Inherited War 1: Retribution (18 page)

33

“The US Army spent a lot of time and money to train me to be an infantrymen.  Sky spent a lot of effort on improving me.  At the moment we stepped off the ship and onto the ramp both of those facts became evident.  I reacted purely on instinct and reflex.  It scared me a bit to be honest.  It was like someone turned on a light.  One moment I was going about my business, the next I was switched on for battle.  My first thought was getting Sky out of the line of fire and safe on the ship.  Then, battlefield assessment and target acquisition.  In a fraction of a second I did all of those and more.  I still can’t believe that a human could move that fast.”

As they stepped off the ramp onto the dock Cole registered the motions and actions of those beings already on the ground.  His brain made the connection fast as thought and his body followed suit soon after.  Even before the first shot had been fired, Cole was turning and backpedaling, pushing Sky back up the ramp into the safety of the ship.  At this point he felt his adrenalin spike.  His heart hammered in his chest and time seemed to slow down.  He saw four beings, that looked like the Admirals merc teams, fan out on the base of the ramp of the ship to his immediate right.  They were all holding guns and going into a firing position.  The main door to the hanger was slowly opening and a dozen small fully suited up things were rushing in the docking bay.  They looked like dwarves in leather S&M suits.  The little guys started to fire on the Thrashodons.  There were no trails of light so Cole assumed they were using projectile rounds and not energy based weapons.  Cole hit the bottom of the ramp and went into a crouch using the sides of the ramp as cover.  If they were made of the same alloy as the ship’s hull they should offer ample protection from kinetic weapons like the ones being used.  Then the Thrashodons opened fire, they apparently did have some form of energy guns.  Cole watched as the little beings rushed through the door and dove for any cover they could find.  The little guy’s initial rush through the door only managed to take down one of the Thrashodons.  The other three Thrashodons made it behind the ramp, took cover and laid down a fair amount of suppressive fire.  The Thrashodons got three of the twelve right off the bat.

Cole was content to wait it out here on the ramp
as long as no one noticed him and started shooting.  He wasn’t so lucky.  The two closest midget aliens got behind a stack of crates to Coles front.  They rushed to get around the right side to support their friends when they saw Cole crouched on the ramp with his pistol out.  They immediately turned and fired.  Cole went red with rage.  Not a blind berserker rage, but a controlled rage of anger at these people drawing him into their conflict and endangering him and Sky.  Everyone looked to Cole like they were moving in slow motion.  He saw the little buggers start to aim and fire while the Thrashodons continued to defend their position at their ship.  He shifted his position slightly to his rear drew down on them and squeezed the trigger two times.  He had drawn his larger caliber chemical pistol and it banged with two loud reports.  He had fired so fast at the threat, that the shots blended together into one sound.  The little guy’s shots were impacting all around the ramp wall, that Cole was partially behind.  Both of Cole’s shots hit dead center in the middle of their heads.  They dropped to the ground instantly out of commission.

Too late now
, he was in this fight and he was going to keep Sky and the ship safe.  The shots he had fired had only taken a second or two and not much had changed off to Cole’s right.  He counted seven of the little guys still actively firing and three Thrashodons still hiding behind the ramp.  The scene in front of him looked like a slow motion gun fight from the movies.  He took aim at the furthest target from him and squeezed off a round.  He moved from the furthest to closest giving each of them one round.  The last one left shifted around behind some metal containers and ceased firing.  Cole put four rounds into the boxes.  The little alien’s dead body slumped out into view.

Cole shifted back fully behind the ramps sides
, waiting for the three aliens behind their ships ramp to make a move.  They made the wrong one.  They boiled out of either side of the ramp firing at Cole.  Of all the stupid things to do he thought, didn’t they just see what I did to the other guys?  He felt the metal of the ramp start to heat up from the repeated hits it was receiving from their guns.  Cole checked the ammo in his pistol.  He still had twenty rounds left, plenty.  He launched himself forward off the ramp into a controlled roll.  He hit the ground and rolled for all he was worth, coming to a stop behind the crates the first two aliens had been behind.  He popped out the far side and aimed from the hip as he tried to keep his momentum up and his feet moving.  He fired twice at the first one.  Two hits, one to the chest the other hit the middle of its throat.  The second shot nearly decapitated the alien.

S
till moving, he shifted his aim to the second one.  He must be moving at the speed of light because they hadn’t even registered their buddy’s death yet.  They were still focused on the far side of the crates where he had been moments ago.  He fired two more shots at the next one.  He took some time to aim this time and got two clean hits, center mass.  The moment his rounds impacted the second one, Cole saw a string of bright flashes from the top of the boarding ramp.  The third one had wandered too far to his left and come into view of Sky at the top of the ramp.  She clipped his left leg and arm with a burst of full auto fire.  He went sprawling as the one Cole hit went down dead.  One more burst from Sky sent a string of rounds into the downed alien’s chest finishing him off.

A heart beat later
Cole’s perception of the docking bay returned to normal.  Cole stopped his mad dash across the bay coming to a halt fifty feet away from the
Retribution
.  Sky came bounding down the ramp.  She ran over to Cole.

“Are you hurt, did they get you anywhere?”  She asked out of breath.

“No, no I’m fine.  I think I felt something hit my leg earlier but it was a piece of shrapnel and the suit took care of it.  Are you Okay?  Thanks for the assist too.”  Cole said.  He stepped around her as she was saying she was fine just a little scared.  He looked at the carnage around him.  Bodies sprawled all over the docking bay.  He could smell the scents of chemical and energy weapon discharges.  There was some other smell that was slowly starting to permeate the air.  Death.  The bodies were bleeding all over the place.  The little guys seemed almost to be melting out of their suits.  All the suits looked to be slowly deflating.  The stench rising from them was becoming overwhelming.  “Who were the little guys?”  He asked.

“I don’t know
, I have never seen anyone like them before.  They appear to have needed those environmental suits just to stay alive here though.  The others were like the ones you killed trying to get onto the
Retribution
.”

“
Hal, you there?”  Cole asked

“Yes
Cole, I read you,” he responded.

“Good
, I need to know the possible fallout from this.  What can we expect from the locals and any information you have on the little guys?  Make it snappy.”

“Response to this by the locals is unknown at th
is time. It depends on who these beings worked for, as for the little guys as you put it, they are Vorkons.  A rare sentient species that developed on a caustic planet.  They are not made for oxygen atmospheres and it is very damaging to their bodies if exposed to it.  They are vicious fighters and are used by pirates for ship boarding actions because they function very well in zero gravity and can sneak aboard ships very easily.”  Hal paused for a moment before continuing.  “I will try to find out more on who they may be working for here in the city.”

“Thanks.”  Cole turned to talk to Sky when what looked like a security force stormed in through the open bay door.  Suited up in what appeared to be heavy combat armor and carrying some nasty looking rifles, they started shouting at Cole and Sky to drop their weapons and get on the floor.  Cole nodded to Sky and they released their guns to drop to the ground and slowly got on their knees.  “You boys are a little late to protect us from these guys.  Don’t worry I did your jobs for you though.”  The nearest guard raised his rifle to butt stroke Cole in the face.  He never had a chance.  Cole exploded into motion grabbing the guard’s rifle and jerking it out of his hands.  He flipped it over and slammed the shoulder stock into the guard’s helmet somersaulting him backwards to land on top of the two guards behind him.  Instantly the four remaining guards fired as one.  Cole grunted as hits impacted his chest.  He only felt three so one had to be a bad shot, but then he herd Sky grunt.  The bastard shot her and she hadn’t moved.  Cole spun to his right swinging his newly liberated rifle in an arch.  He heard the guards arm break and go squealing to the floor.  He stopped his forward momentum and reversed back to the remaining three guards.  Before he could get within range, a deafening boom shattered the air.

“That won’t be necessary
, please leave my remaining men intact Captain.”  The voice came from the general direction of the door.  Cole stopped himself and pivoted to face the newcomer.  He appeared to be the same species as Admiral Nasser and also in charge of the security detail.  “You three.”  He indicated the still standing guards.  “Help them up and out of here.  Get them any medical attention they need, and I need a cleanup crew here on the double.”  He turned back to face Cole.  “Sorry for my team’s zealous reaction to you but you can understand their caution in dealing with an unknown threat.  I saw what happened on the security feeds and understand that you were just defending yourselves.  Please retrieve your weapons and be at ease.”

“Thanks I guess, does this kind of thing happen often?”  Cole asked as he gave Sky his hand to help her up.  He then reached for his pistol, popped out the old magazine and put in a fresh one
.

“Unfortunately it does happen infrequently here on the Pitt.  But you seemed to handle yourself well and since there is no one left to file a
complaint, you are free to go about your business.  But I will ask if you would make yourself available to me if anyone does have any questions about what happened here.”

“No problem
.  You can reach me through my ship.”  Cole responded.

“Now I am afraid I must supervise the
cleanup of the bay.  You have a wonderful visit to The Pitt.”  He walked away from Cole and intercepted the cleaning crew as it came into the bay, pointing them in the general direction of the bodies.

Cole looked at Sky and whispered.  “I hope this isn’t the general tone of our visit here or this could get real ugly.”  She let out a very unladylike snort and shoved him forward and out of the bay.  “No
sense of humor, that’s your problem.”  He looked down at his mini comp and tapped into the local net.  He brought up the map for the section they were in.  “Alright, now where to?  Do we get help first or try to find a broker who can get us the info we need?”

“My people are supposed to have an embassy here
, we should try there first.  It may be our best bet for finding both things we need.”  She responded.  “My people are some of the beings trying to bring some order out of the chaos here.  They may know something that could help or at least point the way towards help.”

Cole searched the net and after a few moments
, found directions to the Nixa embassy.  It was going to be a hike to get there but it would show them a large portion of the station along the way.  Side by side they headed down the hall and out into the city proper while the cleanup crews dealt with the bodies behind them.  The crews apparently were pretty practiced at their jobs and had the dock looking no worse for the ware after about thirty minutes.  Once they left a silence filled the bay.  No one ever noticed the being detach itself from the ship parked to the far right of the
Retribution
.  Even Hal never picked anything up on his sensors.  The being moved like a ghost almost floating across the floor, never making a sound and moving too slow for motion sensors to pick it up.  It slid out a side door and was gone into the city.  It had seen the whole shooting match and had someone it needed to inform about the whole situation.  It wasn’t sure what the final outcome would be, but was very interested to see what was about to happen.

34

“What I felt after my first true battle was a sense of finality.  I had found what I was born to do.  I believe I was born to be the one to fight this war and Sky made me capable of fighting it.  When my adrenaline kicked in and I started to gun down those trying to hurt us, I fell into the role like a glove.  I had never felt like that before about anything I had done.  You hear people all the time talking about finding the thing that they love that seems almost to complete them and I thought it was always bullshit.  Until now, now I know that feeling too.  I may not live long enough to actually do what I intend to do but I will enjoy every moment of it while I can.  It’s not just the fighting either, it’s everything.  The quest.  Hell, if I die here on The Pitt, I will die happy knowing I was trying to right a wrong, thousands of years old.”

Cole’s
legs were starting to get tired.  He hadn’t done this much walking in a long time and Sky was setting a fast pace.  They had moved out of the local docking area onto a main causeway that ran in the general direction they wanted to go.  There wasn’t a lot of vehicle traffic inside the city apparently.  Most of the beings they saw were walking like them, though occasionally they saw a small anti grav transport whizz by or what looked like automated cargo drones towing large containers around to different buildings.  Cole glanced up for the hundredth time.  The dome that covered The Pitt was a seamless piece of clear steel.  The moon had just rotated towards the nebula and was offering a breathtaking view of local space.  For the hundredth time he felt little hands attempting to gain access to his belongings.  Small children, he assumed they were children, from all different races of aliens had swarmed them as soon as they had seen the fine material that made up their suits.  They had been trying to rob them ever since.  He swatted the urchins away and continued on.  He had learned fast to keep his guns strapped down and his mini comp firmly bound to his wrist after the first attempt had been made on his belongings.  He had lost the nearly empty magazine from the fight to those thieves and wasn’t about to lose anything else.  The myriad of beings surrounding Cole had his head spinning.  He couldn’t keep track of all the names Sky was assigning each of the new species so he didn’t even try.  But as much as he stared at the oddities around him, he was stared at even harder.  He got the impression that he was reminding those beings of something they should know but couldn’t remember.  He felt their eyes on him from the moment they noticed him till he walked out of range.

“I know everyone is looking at me but I have the weirdest feeling that we are being followed
.”  He leaned close to Sky and whispered to her.  “I have felt it for the last few minutes or so and can’t shake the feeling.”

“Trust your instincts
.  They, more than anything, are your best resource here since neither of us know our way around.  What should we do about it?”  Sky responded.

“Nothing right now as long as they don’t make a move on us before we get to the embassy.  But be frosty and keep an eye out.”  Cole glanced around and guided Sky more to one side of the causeway.  “Better to be near cover than in the middle of the street.”  The move slowed them down a bit though
, having to maneuver through the crowds around the shops that inhabited either side of the causeway.  Cole didn’t mind, it gave him a chance to rest his legs a bit as they walked.  It took the better part of forty minutes to reach the spot on the map called Embassy Road.  Apparently there were two dozen Major worlds who had buildings and personnel stationed here.  Some, like the Nixa, were here to try and help the local peoples being abused by the local government, others were here to protect their own business dealings, and others still were here to ensure that The Pitt stayed neutral and as lawless as possible.  The Nixa embassy was the third building down the block on the right.  It was currently surrounded by a faintly glowing half dome of a shield.  It also had a physical fence and gate around the perimeter staffed by a half dozen sharply dressed guards.  Cole looked at Sky and said.  “You’re on Doctor, these are your people so get us in.”

“Yeah
, I better handle this one.  I don’t know how well my people will take you relieving them of their rifles and knocking them to the ground.”  She said with a smile.  They crossed the road to the main entrance of the embassy.  The guards instantly came to alert and rested their hands on their weapons.  At that point both Cole and Sky slowly raised their empty hands towards the guards letting them know they were not holding anything and keeping their hands away from the now visible guns strapped to various parts of their bodies.

“Is this how you treat a fellow
Nixian, with hasty movements toward your weapons?” Sky demanded.

“Sorry ma’am
.  We are on a higher than usual alert and are to trust no one who comes to the front gate until such time as it is proven they mean the embassy or its personnel no harm.  It is standard procedure after the recent assault on the embassy.”  The guard responded.

“I was not aware of such a tragedy occurring here I have just arrived on
the moon and was out of contact with home world for some time.  I have come here to look for aid for myself and my friend here.”  She slowly indicated Cole.  “I was hoping I could receive it from the embassy.”

The soldier stared at her for a moment before switching his attention to Cole.  Cole stared right back assessing the soldier as he assessed Cole.  Males of the species looked to be a bit thicker than the females.  His movements also betrayed a lack of grace that he had instantly noticed in Sky.  But the soldier moved with a calm assurance that if violence was in the offing he would give better than he received.  “
No one comes in armed.  Place any and ALL weapons in the bin on your right.   We understand this is a dangerous place and know that private citizens have a right to protect themselves when out and about but you will not need them inside.”

Both Cole and Sky slowly walked over to the indicated bin.  Cole looked
back at the soldier.  “You're going to need a bigger bin than this I’m afraid.”  When the guard didn’t move Cole started to add to the pile that Sky had started.  They had to force the lid back down on the bin and it still almost got stuck sliding back into the wall.  When he had finally gotten it back in place he turned around to see the stares of disbelief from the soldiers who saw the arsenal he had just placed into the bin.  He shot them a smile.  “Just a normal day trip for me.”  Sky punched him in the shoulder.

“Behave
yourself,” she told him.  They moved back to stand in front of the main gate and locked stares with the soldier in charge.  “You have our guns and ammo, can we come in now?”  She asked him.  The soldier waived his hand to someone behind the physical wall and a narrow gap barely shoulder wide and an inch taller than Cole, opened in the energy field.

“Welcome to Nixa territory and enjoy your visit to the embassy.”  The soldier said as they walked through.  He grabbed Cole’s arm as he walked by and said.  “If you cause a disturbance or initiate any violence we will not hesitate to put you down.”  He flashed a very feral grin at Cole.

“Duly noted and may I add that if you lay a hand on me again without cause I will make you eat it, one knuckle at a time.”  Cole flashed an equally feral grin right back at him then turned and walked away into the building proper.

The ghost that followed the Nixa and her companion had backed off to the furthest distance it could
, without losing the two beings it tailed.  Somehow the Nixa’s companion knew they were being followed.  That should have been impossible, no one ever knew it when one of his kind was following a being.  The powers his people possessed made them blend into the background to be invisible.  This was becoming more and more fascinating by the second.  He really should report his findings but was engrossed in the hunt.  They finally came to the end of their journey through the city at the Nixa Embassy.  With the shielding raised, it was a place even he couldn’t get into.  He crossed to the far side of the street and hunkered down to wait them out.  He had a feeling that this wouldn’t be their final destination and they would be out sometime soon.