Witch Of The Federation V (Federal Histories Book 5), page 37
“Can go suck it,” she snapped. “She’s not my mom.”
“She is, you know,” he reminded her and slid ahead of her to be the first out into the corridor that would take them on the route they needed and away from the path Todd’s team had taken. “She’s your second mom.”
Stephanie groaned and made a rude gesture at his back. “Like I needed two.”
None of them had an answer for that and they didn’t have time to think of one, either.
“How will we get the POWs back to the ship?” Johnny asked when they reached a junction.
“Emil’s handling it.”
“Do we know how many there are?”
Stephanie’s eyes grew dark and Lars felt a frisson of alarm.
Relief followed as the blue returned, but it was short-lived as Stephanie replied. “Two hundred.”
“How will we get them off?” Lars signaled a halt and stuck his head around the corner. “You sneaky bastards.”
“What?” was quickly followed by, “Fuckers!” as Stephanie peered around behind him and saw the waiting Telorans. Before he could stop her, she’d skirted him, raised a shield in one direction, and fired a small storm of magic in the other.
“You want to go easy on the magic, Steph,” Johnny advised her. “You might need that when we get to the hold.”
The hold… She felt a tremor of unease. An entire hold of Meligornians. She wondered if it was something the enemy could vent to space—and if they would.
All she could hope was that they’d kept the prisoners for a reason and wouldn’t want to lose them. After all, they wouldn’t be able to replace them easily. She’d make sure of that.
“So, what’s the plan, Steph?” Lars pressed, darted out from behind the shield, and fired into the Telorans beyond.
“I don’t know,” she replied, drew her sword, and made sure the shield on her armor was active.
Behind her, Vishlog unleashed the cats. “Go!”
Their roars echoed down the corridors and several of the Telorans froze. It was all the time the felines needed. They closed the distance between them and bounded into their enemy to claw torsos while they tried to bite heads despite their suits.
Apparently, even Telorans could scream.
“That’s not in the language program!” Frog commented.
“Well, our recorders are running,” Johnny told him as he moved alongside the smaller man. They followed Stephanie’s example and took the fight up close and personal. “I’m sure the language boffins will have a field day working it out. You know how they like to educate us on the curses.”
“Yeah. There’s nothing like knowing when you’re being sworn at,” Marcus quipped dryly and Frog laughed.
“We know that. They only want us to be able to cuss them out in their own language,” he retorted.
Marcus grunted, knocked a blaster aside with one blade, and thrust with the other. The metal glanced off the Teloran’s armor.
“Fuck it!”
“Use the vibro, man,” Frog advised and did exactly that. “And give them a burst when you do.”
He released a quick charge through the metal and the shield protecting his opponent dissipated. The vibro-blade cut through the armor below. His teammate winced.
“Messy, bro. That’s plain messy.”
“Quit your bitchin’.”
“Why don’t we simply do this?” He pulled his blaster and alternated the charge. Using the blade in his off-hand to defend, he broke the Teloran shield and fired point-blank into the armor.
“You’re lucky they don’t have deflection.” Johnny had chosen a different approach. He’d powered the gauntlets on his armor and activated the blades set into the wrist bracers. They ran from the wrist along the back of the gauntlet.
With energy flowing over the blade edges, he had his own set of claws. The cats approved—or they would have if they hadn’t been so busy. The Telorans had closed their helmets and their armor resisted claws very well.
Vishlog saw the change and whistled a command. Bumblebee came alongside Zeekat and gave an imperative chirp. The two cats broke clear of their opponents and raced down the corridor. To anyone watching them, they were fleeing.
The Dreth knew better and he mentally kicked himself. He should have activated the extensions on their armor sooner. This could be done on the panel that protected their bellies, and he wondered if they’d remember which part to tap. It had taken him a long time to teach them—but not as long as it had taken him to convince One R&D’s engineers that it was worth tweaking the armor to install it.
A roar drew his attention and he grinned with the evidence that the effort had paid off. The cats had looked formidable before. Now, they were downright terrifying. Metal sheathed their claws and extended them, and thin blades of metal snaked down the length of their armored tails.
He grinned. His opponent turned his head to look toward the roar, and Vishlog used the opportunity to slash his throat. For all their differences, the Telorans still seemed to keep their vitals in the same place.
Another tried to come in under his guard and he brought his sword down in a hasty block, thrust the attack aside, and retaliated with the dagger in his off-hand. He found a weak point in his adversary’s armor and drove the blade home.
It jammed and yanked him forward as the Teloran fell. He released the hilt and twisted away as another of the enemy fired. The sickening feeling of nMU rippled over his armor and faded like it had never been. He had no idea what had protected him, but he knew he didn’t intend to let it happen again.
“Tegorthan targlathian!” he snarled and lashed out with a boot that caught his opponent where its knee should be.
His foot struck something solid and the Teloran shrieked. His armor gave and bone snapped to bring him down almost on top of the Dreth. The warrior rolled instinctively to one side and scowled when he stared down the muzzle of another blaster.
He ducked, but it would not have been enough if Lars hadn’t shot his assailant through the throat.
“That’s the last of them,” he said, offered his teammate his hand, and dragged him to his feet. “You’re an idiot, bringing a knife to a gunfight.”
“She started it,” Vishlog replied and gestured at Stephanie’s retreating back.
They hurried after her and stepped around Frog who’d stopped to pick up a Teloran blaster.
“What do you want these for?” Marcus asked as he copied him.
“Not all Telorans have magic, right?” Lars heard as he went past. “So, if they can’t use magic but they can fire these, we should be able to as well.”
The security head almost stopped but Marcus was already putting his doubts into words. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Frog? The Morgana doesn’t like these guys—”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t stop her from using their weapons.”
He had a point and the Witch hadn’t stopped to give her opinion, so Lars let it go. He only hoped Frog didn’t blow up something important.
“Emil, tell me you have the answer.” Stephanie’s voice echoed to him and he ran to catch up. It was a good thing Johnny was with her and it made him feel better about the idea of not being there.
“Do you think we’ve cleared this deck, yet?” he asked and arrived at the same time as the cats.
“Does it matter?” she asked.
She sounded distracted and her pace slowed. Lars checked in the HUD and worked out why.
“It’s over here,” he said and pointed out the emergency tube.
“Twenty floors, right?” she asked, and his heart fell.
“Stephanie, don’t—” he began, but she flashed him a grin and was gone.
“Fuck.” He vaulted to the ladder while he cursed all mages and smart-assed magic-users. “Vishlog, you have the cats.”
The Telorans didn’t have stairs. Their only concession to the idea that their emergency shaft might be used was to have the gravity functioning as a ladder. Stephanie held it in such a way it was more like a fireman’s pole.
Lars was relieved that she wore gauntlets.
He went down the same way and used a light handgrip on the outer edges of the pole while he pressed the inside of his boots there as well—lightly enough to keep him on the ladder and stop him from going over the top of her. The sound of Johnny following made him look up and he saw Vishlog had help with the cats.
Zeekat was draped across Johnny’s shoulders. The cat had a disgruntled look on his face but remained perfectly still. He’d come a long way since he’d first emerged from the Meligornian woods. Back then, he’d have clawed the man’s face off before he let him touch him. Now, he accepted them all as part of his pride.
The security head turned his attention to his HUD and watched their progress through the ship. He also looked for Todd’s team and was both relieved and disappointed to discover Ka had masked their presence on the map. He wondered if she’d done the same for them and decided he needed to get Johnny to check.
When he glanced up, though, he decided it could wait until they all reached the bottom. The HUD revealed that they were almost there. It also showed that they were all in the emergency access tube, which wasn’t their best idea ever.
“Man, I hope some bright spark doesn’t get the idea to throw a grenade down here.” Frog seemed to read his mind and his whisper came clearly over the team’s chat channel, and Lars hoped no one was listening.
No one else was very impressed with the idea.
“Thanks, Frog,” Marcus said belligerently.
“Yeah. Thanks, asshole,” Johnny added.
“Stop!” Stephanie’s command ripped across the commlink. “We’re here.”
Lars clamped his feet tightly against the ladder’s side and tightened his hold. She muttered something like, “fucking door’s stuck,” before magic surged over his skin and the door slid open.
A brief sensation followed as if something was yanked out from under his feet and she was gone. He didn’t hesitate and launched toward the opening, all too aware of Johnny sliding past the door so Zeekat could leap through.
He turned to help his teammate up and yanked him out from under Vishlog. The Dreth repeated the maneuver for Bumblebee before he hauled himself out the door. The cats bounded to Stephanie and demanded head scratches before they moved to stand guard at the empty ends of the corridor.
Her face took on the faraway look of someone staring at their HUD, and Lars moved to keep Bumblebee company. Vishlog and Marcus moved to Zeekat.
“What’s the plan, Emil?” Stephanie demanded. “Can you bring the Knight in close?”
“Knight needs to keep the Telorans busy. I’ve called the Cathay Williams in to take the prisoners off.”
“Can she dock with this vessel?”
“Stephanie, there’s nothing that can dock with that ship until someone stops her fighting—and I only see one way of getting that to happen.”
“So, you’ve called the Cathay in but she probably won’t be able to find a way to do it.”
“Correct.”
“I’d ask you why, but I know…” Her eyes moved as though she traced a path to their objective.
“We have to try,” the team chorused, then sighed in tandem.
“Tell the Cathay Williams to stand off. We can’t afford to lose her. I’ll think of something,” she ordered.
“If you’re sure—”
“I am.”
The silence was prolonged, and Lars had the impression Emil was dealing with the battle.
“We need to keep moving,” he reminded her. “Where to?”
Stephanie turned and began to jog in the direction Bumblebee had guarded.
She sent him the link as she spoke. “They’re two corridors over.”
“Do you think there’ll be any guards?” Frog asked, and she gave a sinister chuckle.
“Oh, I hope so.”
She’d gone no more than five paces when she skidded to a halt.
We are coming. V’ritan’s voice sounded overly loud inside her head.
“V’ritan?”
How can we help?
Lars and the team looked around for the Ghargilum. They exchanged glances when they could not see him and moved hastily to hold their position if they needed to.
“Make it quick,” Lars muttered. “We don’t have all day.
Stephanie didn’t appear to notice. I need a way to transfer the prisoners. Can the King’s Warrior dock with the Teloran?
No, but we can provide a place for you to open a portal to. How many are we talking?
She took a breath, held it for a heartbeat, and released it. “Two hundred,” she told him, her voice barely above a whisper.
Can you hold the portal long enough?
“I can hold it. I only need to…” She paused and a feeling of foreboding clawed at Lars.
“Steph?” he asked and ran out of words.
“I need a space big enough to transfer the prisoners from here to The King’s Warrior.”
“You want to try to move the prisoners through a hostile ship—at speed—so you can portal them to V’ritan’s ship?” Johnny sounded like he didn’t believe she’d come up with anything so stupid.
“Yeah, why?”
Lars and Johnny exchanged glances before the security head looked away.
The other man shrugged, but his face looked bleak. “Because some of them might not be able to walk, let alone run.”
“What do you mean?”
He cast a quick glance at Lars, who didn’t return it.
“Can’t you open the portal where we find them?” he asked. “Rather than move them.”
He has a point, V’ritan pointed out. If you open a gate when you find them, we can send our people through to help with any who aren’t strong enough to make it on their own.
“And what if we can’t hold the space they’re in?”
Find somewhere as close as you can. The Garghilum Afreghil sounded fierce. I’ll send my warriors to help you rescue the rest.
“We will not leave anyone behind!” Stephanie declared and darkness trembled through her words.
Johnny laid a hand on her shoulder. “No, we won’t,” he agreed. “Tell us what needs to be done.”
“We need to move—now!” Lars snapped.
We’ll stand by, V’ritan told her. You only have to say my name.
Johnny lifted her off her feet and pushed her against the wall to shield her with his body. She wriggled and he set her down. “Stay here,” he told her roughly and she narrowed her eyes.
He ignored her. “Go, Lars. You have the lead. I’ve got Steph.”
Stephanie wanted to argue that no one had her but decided not to. Vishlog’s roar caught her attention.
“Zee—stay!”
She turned as the Dreth launched himself after the cat and brought it down in a yowling, clawing heap. He paid it no mind as its claws raked over his armor and opened huge gouges in the metal.
“Sons of Tegortha!” he cursed. “I’m on your side, you tark-addled piss-grate.”
That was a new one for Stephanie, but she was more interested in the squad of Telorans that had arrived. These were more heavily armored than the others.
“Guards,” Johnny snapped when his gaze followed hers. “Go with Lars.”
He caught her arm and dragged her after the team leader.
“Hey!” she protested and tried to twist free.
In response, he tightened his grasp. “I need you to go after Lars,” he insisted and blocked her when she tried to duck past him to back Marcus and Frog up, who’d moved to cover Vishlog’s retreat.
The Dreth had his arms full of angry cat, and even if Zee wasn’t struggling, his tail flicked and his ears were flat against his head. Someone had explaining to do when he got back and it looked like it would involve an impressive number of treats.
“We can’t leave until you do,” Johnny explained, “and there are more of them than there are of us. We need to get you out of here and the POWs need you to save them.”
It was enough. Stephanie didn’t wait to hear more but jerked her arm free and jogged after Lars. When she glanced back, the team had taken position behind her. Frog and Marcus moved in unison to pull grenades from their belts and spin them under the Telorans’ feet.
Chaos broke out as enemy warriors bolted forward, ran back, and tried to claw their way through closed doors before the grenades detonated.
Some made it but most did not.
Lars spoke on the team’s channel. “Johnny, I need you.”
“Keep going,” Johnny shouted and sprinted past Stephanie.
He kept his blaster in one hand, while he dug for his hacking kit with the other. When he came to a junction in the corridors, he barely slowed and snapped two shots down one arm of the intersection.
“Move your asses. They’re closing!”
Stephanie pushed into a sprint but skidded to a halt when she reached the junction and pointed a hand either way. She dropped to her knees and raised a shield on either side to block the incoming troops.
Marcus and Frog slowed as they came alongside her.
“Don’t stop!” she yelled and they ran on, Zeekat following their example.
Vishlog caught the back of her harness as he passed and hauled her off the floor and down the corridor like she was one of the cats.
“Hey!” she protested, her legs windmilling as she tried to find traction.
At the same time, she twisted the magic so the shields remained in place. “Get past that, Tegorthan scum.”
The Dreth didn’t release her until she ran beside him and even then, he kept a hand in the small of her back until she steadied. “Thanks, Vishlog.”
“It is my duty to protect you,” he rumbled, “even when you make it hard.”
That brought laughter from the rest of the team as they traversed the distance to the hatch guarding the hold. To Stephanie’s relief, it wasn’t an airlock. To her horror, it only led into a small antechamber and an airlock stood on the other side of it.
Johnny was crouched beside it with wires connecting the inside of the hatch’s control panel to his tablet as his fingers worked a portable keyboard.
“The code is similar to what we use,” he explained and grunted. “With a few notable exceptions.”
