Defender of the Empire: Cadet #1

by Catherine Beery

  ***

  Up on the ridge Marius watched Rylynn and Westley head off in search of another sentry. He turned back to the one he had taken down. The guy was almost paralyzed from the stun blast and follow up stab from a holographic knife Marius had dealt him. Once paralyzed he would be considered ‘dead’ until their challenge time was done. Marius squatted next the young guy and prodded him with his stun-knife’s hilt. “I can make this quick if you tell me how many of you are out here.” Marius said.

  The downed sentry glared at him petulantly.

  Marius sighed. “Alright, I’ll tell you how this is going to be then. I’m gonna put you in a painful position before you freeze up. Then my buddies and I will just take our sweet time while you consider why anyone would want to be a human pretzel…” Marius shrugged. “Then again, if you tell me what I want to know then I could make sure you are comfortable for the rest of the time. Your choice.” When the sentry wasn’t immediately forth coming Marius moved to make good on his threat.

  Eyes wide, the guy quickly said “Twenty! There are…” Before he could continue Zara snarled a warning. Marius ducked quickly as a red blast hissed through where he had been. Instead of him, it struck the downed sentry. The guy instantly froze with his mouth open.

  Poor sucker Marius though absently as he spun to face his attacker. His collapsible staff blocked the heavily built sentry’s stun-cutlass. The orange-red light blade sparked against the reinforced staff. The guy was bigger than Marius when he was this age. It would be tricky to throw him off without raising questions. He began to slip out from under the cutlass when there was a stun blast to back of the sentry’s head. Marius was glad he had decided to get out of the way as the guy fell. He flinched as the man hit the ground face first.

  “Make that eighteen.” Jason corrected lowering his blast-gun.

  Marius grinned and collapsed his staff. He then rolled the poor sentry off his stomach. “You lucked out, my friend.” He said with a pat to the immobilized man’s shoulder. “You didn’t break anything as far as I can tell.” Marius moved to the first sentry and moved him into some shade. Jason did the same for the other guy. “Thanks for the assistance.” Marius said to Jason. The kid grinned with pride. Marius smiled and nodded down the path they had yet to traverse. “Let’s go find some more new friends.” He said heading toward the outpost.

  Jason followed after him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Jason’s troubled expression. “What is it?” Marius asked.

  Jason glanced back the way they had come. “You are scary sometimes, you know that right?” He asked finally meeting Marius’s gaze.

  “Do you mean the questioning?” At Jason’s nod Marius shook his head. “I wasn’t actually going to do something horrible, I was just making him worried.” Marius explained. “All one has to do is sell it and make it very believable. Once sold, any information you want is yours.”

  “As I said, scary.”

  “I wouldn’t have done anything more humiliating than his buddies’ ribbing for being the first sentry down. “ Marius pointed out mildly. “Besides, I kept my end of the bargain and he is as comfortable as I could make him.”

  “He could have lied, though.” Jason pointed out.

  “True. We’ll find out soon enough.”

  ***

  Westley and I decided to make our way up the cliff side. We moved as quietly as we could, listening for any telltale signs that a sentry was nearby.

  AROUND THE BEND. THERE ARE TWO. Luna told me.

  How do you know? I asked silently.

  LISTEN. She advised.

  HEY! WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT NON-INTERFERING AGREEMENT WE MADE?! Scrae snapped indignantly.

  Luna snorted. DON’T COMPLAIN MOUSE. I WAITED UNTIL HER SAD LITTLE HUMAN EARS COULD MAKE IT OUT. IF I HAD WANTED TO TRULLY BREAK THE AGREEMENT, I WOULD HAVE TOLD HER I SMELLED THEM WHEN WE WERE ON THE PLAIN.

  I stopped listening to their argument and reached forward and rested a hand Westley’s back. He paused and turned back with a raised brow. I placed a finger over my lips than tapped my ear. He nodded and we listened. I focused on everything I could hear, picking through the various sounds. My ears were listening so hard they started to tingle. It took a while but eventually I could hear something that didn’t fit with our surroundings. Meeting Westley’s gaze I could tell he had heard it too.

  “Voices.” He mouthed soundlessly.

  I nodded and pointed around the bend.

  He tilted his head for a moment and shrugged. ‘It sounds like they might be coming from that direction.’ The gesture said. The next gesture he made was for us to go forward cautiously.

  I nodded, but indicated that I should go first. I was smaller than he was and thus less of a target. Westley didn’t like it, but he could at least understand the wisdom of my plan. I took point and edged my way closer to where we could hear the sentries.

  “Do you think anyone has seen the cadets yet?” A male voice asked. I frowned because I was pretty sure that I had heard that voice before.

  Another snorted. “We would have heard something by now. My guess, those cadets are still cowering in the safety zone.” This voice I also recognized.

  “Careful, mate, don’t you remember how dangerous it was to underestimate that girl?” The first said warily.

  “You telling me you’re scared?”

  “No. I just remember being knocked on my ass because she knew how to use crowbar. You wouldn’t remember because you clumsily ran into a wall of bricks.”

  My eyes widened as I realized why I remembered their voices. They were part of the fake gang that I had dubbed the Comic Books. It was like seeing old ‘friends’. I turned to grin at Westley.

  “What are they talking about?” He mouthed.

  My grin got bigger. “I’ll tell you later, but first I have a plan…”

  Chapter 19 – Surprise!

  Ensigns Sven and Edwin sat at the crossroads where the sentry walk and the path leading to the outpost ran into each other. They were the last look outs before the cadets reached the outpost. They were glad they were there because it meant they got at least some action. The first two teams had not succeeded in getting past them. They had been informed by the judging panel that the next team had entered the safety box and to prepare… that had been some time ago.

  From the pre-challenge briefing, they knew who was in each group. In group three was the former ensign, Westley Trin, who for disobeying orders, had been sent back to the Academy. Harsh Edwin had thought but that was the nature of the beast. Then there was a fifteen cycle old lad named Marius Strausman. According to the briefing, Marius had some experience with piloting and advance systems. He was reputed to have been well trained in the various weapons available to Legion Fleet. The last two were both fifth class cadets with not even a month of training under their belts. Jason Winter was apparently the math whiz of the group. The last was Rylynn Sinclair: the girl who had tricked Sven into tripping over a thing of bricks and Edwin himself had been given a taste of her skill with improvised weapons when she had knocked his legs out from under him. Neither of them had expected such a pint sized girl to move that fast.

  They had underestimated her then. Edwin thought narrowing his eyes. Not this time though. This time they would best her. He was staring down the path when he felt a presence beside him. Figuring it was Sven, who always did stuff like that when he was bored during a non-serious scenarios such as the challenge, he turned to see… no one. Edwin frowned and turned back and came face to face with a stun-blaster. He gaped at the dark haired girl who held it. She hadn’t been here a moment ago.

  Rylynn smiled. “Drop your weapons and radio. Then be a good man and get on your knees.”

  Her hands didn’t shake and he knew from personal experience that she was fast. One wrong move on his part and he would be ‘dead’ for the rest of the challenge. His only chance what that Sven was still hidden at his post. Though why Sven hadn’t taken a shot at the girl yet he refused to conside
r. He slowly removed his radio and his stun-blaster and other assorted guns that she could see. He made to kneel when she shook her head.

  “Thank you for removing the obvious weapons, but do you really think I was born yesterday?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. “Now, please remove the other weapons upon your person.”

  Edwin hesitated for a moment. Before he could decide what to do; plead that he didn’t have a long stun-knife tucked in his boot nor admit to having various throwing knives tucked in his sleeves or under his hair or strip them off. The choice was made for him when Westley came out from where Sven was supposed to be. He had Sven’s radio. Westley also had some of Sven’s stun-knives.

  “Rylynn said your friend liked to charge into things.” Westley said before shaking his head. “He really needs to stop doing that. But don’t worry, I made sure that he was comfortable for the rest of the challenge.”

  Edwin’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe it. Sven was down and he hadn’t heard a thing? Why hadn’t Sven told him that he was leaving his post?

  Apparently guessing where Edwin’s thoughts were going Westley said “as I said, you need to advise him to think before ploughing into things. How he got through the Academy with that problem I don’t know.”

  “At least he wasn’t sent back to the Academy.” Edwin couldn’t help but point out.

  Westley flushed but it was Rylynn who stepped closer to him. “Yes he is back at that Academy, but then, so are you. And none of that is relevant because you still have that collection of hidden weapons on your person.”

  “Why don’t you just shoot me?” Edwin asked as he started to remove the stun-knives up his sleeves.

  “Because you are going to tell us the layout of the outpost.”

  “You are just going to shoot me afterwards.”

  “Maybe.” Rylynn conceded. “But then again, maybe not.” She glanced at Westley before looking back at him. “We are, after all, looking for new friends.” Edwin glared at her before continuing to remove the stun-knives, this time the ones under his hair. “I have to tell you,” Rylynn said softly watching him, her stun-blaster still pointed at him, “you look a hell of a lot better without all those really bad tattoos.”

  Edwin stared at her for a moment before grunting. “They were not my idea.” He admitted softly.

  Rylynn laughed before pointing at the sandy ground between them. “Diagram of the outpost, if you will.”

  ***

  Westley and I watched and listened attentively to what our captive told us. What he didn’t know was that Westley had managed to get his buddy to draw us a map as well. So if he tried to fool us we would know. They pretty much filled in each other’s missing sections without knowing it.

  Scrae sighed. I AM TERRIFIED TO THINK OF HOW SHE WILL BE WHEN KYLESST IS WITH HER.

  Why? I asked with a thought as Westley memorized the map.

  YOU ARE MUCH ALIKE. I NEED SAY NO MORE. Scrae replied.

  After memorizing the map Westley started to head off, letting me walk with our new friend. “Move wrong,” I told the captured sentry, “And I’ll stun you here and now. I had a wonderful teacher and I can’t miss from this close. ”

  “You say the nicest things.” Marius said as he and Jason joined us. I rolled my eyes.

  “How many you get?” Jason asked me as he and Marius automatically joined me in keeping an eye on our new friend.

  “Two, including this guy. I know you got at least one.” I replied.

  “Three all told.” Jason said. “Marius got the first and learned there are twenty of them. Then I got the second. He had been going after Marius and didn’t see me.” Jason was quite happy with himself.

  Marius grunted. “And we both got the third. He had been coming this way.”

  “Our thanks for getting him.” Westley added to our soft conversation.

  Marius shrugged. “What are friends for? So what is with this guy?” he asked.

  “Our new friend.”

  “At gun point, I see.”

  “Well, he had a choice and he decided to come with us.” I said.

  IT SEEMS YOU GOT ALL THE SENTRIES. Luna said. I asked her how she knew. Silently, of course. She answered. THE MAN’S EYES GOT WIDE WHILE YOU WERE DISCUSSING HOW MANY YOU TOOK OUT. HE WAS SURPRISED YOU GOT SO MANY, IS MY THOUGHT. HE ALSO SMELLED OF SURPISE WHEN MARIUS SAID THAT HE GOT SOMEONE TO SAY HOW MANY THERE WERE.

  So what happened to that argument about not interfering? Not that I mind the info. I was quick to think.

  ZARA TOLD MARIUS THE SAME THING AND SINCE SOMEDAY SOON KYLESST WILL BE FREE, YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO TRUST GETTING INFORMATION LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME. Luna replied calmly. I could just hear Scrae muttering something about wolves being logical and how that was just wrong… at least I think that was what he was saying. I could be mistaken.

  The path up to the outpost wasn’t long, but we were being cautious. Didn’t want to get this far and fail. Luna counseled me to use my senses, not just sight but hearing and smell. I think smell because she didn’t remember that human noses are nowhere near as good as a wolf’s. But the listening was a good idea. I got the sense that Scrae was paying close attention to everything around us and when he paused on something for a moment longer than usual I would focus on it to. The other Spectrals remained quiet, not wanting to distract me.

  “There is an entrance close to where the hostages are.” Ensign Edwin, as we learned his name to be, informed us. We paused to look at him. We had been headed toward one of the entrances on the drawing he and his buddy had drawn for us.

  “Is there? And which would that be?” Marius asked in a bored voice.

  “It’s not far from here. Just on the other side of this building.” Edwin said tapping his fingers lightly on the wall next to us.

  “And why would you tell us?” Jason asked suspiciously.

  Edwin raised his hands in a surrender-like gesture. “Look, you are the third team to come through. I’ve really not had a break. The sooner you guys get through, the sooner I can eat.”

  “Your side would lose then.” I pointed out.

  Edwin shrugged. “It’s not like this is real mission.” In which you are playing the part of a bandit. I thought. And bandits were not the most trustworthy of people. I shared a look with the guys. None of them trusted Edwin. Good, because thanks to my on-site training with Scrae, I could hear low voices murmuring on the other side of the wall. I doubted very much that these guys would have the hostages so close to an entrance. There were fifteen ‘bandits’ still and all were somewhere in this complex. Most were likely stationed near the most obvious entrance… which was the one Edwin wanted us to enter.

  I smiled, and since I was behind Edwin, he didn’t see. Westley did and raised his brows while Marius distracted Edwin by playing with one of his many of his holographic knives. Edwin gulped reflexively at the obvious skill before him. “Let’s let him walk into his own trap.” I mouthed to Westley. The other two teammates saw it too. Westley nodded and became thoughtful, especially when Edwin glanced back at him. Marius smiled as he tucked his stun-knife away. Jason looked about the outpost, considering the possibilities before us.

  “Alright, ensign, why don’t you lead us to that door? I’m looking forward to being done with this as well.” Westley said after a moment of letting Edwin sweat. Edwin smiled and took point. Westley rested a hand on his arm, forcing the man to stop. “Be warned, there are four stun-blasters pointed at your back.” Edwin lost the smile and nodded slowly.

  He led us around the corner of the building and toward the entrance that was, compared to all the other buildings built into the rock around us, had a very obvious door. ‘Trap’ was written all over this, but Jason and I pretended to be the stupid greenies who had no idea. Marius and Westley managed to pull of impatience, wanting this done and over with. The more we acted like lack-wit cadets who just wanted to be done with their challenge, the more confidant Edwin got. He was subtle about it, but he became more confidant that his p
lan would work. He must really think cadets pathetic compared to someone who has real ship experience… Wasn’t he even suspicious at all that Westley, had served aboard a starship, was acting the way he was? How much older than Westley was he?

  I couldn’t wait to see his expression when it was rubbed in his face how bad his assumptions were. The team may have acted like we were just impatient to get the hostages and leave, but we were still cautious. Edwin, who was in point, didn’t see us eyeing our surroundings or pulling out the stolen radios. Nor did he notice when we stopped to let him go ahead. It wasn’t until he was near the entrance that we opened fire, purposely missing our target, and calling out warnings on the radios that a ‘Cadet’ was entering the outpost. The bored guys inside reacted to the shots and warnings by firing blindly before actually seeing who it was that was running in. After firing we split into our pairs and fled the scene. The outpost made it easy to duck undercover when the guards came out firing. They must have realized their mistake.

  As I ran, my brain worked fast to figure out what our next move should be now that we had stirred up the hornets’ nest. There were fifteen against us. We could hear them on our radios, they were searching for us. The radios were like wolf calls in pack hunts. Westley stashed his stolen radio behind a rock in a narrow ravine between a building side and a cliff wall. He gestured for me to climb up the wall on one side as he went up the other and I finally caught up to what he was doing. It was a sad moment, but I decided I wouldn’t tell him it took me so long to guess what he was up to.

  The ravine was a bottle neck and the ‘bandits’ were using the radios they now knew we had stolen to track us. I laid down on a shelf that had an incline toward the cliff. Westley had scrambled up the side of the building using the cliff it had been built into to aid his ascension. He flattened himself just as the first group of five bandit’s slipped into the bottle neck. We didn’t give them a moment to puzzle a moment over why they couldn’t find us. Red stun blasts flared from our guns and struck our targets. Because we were shooting down at them, it was easier to get head shots, thus rendering them ‘dead’ before they could retaliate. After the first two dropped, the last two sought cover, but discovered they couldn’t back up because of a new group coming in from behind. I smiled grimly as I shot the few I could see.