by Mark Iles
“Muller,” she said.
“Not so clever now are you?” he grunted, as his men gathered round. He nodded towards her wound. “Hurt, does it? I owe you remember? Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you. My brother and I hadn’t fallen out at all, we joined up together but then he got sentenced to the Penal Corps for smuggling. I was hoping to gain your trust, so I could kill you myself. I’m going to enjoy every little bit of your suffering.”
Shots rang out and Muller went down, as did another of his men. Braxis had been badly wounded but managed to open fire from where he lay. Selena reached across her body for her pistol with her left hand but before the others could react dark figures sprang out of the trees. Selena watched as lenars dragged the struggling and terrified men off into the darkness. Their screams of terror and agony tore at her ears but were quickly silenced. Braxis hauled himself over the terrain towards his commander. He helped Selena up as they both glared at Muller who sat in the grass, blood stained from two bullets to the chest and a thin ruby trickle coming from a corner of his mouth. Then Shadow appeared out of the darkness and stood nose to nose with him, growling ominously. Muller tried to push himself away, coughing up more blood. He looked at Selena as if unable to understand what had just happened.
“Muller, I warned you...” she sighed, reaching down and stroking Shadow. Her smile, when it came, was feral. “Dinner,” she said.
*****
“General, what’s going on?” Selena demanded, over the battlenet. “Muller just tried to kill me.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Magki replied immediately. “Where are you? You’re not showing up on our scans, they’ve gone haywire.”
“We’re still at the nest.”
“Dillon, we’ve got inbound FOM ships and lots of them. I need you and your men back here, pronto, we’re under attack.”
Then the net went silent.
Selena turned to Singh and the others. “Looks like the regulars are up to their old tricks and are trying to take Capulet, now the Manta have gone. Separating us from the general and sending a team after us must have been part of their plan.”
“Which means they’d have probably killed us too,” Cox gasped, wiping his brow yet again. His brown eyes widened with fright and the beads in his beard jingled as he spoke.
“Death frightens you, does it?” Selena asked him.
“Well, yes actually…”
“We’d better get out of here, Ma’am,” Arthur said. “When they don’t hear from Muller the FOM may suspect we’re still around, and if they saturate the area with troops they‘re bound to find us sooner or later. We also need to meet up with any others who got away from the city.”
Selena raised her eyebrows. “You’re actually starting to sound like an officer, Arthur, and you’re right. Can we use the skimmers?”
“Aye, Ma’am, if we keep them in stealth mode below the trees and away from prying eyes.”
“This is only a flesh wound,” Singh said, applying a battle dressing to Selena and binding it tight. “The bullet went straight through. The doctor will patch you up when we get back, but Braxis is going to need some rest. He was lucky. You both were, much more so than those other poor devils.”
“He can rest when we’re on the skimmers. Now let’s get out of here.” Selena slipped her arm back into her tunic and did it up, then put her arm into the sling Arthur fashioned for her.
“What about the lenars?” Singh persisted. “You know what happened last time we flew low.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Selena replied, pointing into the darkness between the trees, where long dark shapes stood watching them. “They didn’t harm us at all, but they sure took out the regulars. I’m not sure what’s going on but I think there’s more to them than we know, and Shadow has a hand in it all. Let’s get out of here. Head towards Capulet city, our people there need our help.”
Aboard the skimmer Braxis lay unconscious on a pallet on the port side, while Selena sat on the starboard equivalent. Shadow lay curled up next to her, head on her lap, and as the skimmers slipped silently through the trees the lenars paced them on either side, a few leaping from tree to tree. They hadn’t gotten very far when there was a sudden flash from the direction of the Manta building behind them, and a brilliant ball of flame boiled into the sky. Selena’s expression darkened and they carried on in silence. When they were fifty miles from where the alien building had been they stopped and took a break. Selena gathered them round.
“Braxis is still out,” she reported. “It’s pointless taking him into a fire-fight, so I’m leaving him here with the scientists and four troops for protection. Arthur, stay here and take charge. Singh, myself and the others will go on ahead.”
“Captain,” Arthur said. “I have Lieutenant Kotes calling us on shifting pattern Charlie. He says he’s hiding just outside the city and the regulars have seized the Magellan.”
“Let me speak to him.” She keyed in the frequency for Charlie channel. “Kotes?”
“Captain, it’s good to hear from you. As I told Arthur, the regulars launched a surprise attack. They’ve captured the city and the Magellan. Luckily, I was having lunch with a few friends and they smuggled me out.”
“What’s the state of play regarding our men in the citadel?”
“I’m told the General and our troops are under armed guard in the palace grounds,” Kotes replied, “along with the Queen and her militia. Obviously the Federal government didn’t like her joining us and ordered the regulars to seize the planet.”
“You say she’s being held in the palace grounds?”
“That’s right Ma’am, in her accommodation.”
She turned to face Singh, to find him returning her look with an odd smile on his face. “Funny how things come around,” he said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what it means. The person you hate most and tried so hard to kill is now on our side, and it looks like we’ll have to rescue her again. Now that’s just plain ironic.”
She ignored him and turned to Arthur. “A change of plan, you’re coming with us.”
*****
Luckily, the sewers emptied into a river that carried the knee-high effluence out to sea. All they’d had to do was cut through the thick metal bars installed originally to keep marauding lenars out. A short distance from the entrance they passed the sewage treatment plant and from there on it got unpleasant, the stench was unbelievable.
For Selena the journey was a trip down memory lane. Years ago, she and her cohorts entered the sewers from within the city and tried to assassinate the Queen, but now they had to wade through the cloying muck until paths appeared either side of the slow-flowing liquid. She knew while her troops were grateful for the help of the lenars they were also pleased the creatures remained behind near the river. The only lenar that came with them was Shadow, who Singh held above the stinking liquid mess in his arms due to Selena’s wound. Finally they arrived at their destination and Selena looked up the ladder at Arthur as he worked busily on the alarm system in the torchlight. Around her, the troops blended into the darkness.
“Torches out,” she ordered. With a loud click Arthur finally slid the cover aside, revealing a dark, cloudy night sky. “Remember,” she whispered, “knives if possible. We use stealth until we have no other choice.”
One by one they climbed the ladder, Selena waiting below until one of the men lowered a rope with a sling which she put Shadow into. The trooper pulled him up quickly, while Selena climbed up the ladder nursing her shoulder. They lay prone under the bushes in the palace gardens, studying their surroundings. The musky scent bought back bittersweet memories. Selena shoved them aside and pointed to a guard patrolling nearby. She whispered into Shadow’s ear and he slunk off. Suddenly the guard vanished without a sound, as the lenar took him by the throat and dragged him under a bush, clamping his jaws about the thrashing man until he stilled. Shadow remained where he was, flatt
ened against the ground and invisible.
Selena and the others rose to their feet and, keeping low, ran over to the gym. Arthur dealt with the access panel and then stepped away with a nod, to indicate the all clear. With their chameleon suits blending into the brickwork, Selena raised her hand, silently counting to three by pointing her fingers, and then they stormed in. Troops with beam weapons immediately shot the startled regulars guarding the prisoners. Other captives from the Penal Corps took advantage of the uproar to seize two other guards, taking them prisoner.
“Is that you, Dillon?” a voice called.
“Yes General, it’s me. If you could get the men to grab these weapons we’ve bought with us, along with those from the guards, we’ve a city to retake. In the meantime, as much as I really dislike the idea, I’m going to make sure the Queen is safe.”
Leaving the general to organise his troops Selena and the others padded through the gardens to the Royal Quarters. “Getting to be a habit, this,” she remarked under her breath, then she turned to Shadow. “Stay here and guard our exit, in case we need it.” In reality she was more concerned he would be killed in the confines of the corridor behind the security door in front of them.
Arthur did his magic with the access panel and on the count of three they took the guards by surprise and quickly killed them. As they raced over the bodies one of her team raised a beam weapon and pointed it at a door that hadn’t been there the last time Selena was here. They’d obviously increased security.
“No,” Selena hissed, pushing the woman’s weapon down. “The doors are reflective, trust me I know.”
They put on the breathers they carried, knowing from Selena’s brief that during her assassination attempt an unknown gas-type weapon had rendered her entire team unconscious.
Arthur checked the readings on his handheld and shook his head, it was completely clear. There was nothing to indicate a chemical or biological weapon. He opened the dark-brown satchel he carried and took out a small box and held it against the lock. “Nanobots,” he whispered, stepping away to stand with the others as they all watched.
The lock dissolved in front of their eyes and again Selena counted to three, holding her fingers up for all to see. On the third count her troops wrenched the doors open and four of them dived onto the thick dark-green carpet beyond, firing their weapons at the regulars who stood frozen with gaping mouths. Two of those around Selena fell in the brief cross fire and she tripped over their bodies and landed badly, wrenching her injured shoulder. The sickening pain as her wound tore open again and blotted her black uniform made her gasp and then grit her teeth. The Queen and her guards were sat bound in chairs, their mouths taped shut. Singh strode forward and savagely ripped the tape away, as Arthur helped Selena up. The Royal Guards mumbled under their breaths while the Queen winced and shot Singh a furious look, before saying to Selena, “Captain Dillon, well, well. It appears I owe you my thanks. Now, if you’d be so kind as to release us?”
For a moment no one else moved. Selena looked at Singh. “Cut them free,” she said coarsely, then turned her back and walked away, cursing but knowing she had no choice but to leave her unharmed.
*****
General Magki looked up from his desk as Selena and Shadow entered his office, a smile on his face. “Captain Dillon, welcome. What’s more, well done! You did a fantastic job. The city is back in our hands and it’s the FOM Regulars’ turn to be imprisoned in the gym.” His booming laugh echoed. He gestured to a chair and said, “Sit down, we have to talk. The Queen has spoken highly of you.”
“Has she, really. Somehow I doubt that.”
His cheerful face went sombre. “Look, I know you’ve had issues in the past...”
“Issues? That bitch is directly responsible for the death of my parents. There’s no way I can forget or forgive that! Could you? She’s lucky I didn’t put a bullet in her head while she was tied up. It’s only because the Admiral ordered me to ensure she’s still alive when I leave this hole that she’s even breathing.” Besides Selena, Shadow issued a low rumbling growl, marble eyes fixed on the general.
Magki ignored Shadow. “Put your feelings aside, Selena. You may hate her guts but she’s bought Capulet onto our side. That’s why the Federation tried to invade, they couldn’t afford to lose this world. Being on the main trade routes it’s in a highly strategic position. Oh, and by the way, the Queen’s banned all lenars from the palace grounds, under any circumstances. She says she lost too many of her ancestors to them and the thought of the lenar’s give her nightmares.”
Just then the screen on the desk in front of the general lit up. He glanced down immediately. “What is it?”
“A flotilla of ships from Loreen has just arrived, Sir,” a woman’s voice replied, “a light cruiser, four destroyers and twelve frigates. They’re moving into orbit now. Wait, damn it. Another group has just appeared furthered out. They’re Federation Regular ships, Sir. Seventy five in all, including what looks like eight assault carriers.”
The general looked stricken. “Tell our ships to remain in high orbit, together with planetary defences they put us in quite a strong position. Selena, you’d better come with me.” The general rose and quickly led the way to a darkened command room, screens covering the walls showed the enemy ships inbound and their own vessels overhead. All around them men and women, including Arthur, manned numerous consoles, each with fraught but determined looks on their faces. “Tell Lieutenant Kotes to get the Magellan into orbit and to join the others, we need every ship and weapon we can get.”
The woman suddenly shouted: “Sir, they’re attacking our computer systems, though I don’t know how.”
The general turned to Arthur. “Lieutenant Jones, sort it out.”
“I’m trying, Sir,” Arthur replied. “They got in through a back door and tried to seize control of the AI. I’ve patched in a backup system, but we’re operating at about thirty percent.”
“Damn,” Magki spat. “That means we’ve only a few sunbeams and point defence guns to protect the city.”
“More ships have arrived in system, Sir. There’s one dreadnaught class, four heavy cruisers plus twenty-one others. Looks like they’re ours and may have been tailing the enemy, they’re attacking the carriers.”
“Thank God,” Selena breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s still not great odds. Forty four of ours, including the Magellan, against seventy five but at least we have the satellite defences as well.”
“Tell the flotilla to remain in orbit,” the general growled, before adding more quietly to Selena, “Don’t forget our systems have been upgraded and, as far as we know, the Federation fleets haven’t. We also have those new deflectors. Shame those damn battle stations I ordered haven’t arrived yet.”
“Three of the carriers have been taken out, Sir,” the woman reported quietly. “Two more are damaged, one critical. Federal units are peeling off and countering.”
“Sir, something else has come into the system.” A voice from the dark added.
“What do you mean something?” the general bellowed. “Explain man.”
“It doesn’t make sense, Sir. It’s as though it keeps changing shape, like a blob the size of a small moon, and there are ships with it. My God, those are Manta.”
A panicked buzz of conversation rose in the room, until the general told them to quieten down. All eyes were on the screens, and you could feel the tension as they watched the huge blob break up into dozens of smaller ones. The aliens stopped and held their position, apparently watching the conflict and perhaps waiting to engage the victors. Then out of nowhere five enormous ships appeared, again of unknown origin, and immediately attacked the Penal fleet, their weapons cutting through the vessels and their defences easily. Selena and the others gasped in horror as several of their ships blinked for a moment and then disappeared from the screens.
“I don’t believe this,” Magki growled. “Those were top-of-the-line ships, with all the latest upgrades. It’s a goddamne
d circus. Who, or rather what, are those?”
“I imagine it’s the ForeRunners, who else could it be?” Selena replied. “They’re obviously helping the FOM. Wow, take a look at the Manta, they’ve gone ballistic. They’re attacking the ForeRunners but those allies of theirs are holding off. Sir, tell our ships not to attack the Manta. They’ve not done us any harm yet and as the saying goes the enemy of my enemy is my friend, at least until this battle is over. At the moment we have a common enemy. If we support them perhaps we can swing the Manta to our side.”
There was a deathly silence throughout the room, as the General considered it. “You’re right, Captain. I’m requesting our ships support them but keeping the flotilla in orbit above us, just in case.”
They continued to watch in silence as the Manta continued to attack the ForeRunner Craft, aided by the Penal ships. Then the Federal ships joined in the melee and utter chaos reigned. Realising they were outgunned the Manta and penal forces began to withdraw but were chased. Immediately the Manta’s allies took up stations between them and their pursuers. Foolishly the FOM attacked the newcomers, only to have their fleet swatted aside, leaving the unknown ships and the ForeRunners slugging it out in a phenomenal show of power.
One of the ForeRunner craft broke away and sped towards Capulet. Instantly the Manta and penal ships swung about and engaged it. Already damaged the enemy craft fought back, destroying numerous craft, but the sheer weight of the combined fleet was too much for it. Suddenly, it succumbed in a blinding explosion and an hour later it was all over.