September 24, 2111
James Stone
A mere week following Bremco's funeral, the commander over my unit, Commander Sizar, had us on a mission. With our former lieutenant dead, Captain Landis promoted me to the positon as second-in-command of our squad. And to fill Bremco's large and clean shoes was a new medic named Uslar Kip, making him our new sixth member, along with Captain Landis, Valiic Bessile, Narrisa Bessile, Shadow-Walker, and myself. As the 1070 Legionnaires, we're typically assigned to small scale missions that have a massive impact on the outcome of a battle. That's what we were trained to do, and today was no different.
On the Parlor-2 Dropship, I relaxed, extending my feet as far as they'd reach. I let my ass leave its mark on the seat cushion while my back rested snug against the backrest. We were all waiting for Captain Landis to make it on board. Across from me, Valiic Bessile and his cohinla, Narrisa Bessile, whispered to each other. Their massive stature covered the entire seats in which they sat. A few seats down from them, Shadow-Walker snored and drooled with his beloved custom scout rifle snuggled up against his chest. His bald red-brown head hung at an angle over his seat's lock-in straps while the stumps protruding from his bald head rested against the strap's inertial-dampening fabric. Shadow-Walker is an exceptional engineer, and an even more superior sniper. Our new medic, Uslar Kip, a qwayk, waited in the corner seat on my side of the dropship, shaking his white knee and thumping his fist into the nearest wall. This being his first mission, I couldn't blame the kid for being antsy. As a species, qwayks have white, flowing hair and light-gray to pale white skin. What makes the qwayks stand out are the wrinkle-like waves that start from the base of their eyes and finish at the tip of their chins, which the qwayks call vantors. Other than that, qwayks a very human-like with typically nimble builds, making them not as strong as humans. Yet, due to their long foreheads, what they lack in strength, they make up in brainpower.
As I waited, I loosened up my armored vest a hair. In times of war, one's armor is one's identity. And, in my brain, the ARW had our enemies beat in this department. As legionnaires, we are elite infantry and can pull down the strings for quality armor. That said, each species is different. Maelkii are traditional in that they all use heavy plated and dense sets of armor to complement their natural durability and strength. Dor'o are the opposite, picking speed and flexibly over durability. Humans and qwayks wear quite similar armor: Plated yet flexible sets that provide medium protection against damage, but will not withstand concentrated or sustained gunfire, especially high-caliber weapons. Though, qwayks' armor sets are more elegant and sleek while human's armor sets look blockier and worn. And, due to modern science blessing our collective asses, most units don't use physical helmets, the exception being the maelkii. Our sets have a see-through stasis field that emits from our necks and covers over our heads. This is meant to protect us from a few minor shots to the face before having to recharge. It was down-right glorious.
Captain Landis paced into the dropship. A young woman with a legendary reputation and beauty to match; curls, caramel like her skin, touched her shoulders and knotted around her ears, and she had sharp eyebrows and lips that accented her assertive demeanor. There was a story behind her beauty, one yet to be uncovered. Unlike most drooling men, her allure wasn't at the forefront of what I saw from the great Captain Landis. What I saw and what I admired most about her, was her leadership.
As she walked past Shadow-Walker, she pulled him off the seat. His nimble, tiny body jerked as he fell, but he caught himself with his long arms.
"Hey! I was dreaming about kittens and ponies." He got up and plopped down on the seat, sticking out his tongue at Landis.
Ignoring his quip, Landis said, "I'm sure each of you knows where we are."
"Grathefer-Qwayk, the qwayk home world," Narrisa responded.
In the corner, Uslar Kip flexed his jaw and got more riled up than before. Hell, I was pissed, too. Grathefer-Qwayk was one of the three planets colonized by the qwayks, making it an ARW home world. It also happened to be where Uslar was born. Up until that point, the Wersillian Legion had never invaded an ARW home system. So it goes without saying that this strange advance had us all on our toes.
Landis sat down to my right. "Today marks the first time the Wersillian Legion has ever set their eyes on anything in our Alliance's most defended system, the Qwayk System. I don't have to explain the significance of this."
"The Wersillian Legion must have grown a pair since our last scuffle," I added.
"Maybe. But then again, their attack is far too light to hope to take control of Grathefer-Qwayk."
"Even say… even say they did launch a full-scale attack on one of our home systems. I can't imagine the Wersillian Legion believe they could win a battle on our home turf, could they?" Valiic wondered.
"It is strange. Our planetary defenses are too strong for the fleet they brought today. This advance has the ARW's best military minds brainstorming possible motives," Landis added.
"Maybe the legion's attack is more targeted. They only seem to be invading the Tegun Trade City," Valiic suggested.
"I agree. Whatever the legion wants, the answer lies in that city," Captain Landis concluded.
"Taking off… now," the pilot of the dropship reported.
Our dropship detached from our designated star cruiser, the Tempest of Titans. Entering the atmosphere caused the ship to shake and lag. Add in entire fleets of ARW and dytirc starships firing recklessly at each other, and our dropship underwent some collateral damage. Each strike from a plasma blast whipped around our ship. Our bodies were at the mercy of the lock-in straps holding us to our seats. Through the dropship's front window, I was just able to make out hundreds of other dropships and fighter-class starships entering the atmosphere in front of our ship.
Next to me, Landis whispered, "James, don't go off on another heroic undertaking like last time."
Recalling our last mission, I got a bit up my own ass and idiotically tried to distract a few dozen lycargan and dytirc soldiers as the rest of my legionnaire squad planted a bomb in one of their bunkers. My bold plan made the mission easy for my squad; however, I got myself into a lockup. Long story short, with some dumb luck I made it back to our dropship a few seconds before they had to take off. That was mere hours before Bremco took a plasma shot to the chest.
"Don't tempt me," I responded with a cheeky smile.
"You know, you may be strong, fast, and can even heal faster than anybody should--" she started.
"I sense a but coming."
"--but… you aren't invincible, despite what your thick head may believe. So much as a few shots to a major organ or just one through your heart or head, and even you won't get up from that."
"Captain, you don't have to send your worries my way. I can handle myself. After what I've seen you do in battle, I know you understand the feeling."
"This isn't about me. Look… I'm just asking you to be careful. After Bremco, I don't want to lose another soldier."
"You won't."
Landis and I had something unique between us. Despite my tendencies to take matters into my own hands, Landis still seemed to be lenient towards my actions, like she wanted me to think for myself at the expense of the chain of command. It didn't have anything to do with some sort of sub-textual, romantic cliché, since I only had the utmost respect for her; yet, it truly was out of character for the by-the-books captain she was.
"We've entered the outskirts of the city," the pilot reported.
Intrigued, I looked through the dropship's front window. Shaking violently, the ship plowed its way over the Yuntery Walls surrounding the legendary trade city of Tegun. Plasma blasts screeched their way by the hull. Inside our ship, the air was weighted down with tension and anticipation for the "all clear" order to be given by Commander Sizar. Minutes drifted by as each occasional order or call out was given. Multitudes of pilots' voices trafficked the intercom while leading the operation to rid the city of the dytirc invaders. We perked up when the words we were waiting for finally came: "1070 Legionnaires, skyzone is sound, you're a go."
"Six minutes out," reported the pilot.
"Listen up!" Captain Landis yelled over the noise outside our dropship. "The dytircs have set up shop, with most of their resources placed near the center of the city. That's where we're headed. It seems the dytircs have managed to construct anti-air plasma cannons in key defensive positions manned and protected by dozens of them. We're just one unit taking part in destroying these anti-air cannons. Once we land on the Rickstell Skyscrapers' landing pad, we'll head down the back skyscraper to the fourth floor connected to the boardwalk. Once there, we'll blow our two assigned anti-air cannons to hell, aiding in Commander Sizar's assault on the invading dytircs. Everyone clear on the mission?" Everyone nodded, showing Captain Landis we understood. "And I'd expect at least one dytirc Minor, too. Be cautious." Dytirc Minors, in Wersillian Legion, are similar to ARW unit captains. They're in charge of the platoon of soldiers assigned to them for a particular mission. Minors get orders from Majors, who get orders from Ultras. The higher the rank, the more soldiers they instruct, and the stronger their armor.
Once she finished, Shadow-Walker tossed me one of his magazines. "James, check it out. I brought my new custom scout rifle with me, complete with my new ricocheting rounds. I call my creation the Silent Dagger. You like?"
His magazine was loaded with stasis rounds, a dor'o standard; however, unlike most dor'o ammunition, his stasis rounds could ricochet off surfaces two or three times. As my squad's weapon specialist, I had an eye for these sorts of details.
"Fits you like a glove, Shadow." I tossed him back the mag.
He smiled and turned to Uslar Kip. "Hey rookie, you… hah, you look like you've about to cry a river. Would you like a hug?" he teased.
"What? No! Of course not. My home planet is being attacked! I mean, how can you even joke right now?"
Shadow-Walker slapped his palm to his chest and held it there. "Hey, hey… hey. You should know by now, I'm the funny guy here. Just ask me, and I'll set you straight."
"We'll see about that when the legion hits your planet next."
"Someone's gotta lighten the mood," I added.
"Narrisa, look, our new medic is riled up," said Valiic Bessile to his cohinla. Narrisa replied with a smirk and nod. Turning back to Uslar, Valiic said, "Just remember not to jump the gun when we arrive. We wouldn't want you to make mistakes on your first mission."
Uslar nodded and looked at Narrisa, confused. "Why is she so quiet?"
"You'll soon come to understand, rookie, she tends to say something only when there's something important to say," Valiic answered him.
"Valiic, pal, your romantic life must be fraken fantastic," Shadow-Walker quipped, slapping his hand on his knee in good fun.
"When you know Narrisa like I do, everything my cohinla and I say is important." Valiic grinned and joined our laughter before gazing into his cohinla's approving face.
"Cohinla - the maelkii word for lifetime partner, unbreakable in your society. Why you maelkii have no such option for separation is beyond me," Uslar committed.
"It's beyond everyone," Shadow-Walker added.
"Thirty seconds. Prepare for drop zone hot!" reported the pilot. "Hang On!"
The dropship began to decelerate as it descended to the landing pad, shots pelting the ship's shields. "Give us cover fire!" Landis yelled to the pilot. She turned to Valiic and Narrisa. "You're out first, keep them distracted."
The hatch busted open, and all hell broke loose. From behind Valiic, I rushed out the door, using his massive body to cover me. As we moved up, I fired my sidearm into the crowd of dytircs holding position in front of the far skyscraper. With a quick glance, I spotted at least twenty enemies. In front of me stood a long line of large carved-cobblestone tree containers. I immediately threw myself behind the closest one. Valiic and Narrisa pounded their body-sized shields into the ground at my side, taking the enemy fire head on, while delivering some plasma bursts themselves. Each shot that happened to connect with an unlucky dytirc sent its lifeless body back a few meters. I popped on my stasis shield and used it as cover as I began firing at the small mass of dytircs along the right stairs leading up to the far skyscraper. Hitting one in the chest, I knew he was dead as he dropped to the ground.
War is chaos. In training, I was taught to narrow that chaos into boxes and know when to open each box during the heat of battle. At key moments in battle, I'm forced to push certain things to the back of my mind: Citizens' screams far into the streets; the heavy explosions and weapon fire sending ripples of sound through the air; aircraft jetting fast enough to shake the surrounding skyscrapers. Instead, I hone my mind on the battle in front of me, and my comrades around me.
"AWW!" Uslar let out a blood-curling yell as he stumbled onto the landing pad in pain. Blood surrounded his scorched abdomen.
"I'll get him!" Shadow-Walker shouted just before he dragged Uslar behind the tree container to my left. Uslar quivered as he instructed Shadow-Walker on what to do to stop the bleeding.
"I told you not to jump the gun!" Valiic barked over his shoulder, taking multiple shots to his shield and armor.
Peeking around the corner, I spotted a few ungie beasts running toward us, shark-teeth bared and all six legs striding with power. "Ungies, eleven o-clock!" I shouted and fired at the dog-like beasts.
On my left, Landis used Narrisa as cover as she aided me in ridding the planet of those foul monsters. Seconds later, Landis moved to my cover. "James, flank right and take out the dytirc Minor. Valiic and Narrisa, focus fire on their mounted plasma turret."
Instantly, they both turned their cannons toward the dytirc unloading plasma from his mounted plasma turret. With only a few shots, the turret was destroyed and the dytirc was sent spinning backward.
This was my moment, and I took it! Dashing as fast as my legs would allow, I popped on a stasis shield attached to my left arm, deflecting plasma shots back at their senders. I was at the right side stairs, ready to kill the dytirc Minor at the top. With momentum behind me and covering fire, I leapt half the flight of stairs, only to suffer from my rashness. As I landed, a sharp pain shot up my left leg as a plasma shot burned my skin.
"Ergh… damn!"
I managed to pull my pistol off the mag lock on my right leg and blasted the grin off the hiding dytirc's gray face; his black-ringed yellow eyes retreated back into his head, which looked too large for his body.
My skin sizzled at the spot where I got shot, and I was suddenly vulnerable. It seemed someone noticed; I gazed back up right before the dytirc Minor jabbed me in the jaw, knocking me backward.
"Human trash," he growled and pinned me to the ground with his exoskeletal, boney knee.
With me in a bad position, the Minor pulled out a blade with one hand and hammered away at me with his three other powerful arms, jabbing me in the head and thrusting his blade at my throat. In agonizing pain, I managed to catch his arm and stop the blade from ripping into my neck.
"Strong for a human," he snarled, not ceasing his rampage of blows.
"You don't know the half of it," I gasped, coughing up a few drops of blood. Mustering just enough will and strength, I managed to sneak a punch into his side.
"Ow!" he wailed in pain as he rolled off me.
I pulled myself into a crouch and whipped my pistol off its mag lock. In agony from his shattered rib cage, the Minor held his chest while I aimed my pistol at his face.
"D-don't sh-shoot," the ugly, four-armed dytirc spat out.
"All you bonies do is bring pain to this galaxy, and I can't just let that fly." I shot him near point blank.
I took a moment to rest while my squad finished off the last remaining dytircs. Soon, the action slowed to a halt as the last of the enemy fell, and we had a moment to gather our thoughts. By now, my wound had slowly started to heal; yeah, I know, right? Wounds don't heal this fast. I just happen to be the exception to that fine print rule. A decade ago, beings of significant powers and abilities were discovered; more accurately, I was the origin of that discovery - the first known ace in the ARW. Aces, that's what beings with attributes above the norm are called - and for me, it came with a handful of gifts I wanted to return.
I forced myself up and limped back down the stairs. We regrouped at the base of the landing pad. Uslar, who was hit even worse than I was, squeezed out each word as he tried to explain to Shadow-Walker how to patch me up.
"You rest up, Uslar. I'll help James." Captain Landis brought over some peric fiber.
"Hold tight, Captain. Use the ice spray instead. I want to be as mobile as possible, and peric fiber will only make the road bumpier," I said.
"Alright. I don't need to remind you how painful the spray is." Kneeling down at my side, she pulled out a bottle of ice spray from Uslar's bag. After aligning it with the third degree burns on my leg, she pressed down a few times.
"Ergh!" I cringed. Almost instantly, my third degree burns become only second degree burns.
Our squad had gathered around. Shadow-Walker was at Uslar's side, helping him attach peric fiber to his wound. Narrisa and Valiic watched for more dytircs a few meters away.
After Captain Landis finished spraying the ice spray onto my wound, she announced to the group, "Alright, 1070, we're short on time. Shadow-Walker, protect Uslar and--"
She was cut off by an unknown voice hailing in through Shadow-Walker's cyberwatch. "This is Kalvin Keefe, Director of the Order of Aegis," claimed the unknown voice. "Our laboratory is plagued by dytirc invaders. I require an immediate extraction. This is a priority code 199 Rederick." A code simply meaning to drop everything and do the following, a code only allowed to be used by commander-ranked and above, along with a few special individuals.
"How does he know that code?" Captain Landis asked herself. "Where is the Aegis Laboratory from here, Shadow-Walker?"
"You should be able to see it out of the back window of the left skyscraper." He pointed at a flashing dot on the hologram map of the area.
"New plan. James and Valiic. You two make your way to the laboratory and clear a way for Kalvin's extraction. Shadow-Walker, protect Uslar on this landing pad until an extraction arrives. Narrisa, you and I will continue with the mission and destroy the anti-air artillery. Everyone good?" She looked at us for questions. After we all nodded, we went our separate ways.
"Send over the beacon to my cyberwatch," I instructed Shadow-Walker.
"Righty." He swiped the location over to my cyberwatch.
The pounding pain in my leg calmed to a steady thumping. My accelerated healing worked its magic even though it would still take a few days to heal fully. Still, I was ready. Valiic and I jogged to the left skyscraper connected to the landing pad.
"I got some scaling bolts and a crossbow." I pointed back at my backpack. "After our pilgrimage through the left skyscraper, I'll shoot out a bolt at the Aegis Laboratory. Then we take a joyride down the zip line."
"James, when you mentioned you have scaling bolts, I knew what the plan was going to be." Valiic and I have been friends for a while. When he gets a bit sassy, I know he has something else on his mind.
Curious as to what he wanted, I said, "I can see you're itching to say something else." We entered the top floor of the left skyscraper.
"I saw what you did to the dytirc Minor. He was clearly down and could no longer hurt anyone. This isn't the first time this has happened either. Every time I see that look in your eyes when you pull that trigger, it scares me a bit. You are going down a path darker than any soldier should."
His words took me aback. Nobody had questioned my choice to take out a threat, not even me. Never had I given it a second thought, at least for as long as I could remember.
Deciding I was making the right decision, I responded, "It may not be how the maelkii operate, but that's your meat to chew. I chose to end that boney's life. He was a threat, and I simply handed him his tombstone. Dytircs don't care - they're merciless. Those savages crave battle, always sticking it to anyone in the way of their desires. It's their way of life. Had I not taken the shot, the Minor would have recovered and killed more innocents." As I finished my point, we finished our path through a long hallway. I broke through a door leading to a maze of offices.
"I don't believe that is up for you to determine." Instead of dicking around and trying to find the right path, Valiic took the initiative and broke through each glass barrier in our way. However, the last office deceivingly hung above a common room two floors high. Needless to say, Valiic took a fall to the floor below and, with all his grace, barrel-rolled through lines of furniture and cubicles.
Knowing that wouldn't hurt him, I couldn't help laughing as I leapt down. I landed with my feet under me, sliding to a halt. "Need help getting up?" I joked while he got back to his feet.
"When you weigh over three-fifty kilograms, we will see how great you land." He laughed back at me. Becoming a bit more serious, he spoke, "James, you are the lieutenant. What you choose to do is up to you. Just remember this: Wars never have ended with more unnecessary violence."
"I appreciate the gift of concern you're giving me, but I look at it like this: It's us versus them. Simple." We started heading to the opposite end of the long common room, which ended at the window where we needed to be.
"Only you could believe a war to be so simple." Valiic shot me a haunted expression that faded away as quickly as it appeared.
"What can I say? I'm a man who knows what life pissed on my plate."
"You're a warrior, and you would have made an honorable maelkii. A bit edgy, but a warrior nonetheless," Valiic said with a smile.
"Your compliment is appreciated. A compliment Narrisa probably wouldn't share."
"I'd say my opinion is the one that matters at this moment, seeing as how she hardly shares her opinions with you anyway," he said with a laugh.
We reached the window at the back of the skyscraper. Suddenly, a thunderous explosion rattled through the halls. Glass shattered, and we covered our faces, taking only minor cuts.
"On that holy thunder, I'd say Landis and Narrisa finished their mission. Now we finish ours."
I pulled out my crossbow and loaded it. I shot the scaling bolt at the Aegis Laboratory and it burrowed into a wall above a window. Then I attached my end to the ceiling. After checking the cable for stability, I signaled for Valiic to go first. He hooked his massive shield to his back and pulled out a handle from a pouch.
"Maybe they finished their mission a bit too much. They must've destroyed most of the windows in the near vicinity," he said.
Valiic laid the handle on top of the zip line with his left hand. While keeping his right arm inside, he attached his arm-sized plasma cannon to the other side of the handle and jumped.
Searching for my handle, I stumbled upon it at the bottom of my left pouch. "Explosives have a funny way of tempting Landis to overdo things. She loves a good bang," I commented to myself.
Showing off a bit, I leapt with a boast and laid my handle on top of the cable midair. Early-night air began to settle into the area, blowing at me as I slid. Many starships, allies, and enemies filled the atmosphere with explosions and gunfire. It was a fireworks show on steroids. And with most anti-air plasma cannon in pieces, including the ones our unit was assigned to destroy, this battle should surely wrap up within a few hours.
At around two hundred meters in the air, the city's picture seemed to sit still in my mind for the moment. A city like a coral reef; the architecture was the coral, vibrant in color and textured as if water had smoothed their surfaces for generations, and the jagged land that city rested on was the reef. But this city has received its share of scars from the battle today; plasma burns staining away spots of color while war's cuts sliced away some of the skyscrapers' structure, leaving rubble and fire. Somewhere deep in the middle of the city, our destination, was the Aegis Laboratory.
"Aegis Laboratory. Where some of the most advanced killing technology is created. The center of many groundbreaking discoveries. And it's all bullshivf," I said, thinking out loud.
Rough and blocky, like most human built buildings, the Aegis Laboratory's black and gray color stood out amongst the bright qwayk structures like a single drop of black ink on a blank canvas.
Valiic burst through the laboratory window just below the zip line, with me right behind. As we landed on one of the lower floors of this cloud-touching building, a sudden shift in mood took me by surprise. Lights were blown to bits, while others flickered at a random tempo. The sun was setting, turning the building darker. An aroma of blood, human and qwayk alike, scratched at my nose. Streaks of black goop dripped down the walls, and every door was kicked in or broken. A wave of disaster had introduced itself to this place.
"Valiic, I have that feeling in my gut again," I whispered to him.
"What feeling?" He turned toward me, unhooking his shield from his back.
"The same one I had before Bremco died." I pulled my assault rifle off its mag lock.
"I'm with you on that," he whispered. "I'd say you better put your night vision visors on. It's going to get darker from here on out."
I slipped on the visors and flipped on the holographic night vision projection over my eyes. Valiic watched with curiosity.
I smiled. "You enjoying yourself?" Maelkii could see through darkness as if it were day; the cost being color.
"Not as much as you think," he chuckled.
I pulled up the hologram map from my cyberwatch and saw Kalvin's beacon was still activated. He was only a few floors down from us. "Take front. I got your ass covered," I instructed.
Taking the lead, he edged down the increasingly dark hallway. "Maelkii see at night… humans see color. Humans say blue… maelkii say darker shade of--"
"Shh!" I cut him off. "You hear that?"
"Not at all." He kept moving forward.
"I think it's--" I spun around, upper-cutting the ungie beast as it leaped at me. Dead, it bent and flopped in the air in unnatural ways as it fell to the ground. "Ungie beasts. Those abominations are patrolling the building!"
"I hate those bloodthirsty monsters!" he cursed.
"We need to turn our silent meter to max. Valiic, switch spots with me. You cover my ass, and I'll take front. I don't want your loud plasma cannon to alert whatever else is in here."
I locked my assault rifle back on its mag lock and opened one of my pouches, then pulled out a suppressor. After pulling off my pistol, I spun on the suppressor and popped on my shield. Its diamond shape covered my body almost completely as I crouch-walked.
Taking the lead, I started maneuvering down the pitch-black hallways. Through my night vision visors, I could see the destruction in each room. Cabinets were opened, paper thrown around the rooms, and hologram projectors and glass lab equipment lay in separate pieces across the floors. Occasionally, I saw the lifeless bodies of qwayks and humans dumped for the rodents. From their wounds, I gathered they were questioned and tortured. In one room, I saw the burnt remains of two qwayk scientists. I almost felt sorry for them. Almost.
Sensing my displeasure, Valiic reminded me, "Remember, James, we have our mission. We must evacuate Kalvin Keefe. Don't let your personal feelings get in the way."
"You can trust me to complete the mission," I reassured him.
Coming up to the stairs, I looked at the beacon. "Kalvin is still in the same spot, about three floors down." I showed Valiic and signaled him to start down the stairs.
A few seconds later, the entire building shook like we were in the belly of a beast. Soon after, distant explosions clapped my eardrums.
Looking over my shoulder, I whispered to Valiic, "You feel that?" Another explosion hit, this time closer. "It sounds like they might be trying to take down this whole building." He looked at me for instruction. "Time to say screw it to silence. Simply put, we better put on the burners, or we may become far thinner versions of ourselves."
I started to speed down the stairs. Soon, we were only one floor above our destination.
"Hold the destruction process. We have more intruders," an unknown voice echoed through the hall a floor down. "Send the beast to my position."
"It's on its way," another voice announced over their radio.
"Christ, we're going to have company!"
I leaped down the stairs, taking cover behind the nearest wall. Valiic, right behind, started firing down the hall.
"They see us! Take cover!" one of the voices yelled. They were enemy dytircs.
Using Valiic's massive frame as cover, I fired a few shots at the hostile bonies. They fired back with their plasma rifles.
"They're blocking our path!" I yelled at Valiic over the gunfire. Springing out from behind Valiic again, I fired a few more rounds. "Got one," I called out as I nailed one right in the head.
"There's another one coming from the far right room," Valiic called out.
"Push forward! Hug the open doorways for cover." I fired more shots, hitting another one. "One more, he's on--" I stopped dead in the middle of my sentence as heavy stomping shook the entire floor as it moved up the stairs.
"It's coming from the stairs!" Valiic called out.
We both glanced at each other. Our matching petrified eyes would have told anybody we knew what ungodly creature was headed our way. Valiic, only a few meters away from the last dytirc, bashed him against the wall.
Looking at my cyberwatch, I yelled, "It's the second to last door to the left! Use your burners!"
"Maelkii aren't fast, you see," he retorted.
With the stomping echoing ever so close, our dread was realized. Up the stairs came running a granite-skinned, nearly indestructible, towering boultha. A beast grown in a garden of hard-granite, durable and strong as hell. After bashing into the wall, causing the skyscraper to shake, it growled and stampeded toward us.
"It'll be tapping our ass cheeks in thirty seconds tops!" I yelled as Valiic burst through the doors to the room where the beacon had led us.
"He's not here!" Valiic shouted. "It's just a storage room!"
"What? Kalvin, if you don't show your ass right now, we're leaving!" I screamed.
At that moment, a stack of boxes tumbled over, revealing a small hiding compartment. As the compartment opened, out stepped Keefe, wearing a night vision visor and holding a folder.
"Get on Valiic's back, right now!" I pointed at Valiic.
"Pardon?" Kalvin asked.
"RIGHT NOW!" I screamed, losing my temper.
He didn't hesitate. As soon as he climbed on, I led the way right out the door. Looking back, I noticed the boultha was only a few meters away!
"Quick, Keefe, where is a window?" I yelled over my shoulder.
Now staring at the gargantuan thing right behind Valiic, Kalvin screamed, "Right hall! Right hall!"
Losing my footing in the chaos, I grabbed the closest wall-corner to change momentum. "Burners, Valiic!" I threw myself through the window to an unexpected twelve story drop. Now midair, I twisted my body and prepared for the impact. "Valiic, twelve stories. Brace!" I tried to warn him through the screeching wind.
Using my legs to absorb the impact, I smashed against the marble streets below. A crater Valiic's size was left as I recovered from a fall that would kill any normal human; lucky for me, I'm not. However, another few stories more, and even I wouldn't walk off that fall. To my side landed Valiic, who fared better from the impact than me.
Shocked, Keefe, still on Valiic's back asked, "By my calculations, that was a forty meter descend. He is a maelkii, although you are human. How could you survive that descent?" Not letting me answer, he continued, "Could it be? Sunset orange hair, bottle green eyes, superhuman build--" he paused, "James Stone?"
"On the nose," I confessed, annoyed. Before Kalvin was able to say anymore, I turned to Valiic. "Where's the boultha?"
"I lost the creature at the turn. I think it was running too fast to change direction." He looked up at the window to check if the boultha was about to leap through the glass.
"I've got a fine idea. Let's help finish what those dytircs started by blowing up the building while they're still inside." I reached in one of my pouches and snatched out some heavy explosives.
"Unnecessary. When the dytircs failed to pinpoint the location of the documents they desired, they decided to demolish Aegis Laboratory. Fortunately, they were unable to finish that process." Keefe climbed off Valiic's back.
"And what documents would that be?" Putting away my explosives, I indulged him.
"Research… research that carries a probability of divulging the Wersillian Legion's motivations regarding this war." He showed me the folder. "The Wersillian Legion would never encroach on an ARW system without logic. Somehow they obtained knowledge of what my researchers were on the threshold of discovering something they did not fancy us identifying. That is precisely why I issued a priority code 199 Rederick. You must evacuate me to safety, immediately."
"Very well. Just don't twist your balls in a knot." I used my cyberwatch to call the commander. "Commander Sizar, this is James Stone. We need a priority one evac right away. Location is Haveron Street, behind Aegis Laboratory."
"This is Commander Sizar. I hear you loud and clear. The enemy is retreating, so your evac will be down in a few clicks. Hold tight. Sizar out."
Kalvin stared at me, and I back at him. It was only now, taking in his face, that memories from my past, memories I'd buried, resurfaced. After all, Kalvin Keefe was the man responsible for many of the demons created from my past.