Enlisted

by Nathan Pedde

  “Roger,” Cooley said. “Confrontation imminent.”

  Des hit a couple of buttons on the scanner, and the information cleared the screen. He heard the connection of someone on the Neuronet.

  “Des, Elsie,” Cooley said, “move out of the market. You need to get away from all the people. Cryslis and I are enroute.”

  Alix turned back to Des and Elsie. “We need to have a talk, friends.”

  Des shook his head and stood up.

  “Maybe next time,” Des said. “We need to get back to studying.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Airnee and Alix took a few steps closer to him. Des glanced to Elsie. Her stern face matched the look of the aggressors. Des and Elsie stood in the middle of the Old Market with the crowds standing by.

  “I think studying can wait,” Alix said.

  Alix reached out to grab hold of Des’s arm, and Des smacked Alix’s hand away.

  “Don’t touch me.”

  “You’re coming with me,” Alix said in a low tone.

  Des stepped back into the crowd. Elsie followed behind him.

  “Time to leave,” Elsie said. “Let’s not fight them in the crowded market.”

  Des hurried through the crowd with Elsie a step behind him. Alix and Airnee were a couple paces behind her.

  “Stay with me,” Des called to Elsie.

  People looked worriedly at Des and Elsie as they wormed their way through the crowds. No one attempted to stop them. The resonance of a stun gun discharging echoed across the market square. Des saw an older man dressed in a business suite fall to the ground clutching at his chest.

  Des glanced behind him. Alix had a stun gun in his hand. A scream pierced the market from a nearby lady. The cries of other civilians boomed in the madness. People panicked and ran away from Alix and Des.

  Six robots emerged from the frightened crowd. Their old-style machinery was used to build asteroid mines. Des gulped.

  “Are those what attacked you that night?” Des asked Elsie.

  “Yes,” Elsie said. “This is bad.”

  Elsie pulled out a couple batons from her purse.

  “Are those the electrically charged ones?” Des asked.

  “Yes,” Elsie said, handing him one.

  “It looks like we have no choice but to fight,” Des said.

  Des took one of the batons. The one-meter metal stick felt odd in his hands.

  Alix chuckled. “I think you should have kept with a fencing sword and random math problems.”

  Elsie turned to Des. “What’s the plan?”

  Des looked at the situation. They were outnumbered four to one with no possible way Des and Elsie could defeat them.

  “Delay them,” Des said. “Cooley and Cryslis are on their way.”

  Des turned, sprinting at a construction robot, his baton held for a backhand swing. The robot held out its arm, a giant electrified baton folded out. Des slid inside the reach of the outstretched arm. He slammed his baton into the chest plate of the robot. The robot stiffened, falling over as electricity of the baton shorted out its circuits.

  “Stay with me,” Des yelled.

  Des gazed back to see Elsie dodging a long baton of a robot. A second one was approaching her from behind. He ran up and smashed the baton against the back of the second robots head. The robot collapsed to the ground with a massive metallic clang.

  “Never bring a knife to a gun fight,” Alix yelled from behind Des.

  Alix aimed the stun gun out at Des and squeezed the trigger. The gun clicked.

  “You need to reload it, you fool,” Des said.

  Des saw Elsie smash the robot in the face with her baton.

  “You need to run,” Cooley ordered Des over the Neuronet. “There are too many of them.”

  Des and Elsie walked backward away from Alix. The remaining robots clanked slowly toward them. Alix and Airnee stayed back. A robot charged at Des. It moved quicker than Des thought possible. Des ducked underneath a baton as it smashed against a market stall. It flew end over end, shattering into the ground.

  Elsie hit her baton on the robot's arm, and it hung down limp. Des smashed his baton against its chest. The robot seized to the ground.

  “Two against one,” Des said. “This is better odds.”

  “You idiots,” Alix yelled. “Attack together.”

  The two remaining robots charged forward at the same time. Their movements in unison. Des looked at Elsie.

  “Together,” Elsie said, nodding, wringing the baton in her hands. “We take them on together. One at a time.”

  “So much for running,” Des said.

  Des and Elsie ran at the robot on the left. The left robot swung its large baton at Des’s head. Des blocked the baton Elsie turned in, connecting on its hip. The robot on the right swung its baton at Des’s head. Des reached his free hand up and grabbed hold of the baton, turning it toward the robot. Electricity shocked through Des’s body. He screamed as the voltage threatened to make his knees shake.

  “You don’t have me yet,” Des yelled as the left robot clattered to the ground.

  Des raised his hand up. The robot’s baton shocking his body. Elsie’s weapon slammed into the back of the last robot’s head. The robot twitched on the floor.

  Des faltered in his step, vision swimming. His breathing labored. Alix and Airnee stood smugly in front of them. Alix had his stun gun aimed at Des once more.

  “You’re done,” Alix said. “Don’t make me shoot you.”

  “I’m not done,” Des replied. “I’m only medium-rare. I can be cooked a little while longer.”

  “You fool. You’ve forced me to change the stun gun to kill. Don’t make me use it.”

  Des watched Alix’s finger flex and twitch. The stun gun discharged. Des’s eyes widened. He sprang his own baton up. The shot struck the baton and exploded. Electricity jolted Des’s arm. He screamed in pain.

  “Des!” Elsie shrieked, running toward him.

  Des fell to his knees. Blood dribbled out of his nose and mouth. Elsie wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

  “Are you okay?” Elsie asked.

  “Yes,” Des said, his breathing harsh.

  Des pulled himself up to his feet, his vision spinning. Elsie stood in front of him, her baton raised up high.

  “Give up, Des,” Alix yelled.

  “Run, Des.” Elsie said. “I’ll hold them off.”

  Des picked up the oversized baton of a downed robot. The baton was 1.6 meters long and weighed three times a regular one did.

  “Elsie,” Des said. “We started this together. We’ll end this together.”

  Elsie gazed gravely at him. The seriousness in her eyes conveying her worry.

  Des held the baton out to the side. His walk was slow. His leg hurt, and it was hard to breathe. Alix’s eyes narrowed on him.

  Elsie walked toward Airnee, who had done nothing the entire fight.

  Airnee pulled a solid titanium baton out of his jacket which didn't have any added capabilities. Airnee ran toward Elsie with his baton raised. Elsie charged back. Her baton struck at Airnee's, and sparks bounced off the baton.

  “I got this bugger,” Elsie yelled. “Get Alix.”

  With his baton raised up in the air, Des charged at Alix, who took a step back. Alix raised his stun gun and drew a bead at Des. Des swung his baton at the stun gun. The baton’s electric charge sparked and struck Alix’s hand. Alix jumped back, dropping the stun gun.

  “That hurt, you bastard,” Alix yelled.

  Des grinned with pleasure with blood dribbling down his face. Alix pulled his baton from his jacket. It buzzed with electricity. Alix swung the baton at Des’s head. Des jumped away. He held the baton to the side, staring at Alix who hesitated.

  “Why did you betray the station?” Des asked.

  “Why did you become a spy?” Alix asked.

  Alix charged Des, who ducked underneath the baton. A single jab struck Alix’s leg. Alix tensed up and jumped backward. Des kep
t close to him, not wanting to give him room to get away. Alix flew at Des, swinging his baton.

  Des attempted to block the incoming strike. Des’s baton missed. Alix’s baton landed hard on Des’s shoulder. Des screamed in pain, involuntarily dropping the baton. Des folded to his knees. His vision bleary as pain ran down his body. Alix stood over him, his baton in the air. Des sprang up to his feet. He slammed into Alix with all his weight. The force of the bodycheck knocked Alix off balance.

  Alix slipped, falling hard to the pavement. Des saw Alix’s head knock hard against the sidewalk. Des landed on Alix and rolled off onto his back. He attempted to get back up, but his body wasn’t cooperating. Alix picked himself from the ground with one had on his stun baton.

  “I’m not finished yet,” Alix grunted.

  Elsie jumped over the fallen Des. Her baton caught Alix unaware and bounced off Alix’s head. Alix collapsed to the ground unconscious.

  Des peered around. Siren’s echoed in the distance. The lights bouncing off the walls of the buildings. The market was empty of people. The mangled bodies of robots lay scattered along the floor of the market. Airnee lay on his side, unmoving. Elsie kneeled next to Des. Her nose was bleeding, and one of her eyes was black.

  She grabbed hold of Des’s arm, lifting him to a sitting position. She sat on the ground behind him, using her back to keep him up.

  “That didn’t go as planned,” Des said.

  “We had a plan?” Elsie asked.

  Hours later, he woke up with a start. Bright lights shown in his Des’s eyes.

  “Where am I?” Des muttered.

  “Do I need to answer that?” Elsie said from beside him.

  Des turned to see Elsie sitting on a chair. She looked tired and worried. Her forehead had multiple liquid stitches on it. Her eye darkened and started to swell. The white walls surrounded him. Beeping came from the side. The pungent odor of sanitizer and chemicals tingled his nose.

  “How long was I out for?” Des asked.

  “Only a couple hours,” Elsie said. “You’ve got to stop getting into fights with all of the neighbors.”

  “You too,” Des said

  “I’m not sure who looks worse.”

  “Who knows I’m in the hospital?"

  “The important ones,” Elsie said.

  “What’s the story of how I’m in here?”

  “Another mugging. This time by Alix.”

  “And the robots?” Des asked.

  Elsie wriggled in her seat. “Alix took control of them to do the dirty work,” Elsie said. “They’re keeping the fact he’s the saboteur a secret for now.”

  The door opened. Cooley, Cryslis and Captain Kusheeno strode in.

  “That’s correct,” Kusheeno said.

  Des sat up. “Did you receive any packages of information from an anonymous source.”

  “A large size file full of evidence against Alix?” Kusheeno asked.

  “Yes. That’s the one.”

  “I did. With a message for you.”

  Des tilted his head to the side. “What’s the message?” Des asked.

  “That you got lucky,” Kusheeno said. "The next time you won't be so lucky.”

  “I wasn't lucky.”

  Kusheeno hmphed and shifted on his feet.

  “The fact you, managed to stop the saboteur, then catch him before he could do it again is amazing. However, no one will know. At least for now.”

  “I had help,” Des said.

  “Yes, but it was you jumped in head first.”

  “I refuse to accept all of the praise,” Des said. “I did my part, and frankly, I did it poorly. I messed up some big things. If I didn’t have these guys with me, I would have failed.”

  “Good answer,” Kusheeno said.

  Elsie stepped forward. “Did we find out why he did it?”

  Kusheeno turned to her. “No, he hasn’t said a word.”

  “What now?” Des asked.

  “You’ll keep training,” Kusheeno said, “and we keep an ear out.”

  “That's it?” Des asked.

  “What did you want?” Kusheeno asked. “A medal?”

  “That would be nice.”

  “What are we training for?” Elsie said.

  “I’ll leave you to get back on your feet,” Kusheeno said, before leaving the room.

  Cryslis and Cooley sat down on some chairs beside the bed.

  “What do we do about Susan?” Des asked Cryslis.

  “I’ve been told to keep an eye on her for now,” Cryslis said.

  “What?” Des asked. “Why?”

  “Orders from the brass.”

  “Any information on the robots?” Des asked.

  “Modified construction robots of unknown origin,” Cooley replied.

  “Okay. Can we track them down?”

  “We’re looking,” Cooley said. “But the parts are ancient and from an unknown manufacturer. It’s tough to track.”

  Des crossed his arms, not liking the answers he was receiving. “Now what? Is training all we have left to do?”

  “What else do we do?” Cryslis said.

  “The Mysterious Man has us all pegged,” Des said. “He said nothing is how it seems, and he was going to sink us.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Cryslis said. “We’re moving you and your brother to a new townhouse, as well as Elsie’s family. Captain Kusheeno has also allowed us a protection detail.”

  “What does that mean?” Des asked.

  “We’re hiding better, and if they do find us, we’ll be ready,” Elsie said.

  Des lay his head back on the pillow.

  Cheers to wonderful new adventures, Des thought.

  Get Book Two

  The adventure doesn’t end here for Des O’Neal,

  Book Two continues the epic space adventure on the space colony that orbits Jupiter.

  Kidnapped: Book Two of the Agent O’Neal Saga.

  Currently Forthcoming.

  * * *

  See additional stories told in the Beyond Terra Continuum here.

  Jovian Marines- Flynn O’Neal fights the Terrans on Mars for the freedom of Jovia and Mars.

  Mechakreiger Saga- Sierra Staunton participates in an experiment that goes wrong.

  All Currently Forthcoming.

  * * *

  For more information and behind the scenes about myself and the worlds that I have created, go to nathanpedde.com or sign up to my mailing list for more.

  About the Author

  Nathan Pedde was born in central British Columbia, Canada. He went to Capilano University after high school and entered the film industry where he worked for two years as a lamp operator. He has worked in many different industries and jobs from working at a gas station to engraving picture frames, to working as a Flood Technician drying flooded homes. He is currently living on Vancouver Island with his wife and two kids.

  * * *

  He began writing in the seventh grade, he wrote an illustrated fairy-tale. He dabbled in it during High School and started writing in college. Life got in the way and little progress was made, however, the writing still happened. Fifteen years after high school, serious writing has begun.

  * * *

  Nathan writes in both Science-Fiction and Fantasy and has many novels written, and many novels planned. Expect more books in both of those genres in the near future.

  * * *

  You can find him at his website at nathanpedde.com where he keeps a weekly blog. He also has a newsletter where he posts when he releases new books.

 

 

 
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