Halfkinds: Survival and Superiority (Volume 1 - Contact)

by Andrew Vu

  Chapter 17 - Simon Trevor - Assault

  November 17, 3040 12:50 AM

  Borton, Apollo, and I are on our way to the Spades and Diamonds Casino. We're in our transport, possibly heading toward a trap, but we're fully armed and prepared for what may come. I have my energy shotgun and pistol, Apollo and Borton have their gear. We also have a cache of smoke and pulse grenades.

  The Spades and Diamonds Casino is about four miles away from the Primm-Phillips supply depot, but we only take the hovercar three miles. We proceed on foot for the other one. This is what I decided. If we take our vehicles to the front, we might alert them, and the only way we can control the situation is to utilize the element of surprise.

  We're here. The shabby casino sign I see used to shine brightly in the Primm landscape. The once glorious marquee has a gaudy diamond and spade on it, but it's been reduced to chipped plastic and cracked glass. We get out of the hovercar cautiously. I motion for Apollo to survey the area and sniff out any traps. He sprints and investigates a half mile ahead of us and comes back. He shakes his head, everything seems okay.

  I kneel down.

  "Okay, so let's go over the battle plan one more time," I say. "There are two entrances to the Diamond and Spades Casino. I will take the front entrance, Apollo and Borton will take the back one. It's a pretty small building. The Spades and Diamonds Casino is a single floor, one room gaming complex."

  "So the back entrance and the front entrance are in relative proximity from each other?" Borton asks.

  "Yes. I will have my weapons stowed within my armor and will appear non-hostile," I say. "I don't want to trigger any unwanted aggression since they're the ones who invited us to talk. I'll distract them while you two sneak in the back. My communicator will be on sound mode, no graphical interface. I want you two to tell me your observations while staying hidden. It is vital that you let me know how many there are and what, if any, kind of weapons they have. I'll need to know what I'm dealing with."

  "Understood," Apollo says. "We'll get a head and item count for you."

  "I'll try to negotiate with them to stall," I say. "And then, when I give the signal, you two will attack from the rear and all three of us will work to disarm and capture the halfkinds."

  "Only capture?" Borton inquires.

  "Yes, only capture. Remember," I say, "when we are in pursuit, you're to obey my commands at all times. I don't want either of you charging into the situation head first."

  Apollo I trust, but I've never worked with Borton before so I'm not sure what to expect from him.

  "What if we take down one of the hostiles before you?" Apollo asks.

  "Engage, but only subdue. I repeat, only subdue. I don't want any fatalities yet, understood?" I say to both of them.

  "Excuse me, Commander," Borton asks, "but isn't the purpose of this mission to terminate them? Why are we only going to subdue?"

  "Because they might have some useful intel. Besides, we're not executioners Borton, let the Alliance deal with them."

  "But it's the Alliance who made the orders. They told us very clearly to kill them."

  "Look, if they are hostile, then by all means do what it takes to keep yourself safe, but if there is no resistance, then your orders are to simply capture. I'm not going to be responsible for the murders of defenseless creatures."

  "Um, defenseless? You saw what that one did to the supply depot, right?"

  "He was provoked. This is different."

  "But as I said before, I have strict orders from both my pig superiors and the United Species Alliance to terminate at all costs."

  "These are my orders," I say sternly. "And you will fall in line."

  "If you say so," Borton says begrudgingly. "Just know that if I get any flack from the uppers, I'm going to direct them to you."

  "By all means go ahead, I can handle them. So we know what to do?" Apollo nods his head. Borton does too, but unwillingly. I tap on my communicator and Fenrir pops up on my graphical interface. "Team B, how are things going?"

  "We've just arrived and set up a stakeout area on the Gonzalez teleporter," he says, "There doesn't seem to be anyone inside, at least not from our vantage point."

  "Okay. Hold your position. Do not engage until I tell you to."

  "Understood."

  The holographic screen shuts off and I shift my attention back to the team. "Let's go."

  I walk to the front of the building and motion for Borton and Apollo to go around the back. I tap my ear to my teammates, which reminds them to keep their communicators on sound mode only. I don't want any holographic interfaces to go off and blow our cover.

  Borton and Apollo turn the corner and disappear from my line of sight. I hug my back against the wall and sneak to the front door. There's tons of broken glass on the ground, but it's hard to say if this is the work of a halfkind or looter. The sound of crushing glass will surely tip them off, so I take a peek inside before enter. I don't see much because of the dim lighting, only some haggard looking furniture and broken down gambling machines. It looked like the casino was empty and I start to worry that we have fallen into a trap.

  I tiptoe my way in and try to make as little noise as possible. A few scratches and crunches are made, but there's no reaction from inside. I open the partially broken door.

  Creak!

  Shit, that was loud! Immediately, I hear rustling and swift movements. They must have been resting, the door no doubt startled them.

  A small light turns on, but a slot machine blocks my view on its source.

  "Apollo, Borton," I whisper, "Are you there? Have you entered the building?"

  "Yes, we're here," Apollo says. "We're hiding behind a door that leads to the back. We're unnoticed."

  "A light has turned on in the main casino, but my view is blocked. What do you see?"

  "Four halfkinds. The twins, the cow, and the bear. They're on high alert, something must've startled them."

  "That was me," I say embarrassed. "What are they doing now?"

  "They just woke up, but they're surveying the area suspiciously. Oh, wait, one of them, the bear halfkind, he picked up a lantern."

  "There are only four of them? Where are the other five?"

  "I don't know."

  "Something is wrong."

  "Hello?" the bear halfkind shouts. I hear him talk to the air. His voice is quivering and I can sense his fear. "Who's there?"

  "He's starting to walk around," Apollo says to me on my communicator. "He's, oh shit, he's headed our direction."

  "We need to engage," Borton interrupts.

  "Negative!" I say, "That's not part of the plan. You need to wait for my signal."

  "Hello?!" I hear the bear halfkind shout louder. "Who's there?"

  "He's walking right toward us!" Apollo says. "He's going to find us."

  "We need to engage," Borton repeats.

  "No. You two stay there. I will intercept."

  I walk towards the light and make myself visible to the halfkinds. I see the four of them, huddled near the lantern, eyes wide open in my direction. This is the first time I've come in contact with them. They have a blank look on their faces, mouths quaking, bodies shaking, paralyzed in fear. They're terrified at the mere sight of me. The only one who reacts is the bear man. I look at him as he holds his lantern up high. I don't know what to say, so I blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind.

  "You speak human," I say.

  "Who are you?" he asks me, voice shaking. "Are you the ones who are trying to kill us?"

  "No," I say calmly. "I'm just here to talk. We got your message."

  "Message? What are you talking about?" the bear halfkind asks. He looks genuinely confused. This is the first time he's heard about the note.

  "Your message, the note you left on my hovercar," I clarify. "You said you wanted to talk, well here I am, so let's talk."

  "Talk? Note? I don't know what yo
u're saying. Is this a trick?"

  I observe his expressions. Something is going through his mind. It causes him to be in a state of both surprise and shock. He's realized things have gone terribly wrong and his bewilderment shows all over his face.

  "You don't know what I'm talking about?" I ask him.

  "I... I?" he doesn't respond coherently. I look at the other three, still frozen with fear. I don't see threatening items near them. No guns, no weapons, just some open food containers and back packs filled with items. These ones are different from the ones we encountered so far. The first two were prepared to fight. One attacked that detective with a knife, the other carried a bomb. But I see nothing to suggest that these halfkinds are battle ready.

  "Listen," I say. "Even if you weren't the one who sent out the invitation, I'm just here to talk. I'm not here to hurt you. Why don't we sit down and we can discuss what?"

  Suddenly, I hear a shouting from my communicator followed by a charging sound.

  "One of them has a gun!" It's Borton.

  "What?" I say perplexed. "No, stand down, Borton, I don't see any?"

  But it's too late. Seconds haven't even passed and a shot has been fired. It's aimed at the halfkinds but misses. It hits one of the lanterns and the impact creates a large flash that blinds me. My eyes feel like they're engulfed in flames and my eyelids tense up as I close them. I hear a screaming and the sound of footsteps running away from me.

  "Borton, back off! Stand down," I yell sightlessly.

  "No, they're armed. They were about to fire at you!" he yells back. My vision slowly recovers, but I'm still dazed from the flash of the lantern.

  "Damnit, Borton!" I yell. "I told you not to shoot."

  "And I'm telling you they're armed. They scampered off to the right, while you were down, and are holed up behind those blackjack tables and slot machines," he says. "I'm going to take them out."

  "No Borton, stay here!"

  It's too late. I can see him chase after them in the haze of my eyes. In a few seconds things went from peaceful to chaotic and I'm stuck on one knee wondering how this mission has failed so horribly.