by Trey Deibel
“I second that,” Shadow-Walker jumped in.
“Come on, everyone. That’s enough of the history and speculation. We're here on a mission. So, let’s finish it.” Landis led us out of the room.
“So, where do you speculate the warlord would hide?” I asked.
“Past the river is a gateway into the mountain. That's the next logical place to look,” Narrisa reported.
“Then that’s where we go.”
Landis marched out of the worship house and toward the bridge crossing over the river. Like much of the architecture in the town, the bridge was hovering. Across the bridge was an entrance into the mountainside. Next to the entrance, statues decorated the exterior. The limbs of the species depicted on the statues’ pedestals floated, disconnected from the body. Like the drawings, wings sprouted from the species’ backs. Other than that, they looked like the plowsu.
“Check it out… a boney coming out of the entrance,” Shadow-Walker called out.
Out of the darkness of the entrance in the mountain, a single dytirc honor guard stepped out. Seeing us, he jumped back, startled, and fled inside the mountain.
“His ass is mine.” I pulled off my assault rifle and dashed across the bridge.
“Wait! James, don’t!” Captain Landis tried to keep up, crossing the bridge herself.
Ka-boom!
A thunderous explosion blasted from behind me. I looked back and caught the last light from the blast that destroyed the bridge, blasted rubble in all directions, and threw Landis across. I halted instantly and hurried back to her.
Damn it! What did I do? Landis and I were now separated from the rest of the group.
From the forest on our side of the river, groups of dytircs and lycargans fired at us. Similarly, from the rooftops of the buildings on the other side of the river, the enemy fired at the rest our group.
“Ambush!”
Ben took cover behind Narrisa’s massive body. She held up her shield in defense, blasting plasma back. Suddenly, plasma mortars were launched - and just like that, we lost two battle droids. Popping on my shield, I covered Landis and myself.
“Damnit, Landis. Don’t kick the bucket on me now!”
She was unconscious, so I reached down with my other hand and scooped up Landis over my shoulder before sprinting as fast as I could into the entrance of the mountain. We were inside in no time.
I set her down against the rock and posted myself against the entrance. Using my shield and the rock for cover, I fired at the crowd. Pulling back and reloading, I uncovered and shot again. On the other side of the river, my teammates had moved into cover against the walls of the buildings; however, their position left them open to the foes on my side of the river. Knowing this, I did my best to keep those enemies’ attention on me. One dytirc reached into a pocket in his cloth-armor and tossed a mortar grenade. While it arched in midair, I shot it. Plasma exploded from it and knocked back a few dytircs. Its secondary mortar explosions finished them off.
“Oh wow, that's going to hurt in the morning.” Landis used the rock wall to pull herself up. “What’s going on?”
“Those crafty devils hit us with a trap. You and I are separated from the rest of the group,” I informed her.
“And you fell for the trap! You never should have run across that bridge alone.”
“What can I say? Loose ends make my ass itch.” I laughed off her disappointment. “Now, how about you lend me some assistance?”
As she crossed the entrance to mount against the other side, I covered her. Now we had each side covered.
“Yeah-hoooo!”
A roaring voice howled in joy from the distance. From the worship house, Alabon and Geariic charged into battle, pumping their fists. Shocked at their sudden return, I stared at their charge. Geariic spotted me and Landis across the river. He grinned and winked at us. What was it with those two and competition? I started to shoot at the enemies again. Geariic’s boastful attitude convinced me to try to outperform him.
In the next few minutes, my teammates pushed themselves up to the rooftops, taking the high ground. That advantage was made possible by the Bruising Brothers’ massive distraction; both of them knocked away dytircs and lycargans left and right as if the enemies were mere ragdolls. However, more enemies continued to pour in from the trees on our side of the river. The formidable group of foes on our side both kept us stuck inside the mountain and prevented our allies from pushing across the river.
Over the com, Sizar spoke. “Landis. What’s your status? Have you taken care of the warlord?”
“Negative,” she answered. “We believe we're closing on its position.”
“Our forces up here are stretched thin. We can buy you only fifteen more minutes. If you can't make that deadline, you'll have to find your own ride home. Do you copy?”
“Affirmative. I'll call off our team. However, James and I will continue with our mission.”
“In that case, may luck be on your side. We'll send the Order of Aegis near your crash site. Can your team make that deadline?”
“It'll be close. I’ll let them know. Landis out.” Now under heavy fire, Landis yelled over to me, “We can’t hold this position any longer!” Over her intercom, she spoke. “Everyone… retreat back to the open field near the crash site. You have fifteen minutes, so double time it. I’m putting Narrisa in charge. And remember the legionnaires’ motto: 'To you, each is a weapon'.”
Landis and I marched farther into the mountain. I pulled off my assault rifle and fired at the top of the entrance, causing the entrance to collapse in on itself, which prevented us from leaving and the enemy from entering. Unfortunately, neither Landis nor I had brought night vision goggles; instead, we activated the brightstone lights on the guns and headed into the next gateway inside the mountain.
Contacting the Order of Aegis, she called, “Kalvin. James and I will need another ship.”
“To my understanding, I was extracting your unit from the crash site,” he replied.
“Negative, only our squad. James and I are headed through a mountain to where we believe the warlord is. We won’t be at the evac in time.”
“I understand. I’ll have an additional aircraft extract the two of you. Care to supply a destination?”
“We’ll activate our beacons. Meet us on the opposite end of the mountain. Look for an entrance. Copy that?”
“Perfectly.”
“And how do you know there will be another entrance waiting for us?” I asked Landis, confused.
She pulled up a hologram from her cyberwatch. “Logic. The oxygen present isn’t decreasing as we breathe. That means there's a hole somewhere for oxygen to enter this temple.”
Impressed, I replied, “Now, that's some premium-grade, finite, out-of-the-box thinking.”
She laughed. “Thank you.”
Through the gateway, a narrow hall extended farther than our beams reached. Outlining the walls, hundreds of symbols and drawings similar to the ones discovered near the well glowed from our lights. As silently as we could, we traipsed through the hall. As we explored further into the cave, we came across frigid pools of stagnant water small enough to maneuver around. Using her cyberwatch, she scanned the room.
“It goes on for maybe a kilometer… hard to be sure,” Landis whispered. “Keep your eyes and ears on alert. Remember, a lone dytirc entered this mountain,” Landis whispered.
“Yes, ma’am,” I whispered back.
“You’re an idiot, you know that?” She seemed more frustrated than usual.
“Again. I've never denied it,” I joked, trying to defuse her frustrations.
She paused. “Not everything is a joke! Your thirst for battle and stupidity has put us in this position. Did you even think? What if the warlord is really in here? What are we supposed to do then? These warlords are supposedly the most dangerous foes in this war, and we have no idea what this one is capable of!” she snarled under her breath.
“In that case, we'll swallow tha
t beer if it's poured,” I remarked. “If you’re looking for an apology, then you’ll leave disappointed.”
“One dytirc fled into this temple. What threat could a single warrior pose?”
Now angry, I raised my voice. “Christ, this isn’t a puzzle… he could have contacted his buddies. Better yet, he lives another day and decides to slaughter more innocent lives! You ask how he's a threat? Well, by breathing, he's a threat!” I calmed down a bit. “Why can’t anyone seem to grasp this simple idea? Every dytirc or lycargan left alive means more innocents die as more planets are conquered by them. And they don’t just take planets for kicks. Those creatures… those monsters are more savage than most... and more likely to fall to basic feral instinct. Sure, some planets get off easier, some… well, what do you think happens to defenseless innocents of a planet that once supported the ARW or once opposed the Legion… defenseless women… children?”
Still upset, she said, “You know I know this, James. But you’re the one who isn’t grasping the situation! By forcing a separation among our team, you left us weakened. Your actions may have caused fatalities on our side - and that,” she poked me multiple times in the chest, “would be on you. Could you live with that?”
“They had the situation under control!” I howled in her face.
She stepped back some. “And what if they didn’t?” She looked at me for a few seconds, studying my face. “You are one damn good soldier, James. But you've somehow simplified this war into us versus them. What I don’t understand is, how? Did Bremco’s death have something to do with it?”
Her statement slapped the memory back into my head. “No, it’s… it’s not that. His death hurt me more than a hundred kicks in the nuts, and then some. But I can move past it. I did… I did move past it.” I told her more than myself.
“Then it must be something from your past.”
“Christ, it’s just the way I am. Accept it or not, I don’t give a bucket of piss. I mean, holy hell, you picked me, remember?” I hid the emotions I carried from my past.
“I did. And where would you be if I hadn’t? Lost? Alone?” She folded her arms, waiting for some response.
“Which is why I would never purposefully put anyone on our unit in situations they can’t handle.” I shrugged.
“Just accidentally, right?”
I didn’t know how to respond.
She continued. “See, how about this? I’ll tell you a little story.” She rubbed her head uncomfortably. “I, ah… I used to be married.”
“You… married?”
Still uncomfortable, she continued. “If you tell anyone, I swear--”
“I won’t,” I stopped her.
“So when I was nineteen and dumb, I got married… found me a handsome husband and showed him off as a trophy. For a year, it was great. Although, I became unhappy. Life got boring, and I felt a desire to do something… maybe you can relate. Anyway, I wanted more action in my life. My husband disagreed, and our spark died. In 2102, the same year our marriage ended, the war came around. I saw my chance and took it. I’m telling you this because I don’t think you’ve found that purpose yet. I think you're still looking.”
I thought for a moment. I wasn’t sure if what she was saying was true. The fact is, I'm happier now than I’ve ever been.
Simply, I replied, “Maybe you’re right, or maybe you’re wrong. Right now, we just need to finish the pie and kill that damn warlord.”
“On that… we can agree.”
She started walking down the hall with her gun raised. Next to her, I followed.
Curious, I asked, “So, what happened to him?”
“Excuse me?”
“Your husband. What happed to him?”
She took a few seconds to answer, “He died.”
“Well, damn. You have my condolences.”
“Don’t. He… uh… he died surrounded by the people he loved the most. He, ah-- I, ah… I want to know something. When you kill the dytircs or lycargans, do you do it for a reason?”
“Reason?” I couldn’t understand why she was asking me that. She seemed to be troubled by this and did her best to hide it.
“Never mind. It’s nothing.” She shrugged off the question.
“Since we're in a get-to-know-you mood, I want to ask you something… something the entire squad has wondered.”
She rolled her eyes and spoke with a hint of annoyance. “What?”
“Why do you get steamed up when somebody utters a word about your stunning looks?”
Even before she answered, I could feel the temperature in the tunnel rise a few degrees. I knew I was poking the dragon with this question.
“DAMNIT! You, too?” She stopped and slammed her fist against the rock.
Halting myself, I said, “Trust me. I’m simply curious. I wouldn’t dare rock the bed with you.”
“Why not? You have with many other women. I see you leaving with them all the time on board the Tempest of Titans. One day it’s a technician… another day it’s a soldier.”
She was furious. Her eyes screamed, and her nose twitched at me. I could have sworn steam was rising from her head.
“And each of those women isn’t you. You're my captain, and I respect you as such. I've always seen you as family.”
Surprised, she said, “Wow! Amazing choice of words there. But you slipped up.”
“This, I got to hear.”
“You called me stunning.” She crossed her arms.
“And that's what you are whether you choose to accept it or ignore it. Just because I complimented you, doesn’t mean I want to take a step in your pants. Like I said, I respect you as my captain and see you as family.”
Looking into my eyes, she searched for any flicker of a lie. She must not have found it, because she calmed down. “Yeah… you’re one of the few soldiers who doesn’t.” She rested her eyes on the rock floor before returning them to my face. “Do you want to know why I hate it so much?”
“That’s why I asked,” I replied, more smart-ass than I meant to.
“Because it is all anyone sees of me. Soldiers don’t know me as Captain Landis; they know me for my looks. I only want people to see me for me, not as the… the-- what was it?”
“The Angel of Death,” I assisted her.
“Yes. That nickname can be demeaning.”
“Well, I would pluck a short and curly for a nickname as badass as that,” I joked.
She started heading down the tunnel. “And dare I ask, what would that be?”
I shrugged. “Ha… maybe the fire-haired kick-asser.”
She spit out, laughing. “The fire-haired kick-asser? What a horribly bad nickname.”
Laughing, I asked, “Well, do pull out a better one.”
“Reckless, annoying, hard-headed,” she joked.
“I’ve gotten this far, haven’t I?” I teased.
“Yes, you have… somehow. But… I want to know something. Since I now know your opinion will actually be worth a damn… am I really that stunning?” she asked me, more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen her.
“Top ten,” I joked.
“Top ten?” She gave me a friendly jab on the shoulder.
Laughing, I said, “Throw out the jokes, though,” I changed tone, “you are up towards the top.”
Blushing red surprise and gratitude painted her face. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
“Looks like we only have a few hundred more steps,” I pointed out.
I could now see the end of the tunnel leading to another room. The temperature dropped as we entered into the massive underground chamber. We slowed our pace, creeping into the room. She swept the left side, while I covered the right.
Small, loose stones littered the floor. The space was large enough that our brightstone lights barely reached the walls and ceiling. Inky black water sloshed against a narrow strip of rocks on my side that disappeared into the darkness of a cat-sized tunnel.
We converged to the center of the room. �
�Nothing but black smoke on my side,” she informed me as we met up.
“Same on my end, but did you see that?” I shined my beam toward the strange artifact laying on a stone mantel at the end of the room.
“That looks familiar. I think I’ve seen one of those before.”
Suddenly, a voice rang from behind us. “Fantastic! I was really hoping to hear that!”
We turned our guns toward the corner of the room where the voice came from. Leaning against the rock wall, his eyes glowed like a firefly in the light emitting from our brightstones. His top two arms crossed, and his bottom two pointed two small plasma handguns at us. He was a dytirc wearing honor guard armor - the same one that ran back in the mountain. The blocky red and gold armor reflected our lights, brightening the room. His tattered clothes remained still under his armor plating.
“How did you get in here? We checked the room!” I yelled.
He ignored my question. “I’m glad you’re both here… truly I am.” He looked at me. “A human soldier with orange hair. You must be the infamous James Stone.”
“How do you know my name?”
“Contrary to what the ARW might have informed you, we dytircs aren’t simple, mindless fools. Word about someone like you travels fast to a badass like me.” He half-smirked.
“Someone like me. What do you mean?” I questioned him.
“A human that can run faster than your allies, the dor’o. A human that can challenge a damn maelkii in a strength match. A human… a human that kills dozens of my allies in cold blood, no questions asked. Do you see what you are, James? You’re a monster!”
“I haven’t killed you yet,” I pointed out.
He was miffed but sarcastically said, “I’ll make sure to spread the news.”
“Is that supposed to be funny?” I asked him, frustrated.
Ignoring the question, he said, “James, you are seeing things all wrong. You and the ARW are the real villains here. All the Wersillian Legion wanted to do was expand our influence and colonize other planets - embark on a grand journey… if you will. Yet, your alliance… your ARW decided to get in our way.”