“Stuck between a rock and a hard place?” I asked as I twisted around a mounting.
He grinned at me and nodded his head at the alloy box.
“Can’t move it without standing up,” he said, “Standing up’s not a good idea.”
“What do you need?” I asked.
He pressed the box over his head. Kinetic rounds slapped against it. If a person stood, they’d be riddled. The alloy casing simply deflected the rounds.
I reached up a little and Stone Angel passed the box to me. It was heavy. From my twisted position, I was barely able to control it. Somehow, I managed to guide it past the mounting and ease it to the deck. It clicked loudly.
“Careful, Sir,” the Striker scolded me, “That box is why we’re here.”
He and I squirmed and twisted until we were clear of the mountings and cabinets.
“Do you need help?” I asked.
“No Sir,” he said as we lay on the deck, “I’ll slide it from here. Give me five minutes and pull Fire Dove and Thunder Eagle.”
“Alert,” I replied and began my crawl to Fire Dove.
He was next because we needed his advanced medical training. Thunder Eagle, I’d pull out as I withdrew.
The Bridge was a large raised deck area accessible by three double sized hatches. Arranged around the deck were control panels, seating for crewmembers and screens. I glanced over my shoulder at the lift behind the Captain’s chair.
It was an elevator to Combat Control and I marveled at the similarities between Realm and Constabulary ship construction. But this lift wasn’t going to move any time soon. All three sides of the car were blown out and the car itself was leaning at an angle.
“That’s where Warlock was when the Constabulary sent grenades up in the lift,” Fire Dove said as he crawled from behind a cabinet.
He flipped up his face shield making me a little jealous. I didn’t dare expose myself to the Constabulary air.
“You’re out,” I ordered, “Where’s Thunder Eagle.”
“She’s holding the hatch over there,” he said directing me to a ring of cabinets across the deck, “Once the Constabulary realizes we’d abandoned our cover, they’ll come at us.”
“It gets better. Warlock and Heavy Rain aren’t mobile,” I said agreeing with his report, “They’ll require help making it back to the DS.”
“And Stone Angel has his arms full with that case,” the Striker said adding to our list of problems, “It just keeps getting better and better.”
“There is one ray of sunshine,” I stated, “We’ve found our prisoner.”
“Not to dump on your parade, Lieutenant. But who, Sir, is going to guard him?” Fire Dove asked with an unpleasant look on his face.
“Let him carry the hard drive case. I’ll hold with Thunder Eagle. You move the team to the stairs,” I suggested, “Once we release, Thunder Eagle and I will hot foot it to you.”
“Your plan sucks, Sir,” he said with a grin, “But it’s the best we have.”
With those words, he secured his face shield and pushed back, turned and crawled for the secured hatch.
Training tells us not to use our PIDs in combat. The enemy may pick up the signal. But I didn’t need to send Thunder Eagle a message. My message to the Constabulary would tell her what to do.
I raised up and sprayed through the hatch and lit up their barricade. They responded and I waited a few seconds before repeating the maneuver. Across the deck, Thunder Eagle got the message and put fire out the other hatch. The Constabulary replied and, to them, the stalemate continued.
Meanwhile, I knew Fire Dove was organizing the retreat. Hopefully, they’d find a way to signal Thunder Eagle and me when they reached the stairs. With nothing else to do, I fired another burst at the barricade.
Thunder Eagle and I had sprayed and ducked several times. The minutes crawled by and I began to worry. Two wounded, two fit but assisting the injured, and an untrustworthy Constabulary trooper carrying the reason for our mission. There was a lot off beam in our situation with the possibility of a lot more going wrong.
Then a flare came sliding onto the Bridge deck. Obviously, Fire Dove’s signal to vacate the premises. Smoke began to over whelm the air handling system and a layer of it hung over the deck. Two smoke grenades arched over the deck from Thunder Eagle’s position. Now she was sending me a message. To emphasize her communications, she began pumping sonic grenades at the barricade on her side.
I took the hint and began dropping sonic rounds on my barricade.
“J-Pop, move,” she yelled.
Her voice came through the smoke but not her form. I followed the sound and as I neared the hatch, I felt a slap on my back.
“Move, move, I’ve got your six,” she said as I stormed past her.
I sprinted half the length to the stairs, spun around and dropped to a knee. The smoke was beginning to clear but, I couldn’t locate the Striker. My gun sights swept the hazy opening as I searched for her and watched for advancing Constabulary troops.
Kinetic rounds pinged from the ceiling and two Constabulary fell out of the smoke. Suddenly, Thunder Eagle was scrambling towards me. Using her Striker skills, she was traveling along the pipes where the bulkhead met the overhead. She was moving fast. I began firing blindly into the thinning smoke to give her cover.
Just before she reached me. Before, she and I could cover each other in a retreat to the stairs, four sonic rounds parted the smoke. I dropped to the deck and tucked my head to let the heat and pressure pass over me.
I looked up in time to see Thunder Eagle drill into the deck. An arm’s length in front of me, the Sky Element Striker lay still. Too still. I expected to see her shrug off the fall, get up mad and fighting. But she didn’t. Her back was shredded. The body armor peeled and her back as raw as if you’d opened the armor with a meat cleaver.
Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed her, slung her lifeless body across my shoulders and sprinted to the stairs.
Fire Dove had his arm under a staggering Warlock. In front of them the Constabulary trooper easily carried the hard drive case in his arms. Further down the steps, Heavy Rain was using Stone Angel’s shoulder for balance and the two big Strikers had their weapons at the ready.
I fell in behind Fire Dove. He glanced back. I shook my head no to his unspoken question. The young lady who’d fought her way out of the slums on Planet Tres, became top in her Airlock Technician class, and developed into an elite Striker, was gone. For some reason, I kept remembering, she liked her men to have an attitude.
Our ragged band of injured and helpers made two flights down before the Constabulary figured out where we’d gone.
Their tactics, thank the fates, were not sound. They attempted to bottle us up from below. Heavy Rain and Stone Angel, big enough to block stray rounds, easily cleared the way. As I approached the ambush site, I had to be careful not to trip over the bodies or slip in the blood.
The blood fascinated me. It wasn’t bright red. It had a red hue but the color was uniformly more ruby. Darker than any blood I’d ever seen. My mental trip through Hematology ended with the sounds of boots pounding down the stairs behind me.
I was about to turn and face the threat.
“Keep moving,” Fire Dove ordered.
My eyes lifted from the blood and I saw Stone Angel and Heavy Rain had stopped. They’d put their backs to the bulkhead and Fire Dove with Warlock was squeezing between them. I rushed to pass through and as I stepped down, the two big Strikers closed ranks and began firing.
“You’ve got point,” Fire Dove stated as he leaned away giving me enough room to pass him and Warlock.
Behind us, the Strikers fired kinetic rounds and placed sonic grenades on the upper landing. Back pressure from the explosions in the tight space of the stairwell slammed into Thunder Eagle’s body. I felt it shift as she absorbed the pressure. I turned to be sure Fire Dove was still upright. Although staggering from the blasts and from hauling Warlock, he was still up and moving.
I continued the decent.
We reached the airlock and I threw Thunder Eagle’s body into the tube. Once out of the Escort’s gravity, I pushed her and pulled myself along the flimsy airlock tube. In the DS, I dropped her into an acceleration seat and strapped her in.
The Constabulary trooper, along with the hard drive case, floated to the DS. I took the case and set it aside. I grabbed the trooper and slammed him into an acceleration seat. By the time I had him buckled in and had tied a strip of fiber over the release mechanism, Warlock arrived.
I caught the team leader and moved her out of Fire Doves way.
“Light ‘em up, J-Pop,” Fire Dove ordered as he hoisted Warlock into a seat, “We’ve over stayed our welcome.”
He glanced at the Constabulary trooper and shook his head acknowledging the fiber preventing the release of his buckle. The assistant team leader switched to Thunder Eagle and double checked her harness. She wasn’t going anywhere but I understood the gesture.
As I brought the Internal ion cannons on line, I heard the sound of something big hitting the deck. Heavy Rain was on board, I figured, and a second later, a foot stomped on the deck confirming Stone Angel had arrived as well.
“Retracting airlock tube,” I said over my shoulder, “Fire Dove, I’ll let you know but when I give the word, stop the first aid, and get strapped in.”
“Aye Lieutenant, understood,” he replied.
The DS slid around the Escort hugging the outer hull. As we rounded it, I armed two rockets. The Constabulary Patrol Boat came in range and I fired. Direct hits, this close I didn’t expect to miss a sitting target. Now, the only thing to worry about was what the enemy Carrier group had sent to rescue the damaged Escort. I had no plans to stick around and find out.
“Stone Angel, are you available?” I asked not knowing if he was assisting Fire Dove in caring for Warlock and Heavy Rain.
“We’re moving the injured to the lower deck,” he replied, “Be there in five.”
It made sense, the medical equipment was on the lower deck and Fire Dove would want his patients near the supplies.
I did a full power scan. They knew we were here so It wouldn’t hurt. I needed to know if there were any other Constabulary ships in the area.
As I looked over the screens, I debated whether to retrace our route and head for Planet Uno and Command station. Or, considering our wounded, set a course for Planet Dos. At the moment, I was angry with the Navy. This operation was necessary only because a bunch of politicians disguised as Navy Officers had needed proof. Well, we had the hard drive and a prisoner.
The mission was a success but the Strikers had paid a high price. Figuring Navy Command owed them, I began an analysis of hazards between us and Planet Dos.
I’d finished a section when Stone Angel slid his big body into the cockpit.
“Warlock’s stable but drugged up,” he reported, “Heavy Rain’s leg is worse so Fire Dove immobilized him. Talk about an argument, he’s still whining.”
“How about our guest?” I asked.
“He hasn’t moved,” the Striker said, “I believe he’s sleeping. What’s the story anyhow?”
“Nothing except he may have saved my life,” I said than changed subjects, “We’re making for Planet Dos. They’ve a big hospital facility and I want our people taken care of.”
“Fire Dove and I were talking about that,” he began.
I waved him off and interrupted, “It’s my decision. If the Navy wants a sacrificial lamb, it’ll be me. So they get the information a little late. So what. We’ve got injured to worry about. Clear?”
“Aye Sir, Planet Dos by your order,” he said before asking, “What can I do?”
“I’ve roughed out the first leg but it needs checking,” I said, “And, I’d like a complete route, but I’m a little busy.”
“I’m on it, Lieutenant Piran,” he said and before leaving the cockpit added, “Thank you, Sir.”
I now knew what he and Fire Dove wanted. They wanted to get the injured to the nearest medical facility. My plan to make for Planet Dos satisfied them. Even if, the Navy wouldn’t be happy.
Chapter 35
It was three hours later and the DS was aligned with the first way point. Stone Angel had confirmed the math and was working on the rest of the route. The Deep Space GunShip evolved and I left the cockpit to check on my passengers.
The first thing I noticed. Thunder Eagle’s body was missing. I assumed they’d moved her to a body bag on the lower deck. The other was the Constabulary trooper hadn’t attempted to remove the harness.
“Lieutenant Piran,” I said to him while poking a thumb into my chest, “Lieutenant Piran.”
He laughed and inhaled deeply and laughed again.
“Daire,” he said holding up a hand showing five digits, “Cionaodh 5th Daire.”
His accent was thick and I wanted to discount the words. They were very close to my Clan language. Fire Dove interrupted my thinking.
“Warlock’s bad, Lieutenant,” he said, “I’ve dug out as much metal as I dare. The rest are embedded too deep or near critical organs. She needs a real surgeon.”
“We’re making toward Planet Dos,” I said and he relaxed a little, “What do you make of our Constabulary guest?”
“He’s high, Sir,” the Sticker medic replied, “Did you give him anything?”
“Not me, I’ve been in the cockpit,” I replied than turned my head and shouted to the cockpit, “Stone Angel, you give anything to the Constabulary guy?”
“No Sir, although, I’d expect he’s thirsty,” he answered.
The trooper inhaled again, laughed and his head wobbled. Fire Dove leaned in and studied his eyes.
“Broken blood vessels in his eyes. He’s disorientated,” Fire Dove stated, “and he’s having trouble breathing. I’d guess hyperoxia, an excess of oxygen in his body tissues.”
“But the pressure between the ships wasn’t that drastic,” I suggested, “He should be alright on the DS.”
“Oxygen not pressure, J-Pop, we don’t know that much about their environment,” the Medic said, “Let’s try an experiment.”
He walked to the rebreather recharging station and lifted off a big space ship mask. As he came back, Fire Dove snapped off the side of the mask and twisted something inside. He placed the mask over the Constabulary trooper’s head.
“I’ve reduced the internal flow,” he said, “It’ll lower the amount of oxygen that’s returned to him.”
“Think it’ll help?” I asked, “I’d hate for him to die before the investigators have a chance to question him.”
“Thirsty?” Fire Dove asked curling his fingers as if he were holding a drinking vessel, “Water?”
“Water for Cionaodh 5th Daire,” the trooper replied in a thick accent.
“What did he say?” Fire Dove asked.
“Water for him, and he said his name,” I answered, “Cionaodh Daire, I believe is his name.”
The trooper looked shocked or maybe it was that we could only see his eye brows. They lifted as I said his name.
“Daire 5th,” he corrected us, “Cionaodh 5th Daire. Water?”
I went to a storage cabinet and pulled out a bottle of water. As he took it from my hand, he lifted the mask, and sniffed at the liquid.
“Traveler H2O,” he said before reaching into a side pocket and extracting two small pills.
The pills went into the water bottle. He shook the container a few times, and only after a second sniff, did he take a sip of the water.
“I am grateful, Travelers,” he said lowering his head.
Fire Dove and I exchanged glances.
“Any idea what that was?” I asked, “One minute he’s talking and the next he’s bowing and not making eye contact.”
“I want to check on Warlock and Heavy Rain,” I said, “I’ll relieve Stone Angel later and let him figure this out?”
“Aye Sir, I’ll stay and make sure he’s breathing alright,” Fire Dove said.
“How are you feeling?” I asked Heavy Rain.
The big Striker was propped up on pillows with the injured leg suspended by straps from the rack above.
“I’m fine. But you know how Fire Dove is,” he complained, “everything is as bad as can be and I swear, he’s a drug pusher. Said something about nerve damage if I don’t stay off the leg.”
“I believe you should listen to the medical advice,” I suggested, “better get some rest. We’ll talk later.”
“But J-Pop, you’ve got an enemy combatant on board,” he pleaded, “Who’s going to watch him. He could be dangerous.”
“Rest Striker, that’s an order,” I said as I moved across the aisle to Warlock.
It was the first time I’d seen her looking peaceful. Most of the time she seemed as if she were ready to rip someone’s face off. I looked at her chart.
‘Surface metal items removed. Deeper and unapproachable foreign objects remain until removed by surgery. Numerous internal organ injuries. And a grouping of broken bones.’
The Striker team leader was lucky to be alive. I rested a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry about Thunder Eagle,” I whispered, “a high cost, I know, but mission accomplished.”
I spent a few more minutes with Heavy Rain before taking the stairs to the main deck. Fire Dove was examining Cionaodh 5th Daire’s eyes, so I left him to the task.
“Stone Angel, I want you to spend time with our guest,” I said as we switched places, “His name is an odd mixture. Fire 5th Grower something, nothing I can make sense of. Maybe you can figure it out. And he’s taken to calling us Travelers.”
“I do so enjoy a puzzle,” the big Striker said, “The course is on the screen. It’s a thing of beauty, if I do say so myself.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” I replied with a smile, “Your last route almost crashed us into a giant red planet.”
“No Sir, that would be the pilot playing tag with a trio of Fighters,” he said as he squeezed out of the cockpit, “It was a good route. It was.”
Galactic Council Realm 3: On Guard Page 27