Standoff, page 68
“Silao?” I asked. “Can you—”
“I’ve got enough issues,” he said. “Hold the best you can. Captain Yun is approaching that location on foot now.”
Every maneuver was crucial now. As Apex and I faced a well-hidden enemy onslaught, missiles became a tempting option. But deploying them would obliterate half the structures in the vicinity, and no one inside would survive. That was a price too high to pay.
We had to secure an exit for the civilians. I moved some drones to the edges of the fray. It was closer to open terrain, unfortunately offering the enemy a clearer shot. It demanded far more of my concentration, this deadly dance against heavy fire.
“Deploying drones as shields; we’re sprinting into Wallace Farm’s territory,” I announced.
Silao’s voice broke through my tiring mind. “I’ve got your six,” he said as two of his drones merged with mine.
“Dropping Spider One,” Malaki added.
“I’m on guns,” Bisan said.
“You need to—”
But Malaki, fierce and determined, interrupted. “We’re in this together, Rus. You’re not alone.”
“Move, now, now,” Tsomak shouted.
Our drone shield worked wonders eliminating any threats as his group ran. Chaos reigned.
And then, a heart-stopping moment: Tsomak fell.
I lost him in the sea of turmoil. “Deploying a drone for visual,” I informed them.
In moments, my screen showed Tsomak, motionless on the ground. My heart raced. “Any medics on the ground?” I desperately called over comms.
Silence.
Bisan’s voice, filled with urgency, broke through. “Put me on the ground!”
Malaki hesitated, looking at me, searching for a decision. “Rus?”
“This is your call,” I said, although my voice shook. I couldn’t be the one to make it, I just couldn’t. “I won’t hold it against you.”
“Get ready,” she said. “Ditching in three…”
I heard Bisan grabbing what he could.
“Two!”
“One!”
Our helo’s skids touched the ground, the door opened, and Bisan was out and running.
Gunfire split all around him, the others still running for Wallace. Malaki drew the helo up slightly, pulling fire away from Bisan.
Bisan slid to a halt by my stepfather, and I tried my best to see if he was moving as Bisan checked him.
“Report,” I said. Through the chaos, I tried to maintain a line of sight. My drones were taking a hammering now as the last few men were doing their best to get out of Sinnisters’ Farm any way they could.
“Cat one. He’s two bullet wounds. Shoulder through and through. He’s one lodged in his abdomen.” Bisan relayed.
We had to get him out of there.
A painful realization hit—extracting Tsomak now would be a colossal risk. But leaving him? An unthinkable act.
“Stabilize him,” I ordered, and though it hurt, I knew we couldn’t do any more than we had. “Hold your position, Mal.”
I wanted to be down there with him. But I knew we had to keep this mission on track.
“Cornering Kristof and his parents now,” Captain Yun reported.
That was good. At least we had them.
It wasn’t more than a few minutes later that he reported successful capture.
Urgency laced my voice. “Medevac needed south side.”
“You’re the closest helo,” Li Yun replied. “Permission to land. Just keep alert.”
Malaki brought us closer to Bisan. “I need help to move him,” he said.
“I’ll help,” Malaki told him, even though I shook my head.
“You can’t get out.”
“I have to. It will be a minute at most.”
The helo was down, and Malaki was out. She opened the side door first, then she was by their side. My drones covered them as they carried him as best they could.
It couldn’t have been easy without a stretcher. But they managed. They slid him inside, and Mal was back in the helo and up in the air.
“He needs surgery,” Bisan said. “But he’s stable for now.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Bringing the drones in, Apex said. I can’t hold them for much longer.
You did amazing, I said to him. Thank you.
Can we go find my brother? he pleaded.
Get us a local hospital to drop Tsomak, and we’ll follow.
“Redirect,” Captain Yun cut in.
Well, shit, I cursed. I’m sorry Apex. Get a message to Li about your brother, and about Shay and his mother. Maybe they’ll get to them before we do.
Malaki took his comms. “Sir?
“You’re needed out by Tili Lake.”
We don’t have the fuel was my first instinct.
Apex had it calculated faster than I ever could. We’re good, he said.
“Redirecting to Tili Lake,” Malaki confirmed.
71
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Patching you in with Major Calder now,” Captain Yun replied.
“Major?” Malaki asked.
“ETA and weapons?” the Major barked her question.
“Red7, we are three drones down and half contingency on weapons,” Justin called out.
“Dizzy101, full contingency on drones, six reserves, and half on weapons. We also have a cat two patient who is stable for now.”
“Ice71 reporting ETA is forty minutes.”
“Get your asses moving,” Calder said. “Don’t hold back. Push those helos as much as you can. We’re surrounded and have incoming air attacks.”
Malaki’s eyes darted to me, a storm of emotions behind them. Fear, determination, concern. Our training had prepared us for many things, but this? To run to the wall with depleted stores and an injury in the back?
“The Black Bears and Rhinos?” I asked.
“Winchester. They’ve gone back for refit and reload,” she reported. “You’re the closest backup that’s worth anything. Any other helos will be taken out on approach.”
“What the hell?” I asked. “What’s out there?”
“We count eighteen flights of skellies.”
What. The. Fuck.
That was insane. Seventy-two airborne critters.
“They have to be controlled,” I said.
Malaki nodded. “It doesn’t make any sense if they’re not.”
“How are you secured?” Justin asked.
“We’re holed up under the wall; we found the tunnels the hesacha came through. So far, we’ve held them all off.”
“We’ll be there as soon as possible,” I said. “Hold out.”
“Trying!”
When gunfire erupted once more, she cut the comms.
“The other teams might not get back; they’ll be Winchester if they do.”
“Can you contact them?”
Apex?
Reaching out now. The blockers at the farm don’t reach this far.
“Ice71 for Ghost, do you read me?” I called out.
“Ghost for Ice71, we read you. What’s your status?”
“ETA to Major Calder, twenty-eight minutes. You?”
“We’re fully loaded and en-route. We should be back with them in five minutes.”
“There are eighteen full flights of skellies waiting.”
I didn’t need to know he cursed. I think everyone on this side of OOF would have heard it.
“Okay, we’ll take them out. We’ll be twenty minutes behind you at most.”
Thank fuck for that. We’d only have to hold out for ten minutes. Then whatever we faced; we’d stand a better chance.
I brought most of my drones back, leaving Apex to handle two and guard our flight. I let my focus come back to my body. In the dimly lit, claustrophobic interior of the helo, every sound was magnified—the thrum of the rotors above, the muffled chatter over the comms, the sharp hiss of the medical equipment. The sterile air mixed with the coppery tang of blood. It was a scent that was all too familiar to the occupants of the helo, but one that never got easier to stomach.
I allowed myself to look in the back. It was the sight of Bisan’s blood-streaked hand that truly brought the situation home for me. It wasn’t just a distant battle to win; lives were hanging in the balance. “How’s he doing?” I asked him.
“If Malaki can hold her steady for the next twenty minutes, I’ll operate.”
“I’ll hold course,” Malaki said.
“I could do with a hand,” Bisan said.
“You want me to help?” I shook my head.
“It will be quicker with two of us.”
“I can cope here on my own,” Malaki said. “Go, help him. He’ll be done quicker.”
As I unclipped the belts, the weight of responsibility hit me. How many lives were in our hands right now? The lives of those fighting outside, of Tsomak lying prone and bleeding, of every member of our team? It was enough to make my knees buckle, but I couldn’t afford that right now.
The metallic smell grew more pronounced as I made my way to the back of the helo, a stark symptom of the reality of our situation. Tsomak, a tower of strength and wisdom, was now vulnerable. His pale skin contrasted sharply with the deep red of his blood, staining the interior of our aircraft.
“It looks a lot worse than it is, I promise.” Bisan’s voice, usually so full of life, was clinical, focused. His words, meant to comfort, only seemed to underscore the gravity of our circumstances.
“What do you need me for?”
He knelt back down close to my stepfather. “I need you to hold the light in closer and keep the blood from obstructing my vision.”
“What can I use?”
He pointed at light and a bag, “It’s just full of gauze. I’ve got nites ready, but I need to get that bullet out first, then dose him as much as possible.”
“He lost a lot of blood?”
“More than twenty percent. It’s putting him at risk now.”
“Okay,” I said and moved to the bag. I pulled out the gauze packs.
Holding the light steady became a difficult as the helo jolted, making Bisan’s task even more challenging. We were getting closer to the wall.
Bisan removed the bandage packaging he’d had over the wound and stripped back Tsomak’s clothes with quick scissor cuts. He grabbed for a laser to cut more skin away.
It didn’t help when I started to hear the Angry Rhinos and Black Bears as they started to engage with the flights of skellies.
They were guns out and blazing.
There was also nothing nice about seeing the inside of Tsomak’s guts. Nothing at all.
I held the light, but my hand started shaking.
I couldn’t focus on the fight outside and what was before me.
Apex, silence them for me. I can’t do this.
Cutting you off. I will let you know if there’s news you need to hear.
Thanks.
Under the dim, clinical light of the helo, Bisan held his hands rock steady. The shimmering instruments in his hand gleamed with a cold precision. He worked swiftly, his fingers dancing over Tsomak’s abdomen.
“Here.” Bisan’s voice was firm, yet not without compassion. As he pointed, the crimson pool inside Tsomak’s opened abdomen seemed to shift and shimmer, the gauze soaking it up.
I hesitated for a fraction of a second, the weight of responsibility nearly crushing. Taking a deep breath, I thrust the wad of gauze inside with my trembling hand. My pulse echoed loudly in my ears.
“It’s a small blood vessel that’s leaking. I can see it. Give me a minute.”
I watched, riveted, as he deftly picked up the laser. The soft hiss of the tool seemed deafening in the charged silence of the helos interior. The vein ceased its ominous bleeding under his skillful hands.
The helo shook, and he cursed but steadied himself, as did I. Then, just a moment later, he looked up at me and grinned. “Got it!” Pulling his hands out, he showed me the slug, about as big as my pinky nail. “It hasn’t got other major organs or blood vessels. The nites should be able to handle it from here. Pull the pack out, I’ll flush him out, tip him to the side, get the last bit absorbed with fresh gauze, and if you help pull his skin back together, I’ll sew fast.”
I nodded, my lips dry, mouth like sandpaper, as I helped with the next steps, each one a delicate dance between saving a life and or ending it.
I was as covered in Tsomak’s blood as Bisan was, but I put the light down, packed, and pulled on his skin, holding it as tight as I could until he had enough stitches in, and it was holding on its own.
Bisan paused to take a breath, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his forearm. “You did good. Thank you.”
“Thank you.” I tried to muster a smile and pointed back to my chair. “Can I?”
Bisan’s quick, efficient movements didn’t stop. “Wait,” he interrupted, pouring saline over my bloodied hands. The coolness of the liquid was a brief relief, but the red stains on my suit felt like they’d never wash away. “Are you okay?” he asked, genuine concern lacing his words.
I shook my head.
He then slapped me. I mean, full-on face slapped me.
“What the fuck, man!”
“Get back in that chair and do your job,” he ordered, his tone a blend of sternness and understanding.
It was the way he’d said it, though. Pushing past my shock, I mechanically got up, clipping myself into the chair. Malaki gave me a quick, understanding nod, her eyes filled with a mix of sympathy and resolve.
“He’s as good as he can be,” I reported, the words tasting metallic. “ETA?”
Malaki’s hands gripped the helo’s controls, her knuckles whitening as she spoke. “We’re still twenty minutes out now.”
I exhaled heavily, leaning against the interior of the helo. Every second felt like an eternity, with the persistent hum of the engines as the only soundtrack. The fires on the horizon, growing brighter and more terrifying with each passing minute, resembled the gates of hell. As a particularly large flame roared, painting the sky in an eerie orange hue, I flinched. “The king isn’t here, though, right?”
“There were no sightings of the king,” Malaki replied, her eyes scanning multiple screens simultaneously. Her voice was firm, but I caught a fleeting hint of worry. “I’ve kept an eye on all comms traffic I can, nothing.”
Glancing sidelong at her, I prodded further, “Did you speak to your father?”
A brief hesitation, then, “Yes,” she murmured, her face flushing. “He’s given us our blessing for anything we do.”
“Or don’t do?” I leaned in closer, my voice dropping to a near whisper.
She merely dipped her head, a solemn gesture. Her voice trembled, betraying her unease. “I’m scared, Rus, those skellies, seriously they were controlled?”
“I know. Trust our team.” I said and gripped her shoulder. “Trust us.”
Malaki nodded, determination reforging her resolve as she pushed the helo’s engines to their limits. The vehicle vibrated with the effort. The vast, wild terrain stretched below us, a testament to the relentless battles we had endured both outside and within the confines of the city.
“We’re coming in now. ETA two minutes.”
Apex, give me back comms. He did, and I relayed to Major Calder, “Approaching. The rest of the squads are ten minutes behind us.”
“We’re being pushed back out into the open,” Major Calder said. “There’s more hesacha in the tunnels.”
“How many is more?”
A tense pause. “I don’t know, we can’t tell. They’re not very old, but they’re still hot as fuck.”
“Drones out,” Making a swift decision, I commanded, “Silao?”
“Copy. Drones out.”
“We are coming in hot, Major,” I reported to her.
The drone feeds popped up on my screen. The first images were distorted, but soon the landscape below became clear. The absence of the skellies in the skies was a welcome sight, a small victory amid the chaos.
Turning my head, I communicated with Apex, Be ready if I need you.
“You need me now.” His electronic voice resonated in the cockpit, “I’m taking out the other drones.
“Ice74 to Ghost, we are drones out. Repeat. All drones are out.”
“We’ve made good time. We cut some of the re-load off,” Ghost responded with an undertone of relief. “We’ll be with you in five minutes.”
“We’re cutting it close on fuel.” Malaki and a low chime interrupted our conversation.
Without thinking, my eyes darted to the fuel gauge, the needle ominously close to the red zone. “We’re going to have to ditch once this location is secure. We’ll have to refuel on the ground.”
“Copy, Rus. Do what you can and land safely.” Ghost said.
Glancing at the screen, I counted only four hesacha above ground. However, their subterranean presence felt significantly larger; their heat signatures painted a clear image of the imminent danger. No wonder Calder was anxious; a direct confrontation with them could have disastrous consequences.
“We’ll take out the four out here now,” I told Calder. “Try and hold just a little longer.”
“It’s baking in here,” she said. “But we’re holding. Let us know as soon as we can come out.”
“Targeting the hesacha now,” I confirmed.
“They’re only young.” Silao chimed in over comms. “We’re way overpowered for these.”
“Maybe,” I replied. “Steady on weapons, so we’re not hitting them more than needed.”
“Two each?” he asked.
“Copy. I’ll target the two at the back.”
Locking onto the younger hesacha, I released a single volley of missiles, their trajectory glowing bright against the night sky.
“Targeting the first two,” Silao said.
The younger hesacha didn’t stand a chance. They were blown to smithereens over the countryside.
“Two down,” I said.
“Two down,” Silao confirmed.
Below, Calder’s soldiers surged from the mountain, their movements reminiscent of a disturbed anthill.
“You’re clear to leave the mountainside.” I shouted, though it seemed they were already in the thick of things, battling the hesacha forces with everything they had.
