“I think there’s something out there,” Arlene called back in a loud whisper.
Giles hurried to catch her up. “What is it?”
“I dunno,” she muttered under her breath. “But there is light. It might be a long way off. Can’t tell.”
They kept walking.
And walking.
And walking. The small glow becoming incrementally brighter as they did so.
Eventually the light filled the tunnel and they could make out rock and sky up ahead.
Arlene’s pace quickened. “We’ve made it!” she said, relief in her voice.
Giles hurried along beside her. “I think you’re right.” He clicked his intercom. “Scamp, do you read?”
“Scamp here.”
“Great,” Giles said, “Wanna run a scan for us? We’re on the way out. We can see daylight up ahead.”
Scamp’s voice came back in their audio implants. “I have a lock on you. Moving round to intercept.”
Giles and Arlene continued moving but realized that the air must be thinning as they found themselves struggling to get enough breath into their lungs. They instinctively moved to put their helmets and gloves on as they approached the end of the tunnel.
Despite the helmets they heard the ship before they saw it. Warmth, comfort, food, and restrooms were nearly within sight.
Scamp opened up the channel again. “Er. Giles?”
“Yes Scamp?”
Scamps voice was unusually serious in tone. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but you have company.”
Giles frowned, trying to fathom what Scamp meant. At that same moment he and Arlene reached the mouth of the tunnel and stepped out into the thin atmosphere.
They squinted in the brightness and very quickly realized that indeed something wasn’t right.
Arlene was the first to put it together. “Erm… Giles?” she started. “I think what Scamp was trying to tell us was that the guards have managed to track us down, now that the freeze has passed.”
Giles’s eyes adjusted to the light to see a team of Zhyn warriors with blasters trained directly on them. Spontaneously he raised his arms in the air. Arlene reluctantly followed suit.
A voice boomed across the rock. “You’re removing something that isn’t yours,” one of the Zhyn guards told them, their implanted translators making the adjustment for them. “Put your weapons down and surrender. Or lose your lives.”
Giles shifted his weight awkwardly. He slowly turned his upper body to make eye contact with Arlene to decide their next move. She wasn’t looking like she had a plan to take them on.
He turned back to face their accuser. “We’re not here to cause any harm,” he called out, relieved that at least the sounds coming from his mouth seemed odd enough to be some form of Zhyn dialect. The guard seemed to understand at least. “We have the support of the Zhyn Empire. We’re trying to help,” he explained.
The warrior in front of him looked angry. “Stealing the sacred treasure of our ancestors isn’t helping anyone. We are sworn to protect it with our lives. You will hand it over.”
Giles nodded his head, lowering his eyes. He slowly and carefully reached into his pocket. Arlene did a double take, knowing full well that Giles didn’t have the talisman. She still held it.
He pulled out a metal puck. It was the same size and shape as the talisman. At least from where she was standing.
“The man thinks of everything,” she muttered to herself, careful not to be loud enough for it to be translated by her implant.
“We’re not here for power,” Giles continued, now holding the puck at head height between thumb and forefinger as if to show he had nothing to hide. “We’re here to understand our collective heritage. This affects us all. We may all be in danger,” he added.
Arlene knew that there was a reason the General had suddenly endorsed the trip, and at that moment she suspected there was something that they had considered or knew that she wasn’t privy too. She didn’t have the focus to consider it now, though. She kept her eyes carefully on the threat ahead of them, counting off the other warriors around them that might be able to get a shot of if they were to make a move.
There were five other Zhyn, clearly under the command of the bigger one that was doing all the talking. She tried to reach out with her awareness to see if there was anyone else. She couldn’t sense anyone behind their line of sight.
That was something at least.
She wondered if Scamp might have a plan. In an emergency he was programmed to intervene as best he could, but they hadn’t been expecting to have any more trouble from these guys. At least not without warning.
Giles was still talking. “This is part of a bigger picture. Your mission - you’ve done it well. But now there is a new task. I have others of these on my ship. We’re putting them together to figure out where we all came from.”
The Zhyn kept their weapons trained on he and Arlene. “You’re putting them together so you can use their power!” the leader exclaimed, his eyes flaring with rage.
Giles hesitated, his muscles tensing throughout his whole body. The blaster could go off at any moment the way it was being jolted in the arms of this angry commander on front of him.
He changed his hand gestures and with open palms tilted them towards the ground to try and subconsciously calm the man in front of him. “We’re working with the support of your empire,” he insisted gently. “We have your Justicar on board our ship. He endorses this. We’re trying to protect both our races,” he explained.
The commander was having none of it. “Well then he is a traitor to our ancestors. And you will be terminated for your infraction on our sacred land!” he bellowed across the space between them.
Arlene noticed that one of the warriors had lowered his weapon, listening intently to what Giles was saying. She was almost certain Giles had noticed that too, as he could be seen a little behind the commander.
The warrior made eye contact with her and nodded. She clenched one fist in a symbol of fighting to see how he would react. He nodded again.
She hoped Giles had seen it.
The commander had raised his weapon higher and was about to fire at Giles.
“Now!” Arlene shouted, praying that her translator was working and that the defecting warrior would understand.
The warrior did indeed comprehend and in one swift movement turned his heavy blaster around and used the butt to knock his commander on the back of the head. The others, stunned, started shouting, their blasters trained now on the traitor.
Giles and Arlene took their opportunity and ran back towards the cave.
“Scamp,” Arlene shouted into her holo. “Scamp are you there? Can you come get us?”
Scamp’s voice connected over the audio. “I thought you’d never ask. Please stand by!”
A whoosh was suddenly heard over the shouting of the Zhyn warriors. It pulled their attention from the traitor and they began firing at the ship as it appeared from somewhere over the rocky cliff.
Scamp returned fire. Arlene could tell the ship’s weapons were turned to stun, and the shots just seemed to miss each of them by a fraction enough to not hit them. Scamp wasn’t trying to kill them, only effect an escape.
Arlene noticed a chain drop down from the ship. She nudged Giles. He nodded and they readied themselves for Scamp.
“Ready when you are, Scamp,” Arlene called through her holo. “We can see the chain.”
“Yes, apologies it’s not something more substantial,” Scamp told her. “Baba Yaga tended not to need fast getaways.”
Giles rolled his eyes, and despite the chaos Arlene couldn’t help but laugh at the dig that Scamp was making at having to rescue their asses from a violent situation.
Baba Yaga of course wouldn’t have left anyone alive. But then, Baba Yaga would only go after evil people who needed ending. Not trinkets and talismans guarded by dedicated but innocent monks.
The ship lurched forward, having knocked out a few of
the warriors or rendered their blasters useless. Arlene noticed their friend running towards them, looking up at the ship.
“Wonder if I could catch a ride with you,” he shouted over the racket of the ship’s blasters and the roar of his comrades’ bikes powering up.
“Of course,” Arlene called back. She pointed at the chain that was now dangling above them as Scamp moved the ship into position to collect them. “Why don’t you head up there first,” she offered. The Zhyn thanked her and grabbed onto the chain when it came into reach. He tried to move himself up it but it didn’t quite work at first. And then the chain morphed, giving itself footholds on either side.
Despite the noise and chaos and dust being blown up by the ship, Arlene felt sure she could see the relief on the Zhyn’s face as he found he could climb.
Giles shouted over the sound of the ship. “You next,” he told her.
Arlene was about to protest but he shook his head at her and gave her a stern look. She ran forward and grabbed the chain, hauling herself up as quickly as she could, vaguely aware of at least one or two blasters still firing at them to prevent their escape.
Giles waited a few moments, trying to shelter back in the mouth of the cave while Arlene made her way up the chain.
“Giles?” It was Scamp talking through his implant. “I suggest you get onto the chain too. We can start pulling you up.”
Giles spied the one remaining Zhyn who had reclaimed his blaster and was doing everything he could to keep them from escaping. “I’m having a spot of trouble down here,” he replied. “I’m pinned back in the cave.”
Scamp was silent for a moment. Giles had a horrible feeling they had lost the connection. After several moments he got a response. “It’s okay. If you can get onto the chain, you’ll be mostly protected by the ship’s force field. But you have to hurry. We need to put some height in our position soon else I’m going to drift into this cliff face.”
Giles felt the pressure mount. He’d be mostly okay if he can make it to the chain. He didn’t like the implied odds. But this was the life he had chosen. This was exactly the kind of trouble he went looking for, he reminded himself. And in no time at all he’d be back in the safety of the ship and back to finding his next adrenaline hit.
He took a deep breath. “On my way Scamp. Stand by,” he called.
He sprinted out into the open, trying desperately to reach the chain before the Zhyn warrior could reset his aim.
He lunged at the chain, oblivious now to his surroundings, aware only of the awful fear that he might get hit by a blaster ray at any moment. He grasped the chain in his hands, pulling his weight onto it and fumbling with his right foot to find a foothold. He managed and then stepped up with his left to find a support there.
“I’m on the chain,” he called over his holo. “Bring me up, Scamp!” He turned to his left to see the Zhyn continuing to fire his blaster at him, but the rays exploded on the ship’s shields. After a few more blasts the Zhyn gave up, slinging his blaster on his back, and turning his bike off in the direction the others had taken.
Giles turned to his right, relief flooding through his body. The cliff face was approaching slowly and he could see the ground disappearing beneath him. He glanced up to see Arlene disappear into the ship as she hauled herself up. The warrior had obviously managed to find his way up and was helping her in.
Giles turned. “Erm, Scamp… You remember the cliff face?” he asked.
“Yes, Giles,” Scamp answered.
“It seems to be approaching pretty fast. Any way you’re going to be able to course correct, or get enough height before this becomes a problem for me? I’m rather exposed down here.”
There was a pause on the line before Scamp responded. “There is a 72% chance that we will clear the cliff with enough height to ensure your safety. I’m doing my best, but the laws of physics are the laws of physics.”
Giles couldn’t believe his ears. “So that’s it? I might die being slammed into a cliff?”
“I do have another suggestion,” Scamp offered, “if you’d like to increase those odds.”
“Yes. Anything!” Giles exclaimed, now no longer bothering to keep the panic from his voice.
Scamp responded. “I suggest you start climbing the chain. I’ll also start bringing it up, but if you can move up it too you’ll increase the odds of survival significantly.”
Giles didn’t wait to be told twice. He was already climbing as he replied. “On it. Climbing now…” he reported.
The chain also started winding itself up. Giles could see the cliff face getting closer and closer. It was hard to judge distance in those circumstances and with no reference points, but he could see the rock surfaces were quite jagged. He guessed that meant that they were pretty close. Plus it was dark, meaning that the ship was blocking much of the light.
He didn’t like his chances. He kept moving up the chain, his arms throbbing with fatigue. The others had made it looks so easy.
Suddenly there was a jolt on the chain.
“Scamp?” Giles called loudly about the noise of the engines and wind. “Come in Scamp. What just happened?”
Scamp’s voice was calm. “Erm… it looks like the drop-chain has malfunctioned. As I’ve told you before, these parts are pretty old and-”
“Shit!” Giles shouted. “Scamp. Help? What else can you do?” Giles kept moving: hand, hand, foot, foot, up the chain, slowly closing the gap between him and the ship.
Looking up he could see Arlene shouting to him.
Scamp responded in his ear. “Nothing. There’s nothing more I can do other than continue to try and reach the top of the cliff before we collide with it.”
Giles could see the cliff coming at him. He kept climbing, his heart racing, though not enough to give him the strength to move any faster.
This was it.
This was how he was going to die: on the first part of a mission that held the mysteries of the universe.
And he was going to die by slamming into a rock.
…
…
…
Just then the chain jigged.
And then again. And then again.
He looked up to see Arlene still shouting at him, but two sets of blue, muscular arms pulling the chain up and into the ship.
It must be the Zhyn warrior and Beno’or, he thought to himself as the help renewed his determination to survive. He climbed higher and higher, the chain disappearing into the ship twice as fast as he was climbing it.
Within moments he was inside the ship, several pairs of hands hauling his exhausted body up and onto the deck. Panting and terrified, he glanced down at the space he had occupied just seconds before, and saw the edge of the cliff disappear beneath him.
“That was a close call,” the warrior said, holding out his hand to help Giles up.
Giles waved at it, still panting, and then went limp onto the floor, showing he had no will to get up just at the moment.
Aboard the Scamp Princess
“You’re bleeding,” Arlene shouted over the sound of the wind as the door took a few moments to close itself.
Giles waved his hand. “I’ll be alright…” he said, bravely.
“Not you, you idiot,” she scoffed playfully, tapping his shoulder with her foot as he lay spread-eagle, his face planted on the meshed metal floor. “Our guest,” she clarified.
Giles lifted his face just enough to see her heading over to the Zhyn warrior who had helped them escape. Finding it too much effort to be bothered to move, he lay his head down again and exhaled dramatically.
Arlene noticed out of the corner of her eye as she set about helping the warrior. “What’s your name?” she asked, thankful for the translation device.
“Jendyg,” he said, bowing respectfully to her.
Arlene put her hand on her chest, bowed to him and told him her name before cautiously advancing and examining the bleeding wound under his atmosjacket.
He allowed her, flinch
ing only when it was obviously very painful.
“Come,” she told him, taking him into their makeshift mess room.
Giles listened as the footsteps left. “Yeah. Go. I’ll be through in a minute. I’ll be okay…”
Unbeknownst to him, Beno’or was still in the cargo area tidying away the weapons and equipment that Arlene had stripped off the moment Giles was clear of the cliff face. “Come on, young man. Let me help you,” he said, humoring Giles’s drama.
***
In the mess room, Arlene had managed to help Jendyg out of his jacket and was already washing the wound and trying to determine how best to treat the extensive burn marks around the outer edges of it.
Beno’or guided Giles to a seat at the other side of the little table. “Wow,” he said, noticing the interesting wound pattern. “That wasn’t one of our weapons, was it?”
Giles glanced over, forgetting himself for a moment. “That’s a blaster!” he said. He winced as he sat down, clearly playacting, in Arlene’s professional opinion. She smiled as she continued working on the stranger.
Jendyg grunted. “Yes. I took some fire when I took out our leader. The others would defend him with their lives.” He paused, bracing himself against the pain as Arlene dabbed some lotion around the wound. “I’m lucky this is all they did,” he added. “Honestly, if they wanted me dead I think I would be.”
Arlene turned away with the lotion and then pulled a small device from her med kit. She turned it on and it emitted a blue glow which she directed over the worst part of the wound. “This may tickle a little,” she told him. “It’s going to start healing the skin from the outside to close it up, but the inside will take a little longer. Or a nanite injection. That will speed things along. I’ll need to find one though, and I want to avoid this getting infected first.”
Jendyg nodded. “I’m grateful for your kindness” he said, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes.
Giles interrupted their moment. “Well, it’s the least we could do!” he said, slapping the warrior’s leg with way too much familiarity. “After all, you saved us from certain death down there.”
Giles Kurns_Rogue Operator Page 18