“This is bad,” Askit relayed. “It looks like somebody in power gave orders for the emergency services to pull everyone back from the area we just used for that little fight.”
“What does that mean?” Adrian asked as he tended to his badly wounded arm. He was wrapping it up carefully into some form of sling, so Askit didn’t imagine it was going to be much use in the near future, and Adrian himself seemed morose since his last conversation with Jennifer Delaney.
“It means government, or corporate interests tried to take us out,” Askit explained. “I’m not yet sure which, but it would take a lot of credits to hire a group like that.”
“They had a missile launcher, Askit,” Adrian said. “First one I’ve seen out here.”
“First one I’ve seen as well, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it,” Askit replied. “Let’s stay cloaked in case there are any more of those things around.”
“Where are we going now?” Adrian asked. “Directly to see Her-bird?”
Askit paused, reading through his data pad for current reports. He was patched into the city administration system, looking for things that might tip him off as to what was going on. Right now there was withdrawal order that had just initiated for Margarita’s district.
There had also been one for the Council Hall, and if Hrbrd was to blame it was hard to see how that made sense. Unless he was expecting them, which was a possibility as well.
If Hrbrd did need saving, then it was a gamble, especially with the lack of weapons available to them at the moment. Margarita, on the other hand, definitely appeared to be in need of assistance and owned an armoury large enough to be of use.
“We go see Margarita first,” Askit told him. “Looks like she’s got friends on the way as well.”
“Fuck,” Adrian replied, “you think they’ll mind if we crash their party?”
“Are you up to it?” Askit asked, looking Adrian over. He did not look the picture of health he normally was, and Askit imagined that any member of a normal species would have been dead a thousand times over at this point.
Adrian frowned. “I don’t see that we’ve got much of a choice here, mate. If Her-bird is responsible for this, he knows fucking everything about us. If he’s not, we’re even more fucked because who the fuck knows who’s gunning for us?”
“My thoughts exactly,” Askit replied. “There’s always the possibility that we could just run.”
Adrian paused for a moment. “I had thought of that,” he admitted, “but we’ve been trying to end a war that’s killed what… millions?”
“Many millions,” Askit replied. “It has harmed more than just the soldiers involved.”
“Then we can’t turn our backs on this, mate,” Adrian said. “If we did I could never look at myself in a mirror again, and it’s already hard enough.”
“We might die,” Askit reminded him.
Adrian shrugged. “We might not.”
“But we might,” Gdugnir added unhelpfully.
There was an awkward silence. Askit chose to break it by sharing some news. “Well, there’s just been an explosion at Margarita’s place.”
Adrian’s expression darkened. “Who are these fuckers? Even I’m not that fucking bold!”
“Something we’ll no doubt need to figure out, should we want to go on living without constantly being on the look out for mechanised killers,” Askit mused.
Gdugnir interrupted them again. “Coming up on Margarita’s. There’s one of those missile things again.”
Askit smiled in raw delight. Today was an exciting day.
+++++
Margarita was left coughing in the dust spewed out from what had been her home. She hadn’t been in it at the time, which was just about the only silver lining she could find. These robo-cocksuckers had just left her homeless, and Margarita wasn’t happy.
That was why she’d pulled out her own big guns.
Margarita took careful aim with the modified McMillan Tac-50 sniper rifle – she called it Marco – and fired a single shot through the first of the four robo-cocksuckers unlucky enough to have put her in such a bad move. On Earth the appearance of a middle-aged dwarf woman packing any rifle of this size might have been cause for comment or even derision, but if these cocksuckers wanted to do any of that, well… Margarita wasn’t in the mood to hear it.
The round exited without a sound, thanks to the alien-tech suppressor she’d had fitted. It passed through the metal armour and then it exploded – because that is what happens when you shoot something with high explosive armour piercing rounds – and the clear glass view screen was sprayed with worm blood.
That robo-cocksucker was dead. It was time to move on to the next one.
She froze as she saw the missile launcher starting to move again, and followed it through the scope. If it aimed at her, there’d be no more opportunities to get away.
It didn’t aim at her.
+++++
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Adrian said as Margarita came aboard. “Is that a fucking sniper rifle?”
“It is a fucking sniper rifle,” Margarita confirmed. “And you look like shit. Can I guess that you also had a visit from these robotic cocksuckers?”
“You might say that,” Adrian replied.
“Good job living through it,” Margarita said. “I’m assuming I have Askit to thank for the surprising help from the missile launcher?”
Askit looked incredibly pleased with himself. “You do, and there’s more good news: that robot is still working, and it’s still got ammunition.”
“Holy fuck,” Adrian exclaimed. “Are you telling me we just managed to go from jack shit to a sniper rifle and a missile launcher?”
“Why?” Askit asked jokingly. “Is that the sort of thing that might be helpful?”
Margarita cleared her throat. “We should go and get my cache,” she said. “It seems I’m suddenly homeless and incredibly pissed off.”
“Margarita,” Adrian said with a growing grin. “I could fucking kiss you.”
“I will settle for room and board,” Margarita replied. “You are not my type.”
+++++
Jennifer Delaney was back aboard the Hodgepodge. That had taken more time than she would have liked, and she wasn’t sure how long Adrian might have until he did something irredeemably stupid. Again.
She and Darragh were the only ones who had managed to get back to the Hodgepodge without needing medical treatment. Chir and Zripob had sustained significant injuries from the environmental factors and were currently undergoing treatment.
“Where the fuck is my landing craft?” she demanded of the command deck as she entered it. “I want to know right now, do you hear me?”
They had responded quickly and fearfully; she was covered in all sorts of grit and grime, and must look like she’d been through hell. She guessed she kind of had.
“It’s on the move,” the sensor tech reported. “I’ll put a map up on the main viewscreen.”
“What’s he up to?” Jen wondered aloud.
“Sensor sweep shows them leaving a scene that has suffered heavy damage,” the sensor tech advised. “Similar to what you’ve just come from.”
Taking a deep, controlled breath, Jen exhaled slowly as she considered how to react. Adrian was clearly fighting people, and he clearly did not want to involve her in it.
Good for him, but he wasn’t going to get what he wanted.
“Have you ever been in an actual fight?” she asked Darragh.
He shook his head. “Nothing like what just happened down there.”
“We’ve all got to start somewhere,” Jen replied grimly. “I need your help. They need your help.”
“That man stole our ship and kicked me off it!” Darragh protested. “He’s kind of an ass.”
“Yeah, he is,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I want to see him dead. I’ll have you know that I’m going whether you do or not.”
Darragh nodded. “Aye. I’ll go.”
“Then let’s go pick ourselves out something dangerous,” Jen said. “And I’d say we’ve got to hurry.”
+++++
There was no escape. All Hrbrd could do now was wait for death. He had read the reports, explosions at Margarita’s place and another in a remote warehouse district where a landing craft had set down. It seemed likely that somebody had tried to take out Jennifer Delaney, or someone who was meeting with her.
Hrbrd hadn’t noticed that he was alone in the office building until he had – upon wearying of his considerable officework – had switched over to check on current events.
There had been a lot of coverage of explosions, and that was the sort of thing that attracted your attention no matter who you were. It had only taken him a few moments to connect the dots, and by then it was too late.
His building was already in lockdown, and he couldn’t override the command. Somebody with higher authority than his must have given that order, somebody powerful, and Hrbrd was dead certain that somebody did not intend Hrbrd to make it through the day.
So he sat, and he waited. He at least wanted to be dignified as he died, although the heavy sound of robotics clomping down the corridor outside of his office made that very hard indeed. At least the view was nice from this high up, and it didn’t need to be the tacky faux-windows that you found on starships and interior offices.
The doors opened to reveal an Allebenellin in an ultra-harness. Expensive equipment that could only be afforded by extremely powerful individuals. They were the most powerful force on the modern battlefield, and if this is what Margarita and Adrian had come up against, there was no chance that they could have escaped.
“So,” Hrbrd said. “You’ve finally arrived.”
The Allebenellin entered the room slowly, imperious in its grey-black robotic body. This was the technology that should have won the Dominion the war, if the Celzi hadn’t got their own soon after.
It wasn’t alone, either. Several more were audible outside of the small office that Hrbrd reserved for his own use. They were utterly superfluous, of course, since there was no way whatsoever for Hrbrd to harm them, but it seemed that they wished to make a statement.
“I don’t suppose we can discuss this?” Hrbrd asked, not particularly hopeful.
“Councillor Hrbrd,” the Allebenellin intoned. “The Hierarchy has ordered your demise.”
“The Hierarchy?” Hrbrd asked in surprise. They weren’t real! They were just a mad conspiracy theory!
Except of course right now that didn’t seem to be the case.
Hrbrd looked down at his desk in dull resignation. “Then there is nothing that I can do to persua-“
He was interrupted by the tinkle of breaking glass, the whistling scream of howling wind, and a small detonation.
He looked at the Allebenellin. It wasn’t moving anymore.
Hrbrd blinked in utter bewilderment. “What the fuck?”
+++++
Adrian was pushing himself beyond what his body could handle, and he knew he’d pay for it later. If there was a later.
So in a way it was something to look forward it.
“Hebbid is safe,” Margarita told him through his micro-communicator, her accent giving the Corti a stranger name than even Adrian had managed. “A robo-cocksucker was about to get him.”
“I’ll get him to the rooftop,” Adrian replied, breathing heavily. “Just make sure to keep the place clear.”
“We’ve just picked up a hostile ship under cloak,” Margarita told him. “Askit is taking care-“
She was cut off by the sound of an explosion rocking the building.
“Hostile ship is not a problem anymore,” Margarita informed him with immense satisfaction. “Unless you care about the guys surrounding the building.”
“Can’t say I give much of a fuck about them,” Adrian replied. “Hope they enjoy it.”
“We’ll have more inbound soon I imagine,” Margarita told him. “I don’t think I can keep eyes on Hebbid for much longer.”
“I’ll be there shortly,” Adrian said, bursting out of the stairwell onto the floor where Hrbrd kept his office.
He threw himself into cover immediately at the sight of five robo-slugs taking up position and cursed. There was no way they hadn’t noticed, and when they began to move towards him that just confirmed it.
“Slight delay,” he told Margarita. “I’ve got to brass up some motherfuckers.”
“Enjoy yourself,” Margarita replied cheerfully.
Adrian flicked the safety off on the H&K MP7 submachine gun Margarita had provided him with a predatory grin. He could use this with one hand as well, and it was one hell of a shitload better than a fucking rock.
+++++
Jen and Darragh had dropped into the atmosphere on a steep incline, aiming to hit the large office building where the other landing craft was currently causing chaos.
Live feed on the situation was getting passed through from the Hodgepodge’s scanning systems, and they reported such a scene of escalating chaos that Jen couldn’t help but smile. A small gunship had just crashed into the forces occupying the base of the office building and was causing them some concern, while the building itself seemed to be in serious lockdown.
She’d have to go in by the roof.
“This may be something of a hard landing,” she warned Darragh as she began the braking procedure. “Best buckle up.”
“I don’t think buckles will help if we crash into a building,” he said, plainly terrified. “Maybe we could just land normally?”
Jen grinned at him wickedly. “Now, where’s the fun in that?”
+++++
The building shook under some kind of impact, and Hrbrd was glad for the illusion of safety that hiding under his desk afforded him. Outside there had been sounds of violence – even over the whistling shriek from the window, a large explosion was easily audible – and in the corridor there’d been other sounds of violence.
Hrbrd wasn’t sure what was going on, but he didn’t much care for being in the middle of it.
Then he heard Adrian’s voice. “Her-bird, you in here mate?”
Hrbrd had peered over the top of his desk to see the Australian standing there, looking injured but very pleased with himself.
“Adrian Saunders,” Hrbrd said. “I don’t believe I’ve ever told you that I’ve been pleased to see you before.”
“Noted, mate,” Adrian replied with a grin. “You ready to go?”
“I am definitely ready to go,” Hrbrd replied. “Get me the fuck out of here.”
Adrian raised his eyebrow at that. “Seems like I’ve expanded your vocabulary as well.”
+++++
Adrian kept Hrbrd close. The little Corti Councillor could not move as fast as Adrian could, even if Adrian was injured and felt like an overstuffed bag of shit. There was time to hit the medical bay later, provided that they managed to make it out.
The plan had gone well so far, though, so he was feeling a little bit hopeful.
That was where he went wrong. That was where he always went wrong.
He entered the main space where he’d left the robo-slugs to stand testament to his sheer fucking awesomeness, and he didn’t notice right away that there was one more than there had been.
It hit him dead centre with an anti-tank gun, and Adrian was thrown sideways by the force of it. All the wind was knocked out of him, and half what sense remained. There were probably some broken parts as well.
This was why he preferred to dodge these fucking things.
“Adrian!” Hrbrd cried out, throwing himself into cover. “Don’t tell me you’re not alright!”
Adrian coughed up some blood, not exactly the best sign of things to come but an accurate indicator of how he was starting to feel. “Just fine,” he wheezed the lie, but he was aware that the robo-slug was getting closer and that pretty soon he’d have to act, even if his body didn’t want to.
“It’s got a fusion sword, Adrian!” Hrbrd warned him. “You need to kill it!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Adrian muttered, turning himself over so that he could try and aim. That painful process itself revealed at least cracked ribs amongst his long fucking list of problems he had right now.
The robo-slug moved into his line of sight, its anti-tank gun along with its fusion sword ready to do their dark work.
Adrian pulled the trigger, or tried to. He realised too late that he’d turned the safety back on.
He winced, waiting for the pain.
The robo-slug got it instead. A whistle followed by a crack, followed by the sound of its rear armour exploding.
The goo that pasted the window in front told Adrian all he needed to know about the slug’s current condition, and he let out a short, painful laugh.
Then he heard Jen call out. “Adrian! Are you there? Are you alright?”
No… he thought, no! He didn’t want her here! It wasn’t safe at all, not even for a trained fighter like him.
He forced himself back to his feet, grabbing hold of the robotic suit to help himself get upright. He could see Jen and that other Irish boy, Darragh, staring back at him.
They looked like they were well armed at least.
“What are you doing here?” he said, and coughed up a little more blood afterwards.
“You stole my ship,” she told him directly. “I wasn’t going to let you get away with that, now was I?”
She smiled at him confidently, and he couldn’t deny that she was a damned beautiful sight.
The building chose that moment to explode.
+++++
Darragh Houston was thrown to the floor, cut and beaten by the spray of debris that had opened the side of the building up to the elements. The howling winds would have made hearing nearly impossible if the explosive shockwave hadn’t already done so, and it took him a few moments to even start getting his senses back.
He looked over to where Jennifer was now laying. She wasn’t moving, and Adrian was already kneeling over her with a Corti male standing uselessly nearby.
Darragh staggered back to his feet, and nearly toppled again as the building began to shift. It stopped, nobody moved. They were all looking around and waiting for the next part.
“What’s wrong with her?” Darragh shouted once he got close to Adrian. A cursory look told him that Jennifer had been hit by a lot more shrapnel than he had, and she was lightly bleeding from several wounds. She was unconscious, which was probably a blessing when you thought about it. Darragh himself would have preferred to be unconscious for the inevitable ride down to street level.
“Don’t know,” Adrian shouted back, “but it doesn’t look good!”
The Australian looked flustered and frightened, and Darragh did not take this as a particularly good sign. “What just happened?!”
Adrian seemed to be hearing something that Darragh couldn’t, because he held up a finger to silence him, and nodded as if he was talking to someone.
“Missile barrage,” Adrian told him. “Gunship hit us with one. Human weapons against humans, you see? My guy took it out, and now the fucking ship is wedge into the tower a few dozen floors down.”
“What does that mean?” Darragh asked. He didn’t think that that an aircraft collision would do wonders for a buildings integrity, you only had to look at certain events back on Earth to prove that.
“It means we’ve got to get out of here fast,” Adrian told him.
“We’ve got our ship on the rooftop!” Darragh said, hoping that it was still in one piece after the explosion.
They both looked at Jennifer, and they were both thinking the same thing; it would be impossible to get her to the roof in any sort of reasonable time.
Adrian looked at him, his eyes hard. “I’m not leaving her here.”
“I wasn’t going to say you should!” Darragh protested. But he’d been thinking it, because he wanted to live.
“Take Her-bird and get to your ship,” Adrian told him. “Get him up into orbit and to safety.”
“What about you?” Darragh asked, although he was already starting to move towards the stairwell. “And what about her?”
Adrian frowned. “Well… I’ve got a terrible fucking plan.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Darragh asked.
“Get your arse moving!” Adrian ordered him. “You too, Her-bird! Let him carry you for all I fucking care.”
Hrbrd gave Adrian a stern look and then turned to follow Darragh. “I hope you survive,” Hrbrd told the Australian. “How else will I get even for this indignity?”
Adrian snorted. “Yeah, I love you too. Now get a fucking move on.”
+++++
Adrian was left alone with Jen. Her condition was bad, like you’d expect from someone who’d just barely survived a missile strike, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get her anywhere in time to save her.
But there were still options.
He was coughing up blood, so it made it easy. His blood was filthy with the shit that had made him into some kind of low-powered super-hero. Maybe it would work a second time?
She just needed to ingest it.
That made him grimace in disgust; what he was about to do wasn’t something that he wanted to remember, but at least she was unconscious and would remain blissfully unaware of the process.
He opened her mouth and tilted her had back, and then he did what needed to be done.
“Adrian,” Margarita called through the communicator link. “What’s going on? We’ve got police descending on this location and everything is out of control on the ground.”
“Margarita,” Adrian said, finally resolving himself to the terrible plan. “I need Gdugnir to get the ship as close to the the big fucking hole on my level as she can.”
“You’re going to make a jump for it?” she asked incredulously.
“I am,” he said. “And I’m going to have a passenger.”
“That’s crazy!” Margarita protested. “You’ll die!”
“I’ll die if I don’t try it,” Adrian said flatly. “I don’t think I can survive a falling skyscraper. But right now all that really depends on how close you can get.”
“Then let’s hope it’s very close.” Margarita replied.
“And Margarita,” he said, “I think we’re going to need some serious medical care after this.”
“Don’t worry,” she replied. “I know a guy.”
+++++
The building had collapsed by the time Darragh returned to the Hodgepodge with a greatly relieved Corti Councillor. There was no sign of Adrian or Jennifer, and the authorities were swarming the location, along with the countless news corporations recording footage from a distance.
It looked like there was some sort of coup going on, and Darragh could tell that this was going to turn into a serious shitstorm – not that it wasn’t one already, but he didn’t see it getting any smaller for a while – and the Hodgepodge had already been ordered to leave orbit or face a defensive bombardment.
“We have to leave,” Hrbrd told him. “We can always return. We will return. But right now we have to leave.”
Darragh looked to the crew of the command deck, seeing that they were lost without anyone to give them orders.
“He’s right,” he told them, and finding himself unsettled by what he was doing. “Get us out of orbit, there’s nothing we can do right now for Adrian or Jennifer. But I assure you all that we will find out what happened to them, and we will save them if they need saving.”
This seemed to be enough to satisfy them, and the Hodgepodge departed the Cavaras system.