone heard."

  "We're beneath the fortress," said Veraxia, excitement in her voice. "In the tunnels carved into the island. What wonderful luck!"

  "Praise God it stays that way," answered Valentin.

  The others came through the gateway and moved farther into the torture chamber, filling it with Russian soldiers and Ylra and Leela. As planned, Leela left Liv's damaged rig on the other side. Ylra rushed over to Boko's rig and pushed a button on the control console. The gateway winked out of existence.

  "Remember," Veraxia told Dominika and Leela, "no magic."

  Both mag-sens nodded.

  "Major," Dimmi said, tossing a nod at one cell.

  "Yes," answered both Alex and Valentin.

  Valentin hurried to the cell and peered past the rusty bars then motioned for Alex to come closer. Inside, Kargin lay on his stomach, naked, a foot-long centipede attached to his back, its head buried in the base of Kargin's spine. Blood dribbled down Kargin's body where the insect's claws pierced his flesh. Kargin moaned.

  "Oh shit," said Alex. "I've seen that before."

  "Grimworm," said Valentin. "Their mages use them to mind-control their slaves. The worm creates a symbiotic bond with the victim, so the mage can control both worm and slave with a spell."

  "Kargin," said Ylra, running into his cell, and knelt beside him.

  "Do not touch the worm," warned Veraxia, having approached to peer past Alex's shoulder. "Any interference will warn the queen."

  "Then do something!" snapped Ylra.

  "He must be resisting," said Veraxia in a clinical tone. "Fascinating. You dwarves are infinitely stubborn to hold out this long—days now."

  "There's a woman in this cell," said Dominika in horror.

  Alex joined her and recognized Dr. Sharon Ireland with heart-wrenching clarity. Nude, she sat in a corner, her legs pulled in front of her, her arms around them as she stared wide-eyed at Alex and the others, rocking softly, spit running down her chin, her eyes vacant. She was in shock, he knew, and he saw why a moment later—a grimworm was also attached to he
r spine. They opened the cell, but the physician didn't react, didn't move.

  "She's been broken," said Veraxia.

  "Can we remove the worms?" Alex asked.

  Veraxia shook her head. "Not here, not without setting off alarms."

  "Please, Alex," begged Ylra. "We can't leave him like this."

  Alex looked at Sharon then Kargin before meeting Ylra's pleading eyes and shaking his head. "We'll carry them with us. As soon as we rescue Valentin's people, we'll burn the insects away with magic."

  Grief welled in Ylra's eyes, and she looked away.

  "He's held on this long," said Alex. "He's strong. He'll make it another hour. I promise."

  "Alex," said Leela, examining something on the floor near Boko's rig. "You're not going to believe this, but I think this is the keying device."

  Alex joined his wife, at once recognizing the contact team's keying device. He examined its control console and depressed the orange test button for three seconds and was rewarded with seeing its readings show as "nominal." "Son of a bitch," he whispered. "It works. No way this should be this easy."

  "It won't be," said Veraxia. "We've had a lucky beginning, but now we need to slip through the bowels of the queen's fortress and make our way to an underground prison with only one way in under the watchful eyes of guards who will kill the hostages the moment they discover we're there."

  "You're a lot of fun, Veraxia," Alex said.