The sword sliced through the air inches from her face as Lysis ducked to avoid the attack.
As she rolled across the ground, Lysis gripped her side where a series of short cuts oozed blood and stained her clothes. Souvenirs from Khalin’s successful attacks
Fortunately, her opponent was fairing much worse. He’d been blinded in one eye where blood had flowed into it from a wound on his forehead, and a bright red stain dotted his leg, as well as his own wounded chest.
It was a death by a thousand needles, but she could tell Khalin was losing his stamina a lot faster than she was. If she could just hold on, she could finish this.
Gritting her teeth she threw herself at him, striking a flurry of savage blows that he was at pains to dodge or deflect. Most were blocked by his bloodstained sword, but occasionally there would be a small spray of blood whenever she scored a hit.
Each wound she left on his body seemed to drive her further, to feed some primal savagery that demanded blood as just compensation for the torment he and his twisted followers had visited on the city she was sworn to protect.
It felt good, to see him hurt, to see him bleed. As far as she was concerned, he was beyond Justice.
Now, vengeance was all there would be.
Her sword rang out with each strike, a death knell that drove Khalin back. She stared into the one good eye her opponent had left, and her heart leapt at what she saw there.
Fear.
Primal, unadulterated fear radiated from the man who stylized himself the High Priest of Death incarnate. Lysis grinned savagely and redoubled her attack, pounding away at her opponent until he was left desperately trying to parry her blows.
Slice. A spray of blood flew from his shoulder.
Thrust. A red stain appeared in his side, just below his ribcage.
Slash. Khalin’s good eye became useless.
The cult leader coughed and fell to his knees, a stream of bile flowing from his mouth. His breathing was labored and shallow and his head bowed, no longer able to see.
But Lysis wouldn’t be deterred. There would be no mercy, even for one as broken and defeated as he was. She gave no quarter and allowed no final words to be uttered from his lips. With an animalistic cry of pure bloodlust, she raised her sword above her fallen foe and drove the blade straight into his foul evil heart.
Khalin’s eyes widened momentarily as the life left his body, then, with a final choking gasp the master of the death cult went to find his just reward in whatever afterlife waited for them all.
Lysis stood over his dead body for a moment, chest heaving from exertion. It was over, finished. Her foe lay defeated and she was still alive.
Her stance wavered, her knees buckled. She leaned on her sword for support.
She still lived. For the moment anyway.
Lysis gripped her wounded chest and allowed herself to grit her teeth from the pain. After a moment, the wave of agony passed over her and she began to look for things to bind her wounds with.
After all, the work had just begun.
*.*.*.*.*.*
“Calm down Brinn.” Selil sighed. “You’ll only aggravate the symptoms by becoming upset.”
“Don’t tell me not to be upset, Kharee.” Brinn growled as she continued to pace, ignoring the way her vision occasionally started to swim.
“Nick is out there, maybe getting killed by my sister, and I can’t do anything about it because of the Princess over there forbidding it.” Brinn stopped pacing long enough to kick a stool out of her way. The unlucky piece of furniture went skidding across the floor before stopping next to the wall with a bang.
“Pryvani is acting rationally.” Dr. Selil replied calmly, ignoring the other woman’s outburst. “She is correct that it is inappropriate to risk thousands of lives to save one.”
“INAPPROPRIATE?” Brinn yelled, before clutching the corner of a lab table for support as she was gripped by a sudden bout of vertigo.
“Yes. Inappropriate.” Kharee repeated. “I understand your frustration Brinn. Believe me. But this course of action is for the best. If nothing else you’re in no condition to go charging off to his rescue.”
Brinn paused; her eyes began to water- both from emotion and from the vaccine working its way through her system, and slumped into a chair.
“I can’t stand it, Kharee.” She muttered mournfully. “It was my job to protect him and keep him safe, to look out for him. He had his whole life ripped away from him and I told him when we first met that everything would be okay. …and it’s just been one disaster after another and it’s entirely my fault.”
There was a moment of silence before Kharee stepped over to where her friend was seated, and awkwardly put her hand on Brinn’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry Brinn.” The scientist said softly. “I won’t tell you everything will be okay, because I don’t know if it will be or not… but I will tell you not to give up. If Sophia is right and Trell doesn’t want Nick dead yet, then there’s still hope.”
Brinn sighed and seemed to deflate. Her friend’s words weren’t terribly comforting, but Brinn knew Kharee had done the best she could with them. She gave her friend a watery smile.
“I’m… I’m going to go get some rest, okay?”
Dr. Selil smiled. “I think that would be a very good idea.”
The young scientist watched with concern as Brinn made her way out of the room.
Dr. Selil sat in the silent room for a few seconds before pulling her data pad towards her and typing in a string of commands.
The logo of her university flashed on her screen for a moment before being replaced by the concerned looking face of a young man.
He had a round chubby face with short brown hair and a pale complexion. The kind of pale of a person who didn’t spend near enough time outside. And it was impossible to tell by looking at the screen, but the being she was speaking to was actually a young human. His blue grey eyes narrowed for a moment, before widening when he recognized who it was.
His face lit up with a smile.
“Dr. Selil!” He exclaimed happily. “I’m so glad to hear from you. Are you finished? Does this mean you’re coming home soon?”
Dr. Selil smiled softly at the young man. “I’m afraid we’re still working on the problem, Dhan. It might be awhile yet.”
Dhan’s face fell. “Oh. Okay.”
“I just wanted to call and check in on you. How are you doing? Is Tanlyn taking good care of you?”
“Oh yes.” Dhan said shrugging. “But I really wish you were here instead. Tanlyn makes me nervous.”
“Dhan, all titans make you nervous.” Selil reminded him.
“Except you.”
“Yes.” Kharee agreed. “That’s true. But you’re supposed to be working on that, aren’t you?”
Dhan shifted, not looking Kharee in the eyes any longer. “Yes… I know.”
“Just give Tanlyn a chance.” Kharee admonished gently. “I think you’ll find she’s perfectly nice.”
“She… she did try to talk to me…” Dhan muttered.
“How horrible.” Selil responded drily. “I shall have her terminated upon my return.”
Dhan scowled at the Titaness. “That’s not what I meant! I’m just saying… it was hard to say anything back to her…”
Kharee shook her head. “You’re still working through things. You’ll get there.”
Dhan nodded silently, but didn’t respond otherwise. The seconds seemed to stretch before the little human was able to speak again.
“I still wish I could have gone with you.” Dhan muttered. “I could have been helpful.”
“I’ve no doubt that that’s true.” Kharee agreed. “But it would have been very foolish of me to bring you here and risk you catching an unknown disease that has proven fatal to humans.”
Dhan shrugged. “Fair point.”
Kharee smiled. “Don’t worry, Dhan. I’ll be back before you know it.”
*.*.*.*.*.*
Pryvani stared at her reflection in the mirror. To say she looked terrible would be a massive understatement. She was pale- sickly pale, and her hair was so ragged one could almost make out her original hair color.
“Well, that won’t do at all.” The heiress muttered, fingering a lock of faded purple hair.
With a sigh she flopped down on the couch and buried her face in her hands. She’d felt absolutely horrible having to say that to Brinn. Yes, it had been the right decision but she couldn’t help wondering how she would feel if it had been Zh- …Alex instead of Nick. Would her resolve have held?
Probably not, she mused. But then she would hope that those around her would be able to help her out in that regard. This, ultimately, was what she was doing for Brinn. She’d taken the decision out of the young veterinarian’s hands, and therefore the guilt as well.
It didn’t stop her from feeling like a complete monster.
“I would dearly love…” Pryvani muttered to herself. “If I could just make it through this with a shred of a soul intact… That would be amazing.”
*.*.*.*.*.*
“This is what we know so far.” Quayden Maltak stood at the head of the table in the center of the briefing room and looked at the members of the team assembled there. He was by no means the highest ranking person in the room, that particular honor fell to Legatus-Imperator Tam. However, he was the most knowledgeable about the local situation, so Rixie had been more than happy to defer control of the briefing to him.
“After combing through spaceport security footage and running facial recognition, we believe we’ve spotted two of your fugitive targets- Greno Shen and Dorok Melaskah- disembarking a transport vessel that had made a maintenance stop en route to Sol Chartarka.”
“Had this vessel been to Tatendi Station at any point recently?” Vanser asked.
“Yes.” Maltak replied. “According to flight manifests we obtained, and that particular stop was during the time period after your quarry’s escape.”
Vanser nodded and motioned for the young officer to continue.
“From there we’ve managed, through confidential informants, to learn that they’re planning on targeting a supply warehouse in the industrial district.”
“What’s being stored there?”
Maltak shrugged. “Raw materials mostly. We don’t think they’re after those, however. Too bulky. We believe that they’re after the flight plans and shipping manifests that are kept in the manager’s office.”
Rixie nodded. “With those they’d know the flight plans of every cargo vessel and what each of them were carrying. Any number of black market piracy rings would pay big to get their hands on that sort of information.”
“Exactly.” Szalin Dyarnis affirmed, nodding his head. “We’re fairly certain they’ll be striking within the next two days or so. We have the place staked out round the clock, we’re just biding our time until they make their move now.”
“What if they smell a trap?” Rixie asked.
Officer Jani leaned forward and clasped her hands on the table. “That’s always a possibility of course, but we feel it’s a minimal risk, considering the potential gain.”
“The fact is, after escaping Rura Penthe everything we know from Greno’s psych profile says he’ll be arrogant enough to think he can get away with anything.” Maltak added. “Even if he does smell a trap, he may just be over confident enough to think he can evade it- the potential score is big enough to lure him in.”
“I agree.” Rixie replied. “This looks to be a solid plan. Is there anything further you’d like to add, Officer Maltak?”
“Nothing else at this time. Eventually, we’ll need to brief you on entry points and the layout of the target, but I believe that can wait until after lunch.”
“Excellent.” Vanser laughed. “Because I am starved.”
*.*.*.*.*.*
Rixie sat at an outdoor table of a café near the station where they were based. She was idly sipping a cup of tea with Alex on the table in front of her, trying to figure out how he was going to eat a cookie that was bigger than he was.
She watched in amusement for a few minutes before finally taking pit on him and breaking the cookie into smaller pieces.
“Thanks.” Alex laughed as he picked up a crumb and tossed it into his mouth.
“No problem.” Rixie smiled, raising her tea to her lips again. She watched the human in front of her fondly, trying to ignore the dull ache in her heart. It had been getting worse, lately, but she resolved herself to ignore it. This was for the best after all.
Rixie snapped out of her reverie when she realized Alex was looking up at her, a quizzical look on his face.
“What is it?” She asked softly.
Alex shrugged. “Rixie… there’s something I’ve been meaning to-”
“Rixie we got trouble.” The comm link in Rixie’s ear buzzed with Vanser’s voice.
“Damn, hold that thought Alex.” Rixie muttered, opening a two-way channel. “Vans? What’s the matter?”
“Rixie we just got word that Shen and Melaskah are moving on the warehouse. If we don’t move now, we’ll lose our shot at them.”
“What?” Rixie snapped, rising suddenly to her feet. “It’s the middle of the day!”
“I don’t understand it either. Apparently, the warehouse staff were told to stay home today. Something about structural repair work.”
“An inside job?” Rixie asked as she scooped Alex into her hand.
“I’m almost positive.”
“All right, I’m on my way.” With a click she severed the connection. Apprehensively she looked down at the human sitting in the palm of her hand.
“No time to find some place to stash you, Alex.” She sighed. “Looks like you’re coming with me.”
Before Alex could respond she’d slipped him into the pocket of her uniform.
“This might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done…”
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
As she moved cautiously through the rows of shelves and storage containers, Rixie kept her gun drawn drawn and she was alert for any sign of the men they were pursuing.
She and the rest of her team had infiltrated the warehouse and were moving in a search pattern to flush out Greno and his associates.
Rixie came to a junction between two shelves and cautiously ducked down, slipping her hand into her pocket as she went. She drew Alex out and held him in her hand, raising him up so he could look her in the eye.
She carefully placed him on the shelf in front of her, and stared into his eyes to impress upon him ther seriousness of what she was about to say.
“I need you to stay hidden, okay Alex.” She whispered. “I need you to stay safe. I’ll come back for you when this is all over.”
Alex wanted to protest, but part of him knew that he’d be no help to her in this, and that her having to worry about his safety might get her killed. So he nodded. He’d stay out of it, but the look on his face pleaded with her to be careful.
Rixie allowed the barest smile to appear on her face. She winked at him, before her features became as serious as stone again and she carefully moved down the row to where she thought the fugitives were hidden.
Alex let her get ahead of him a few paces, then cautiously climbed to the top of the shelf. Once there, he began to follow after her, using his ability to jump between the shelves and take direct paths where Rixie had to weave around shelves to make up for her longer stride. He’d do what she asked. He’d stay out of it, but it didn’t mean he had to stay put.
There was a rustling sound and Rixie crouched down by the shelf. Cautiously she peeked around the corner and saw a large man rifling through a cabinet. A man she recognized as Greno Shan.
Rixie tapped the call button on her communicator three times, signaling to the rest of her team, who would converge on her location. Having called for backup, she stepped out in front of the shelf and raised her weapon “Freeze Greno.” Rixie commanded.
The large man looked up and turned, raising his hands in a mocking way.
“Jotnar eh?” He sneered, his gravelly voice dripping with contempt.
Rixie’s eyes narrowed and she resisted the urge to respond to the implied insult. She leveled the weapon at Greno and squared her stance.
“Make it easy on yourself Greno.” She called. “Just come along peacefully.” Every muscle in Rixie’s body was tense as she scrutinized him for any sign of an attack. A flash of movement out of the corner of her eye caught Rixie’s attention and she lost focus for just a second.
Unfortunately, that was all Greno needed. He hefted a stack of files and folders at her. Rixie lost sight of him in the flurry of flying sheets of paper and data disks.
The next thing she knew, he’d barreled into her, knocking her to the ground. Rixie lost grip on her weapon, which went scattering across the floor.
Greno grabbed her around the neck and bodily lifted her, slamming her into the shelf.
“Can’t believe that they sent a Blueface slag to catch me.” Greno sneered as he pressed Rixie up against the wall, his hand around her throat in a vice-like grip.
Rixie gritted her teeth at the slur, and struggled to break his iron grip.
“And a Special Investigative Flag officer on top of that.” The large man’s gravelly voice rasped in amusement. “You all must want me bad…”
“Not really.” Rixie spat. “You and the kid are lower priority. Mostly we’re after Trell.”
“That dumb slag?” Greno yelled back. “There’s no way she’s worth more than I am.”
Without warning, Rixie lashed out with her leg, catching her unsuspecting assailant directly in the crotch.
Greno let out a grunt and stumbled backwards, letting Rixie go in the process.
“Greno Shan.” Rixe growled, rubbing her neck. “I hereby place you under arrest. Do not resist or you will give me no choice to subdue you by force.” She quickly reached for her hand restraints and went to put them on him.
Greno spat and pushed himself to his knees, breathing heavily. He looked up at Rixie standing over him and happened to glance at the nameplate on her uniform.
“Tam?” Greno growled, pushing himself into a standing position. “You’re a Gorram TAM? A slagging blueface like YOU?” with a feral roar he threw Rixie to the ground and kicked her in the side as hard as he could.
“I get shunted off into the loser Shan caste and they make a rope headed ice-sucker like you into a Tam.” Each sentence was punctuated by another kick to Rixie’s torso.
Rixie clutched her chest in pain from the blows being delivered by Greno’s large metal tipped boot, curling into a ball to protect herself.
“Pathetic” Greno spat contemptuously.
Rixie decided she’d had enough.
The Imperator surged to her feet, catching her assailant by surprise and bowling him over. She rushed over to the prone man with her restraining cuffs in hand, ready to end this.
Unfortunately, Greno recovered faster than Rixie had anticipated. The Titan man lashed out with a fist and caught Rixie across the jaw.
“Today’s a good day.” Shan growled. “I get to beat up on a blueface and a Tam shaka all at once.”
Rixie shook her head to clear it and fell back into a ready stance. Forget protocol. If Greno wanted a fight, he’d get one.
“You’re a disgrace to Hoplites, Greno.” Rixie spat at her opponent. “There’s a reason you’re not a Tam. The Dalen could tell from your psych evals that you’re unbalanced. You think they’re about to give you access to combat training and weapons?”
Greno snarled and lunged at Rixie, who nimbly dodged out of the way of his rampage.
“You had a chance at good, honest work as a craftsman. You blew that.” Rixie taunted, ducking under Greno’s punch and slamming her fists into his torso, driving him backwards. “It’s not the Shan who are losers, Greno. You are.”
“Shut up!”
“You couldn’t hack it in the military. You would have never made it past Basic.” Rixie went on the offensive, jabbing at Greno and driving him back, forcing him to retreat from the onslaught.
Without any warning, Greno spun away from her attack and made a run for the safety railing that guarded the drop to the next floor down. Without a glance back he jumped off the ledge, falling down to the floor below.
Rixie peered over the side of the railing; the drop was only about two units down. She could already see Greno making a run for it.
Rixie frowned and raised her comm unit to her mouth. “Suspect fleeing to northern quadrant.”
There was a static hiss and Vanser’s voice spoke up. “I’m on it.”