OMEGA Guardian (13 page)

Garrett again pulled on my arm. "If you go out there, they have an open shot at you. If they want that ship, it will take them days to break into her. She has a solid frame. They also won’t be able to fly her without gutting her systems."

I shook my head. "They are salvagers; they would be happy with gutting her. Now, release my arm and take up a good position. If hostilities start, they will be following me around this corner. Let them make it to the end of this building before firing. That should leave them fully exposed for ten or fifteen seconds. We should be able to cut their number in half in that time."

Garrett released my arm and turned toward the entranceway of the building beside us. "Don’t get yourself killed. I still need your help!"

I smiled as I stepped out from the corner. "You! Salvagers! Get away from my ship!"

Several seconds of silence passed before the first ion bolt came my way. I fell, rolling backward behind the wall of the building as it impacted the ground a few meters to my left. The spray of dirt and sand was anything but comfortable, but again, my thick skin kept me from injury. I stood and sprinted toward the far end of the building.

The others had taken up their firing positions, lying in wait for the salvagers to follow behind me. They did not come.

Several minutes of silence passed before Garrett signaled me over the comm. "They either left or are waiting for you to show yourself. Keep your position. I’m heading up to the roof to get a look."

I replied, "When you get there, hold up your arm pad and snap an image. Inspect that image from behind cover. I’m working my way to the back of the building."

Garrett responded as he ran up a flight of stairs. "Just don’t expose yourself. Garmon, stay where you are. If they try to come around the front, pin them down; you are in a well-protected spot."

I reached the back of the building at the same time Garrett blew the door to the roof off its hinges. I used the distraction to extend my arm beyond the end of the building, capturing an image of the surroundings before pulling it back.

I spoke into my comm. "I have four salvagers moving down the alley towards my position. Two others I can see remain crouched near the
Jess
."

Garrett thrust his arm up into the air and pulled it back. Repeated blasts began to pound the top corner of the building where he had been standing. He scrambled back towards the door.

An image came over the comm. "I see eight by the
Jess
, four in the alley, and six approaching the front of the building. That leaves a half dozen unaccounted for. I would guess they have either dropped back for help or are working now to outflank us. I can’t get near that roof’s edge to get a shot off."

I stepped out from my corner, catching two of the Harpians as they attempted to cross to my side of the alley. As one exploded from my ion bolt, the other sprinted back for cover. I took aim and placed a bolt into the construction block wall just above his position. The blocks exploded, pelting the Harpian salvager with concrete debris. A second shot forced him into the open, where my next ion bolt found its target.

Several blasts then impacted the wall high above my position as I slipped back around the corner. After a three-second wait, I again stepped out, catching the two other Harpians as they attempted to flee the alley. I knelt and took careful aim as the runner on the right exploded. The remaining Harpian from the alley then disappeared around the corner.

Garmon then opened up in the front alleyway. I sprinted the length of the building, stepping out from the corner with my blaster raised as I arrived. Two Harpians approached Garmon’s position from the side. Two well-placed shots ended their advance. The four remaining salvagers turned to flee; only three made it back to the building corner.

Garrett again moved out toward the edge of the building, thrusting his arm up and back again, capturing another still image of the area around his ship. The act again brought a flurry of ion fire. As Garrett turned to retreat, the roof of the building gave way beneath him. The supporting walls on that story of the building had been blasted away. As the roof collapsed, it slanted back towards the
Jess
and the Harpians. Garrett began to slide toward a position that would leave him fully exposed.

Garrett yelled, "I’m in trouble!"

I sprinted to the front of the building just as Garrett reached the building’s edge. He was in plain view of the
Jess
, and of anyone around her that wanted to take the shot. Nothing happened.

As I stepped out from the corner, the last of the Harpians was slipping away behind the far building. The third floor of the building had collapsed, leaving Garrett clinging to the second-story edge.

"Drop and roll.", I said. "The salvagers retreated."

Garmon joined me just as Garrett let go and dropped the eight meters to the ground. A hard roll prevented any more than superficial injury. I moved over to Garrett, helping him to his feet.

Garrett brushed himself off. "That was about ten seconds of terror that I didn't need."

I replied, "They are gone, but they will be back after dark. Get the
Jess
and take her back to orbit or at least to a safe location. We will go back to see if we can fortify the hotel, if it can be fortified, otherwise, we will move elsewhere. We need to go now; they will be back."

Garrett nodded and turned toward the
Jess
as a small explosion went off underneath her port wing.

Garrett scowled. "I hope that’s not what I think it was!"

We ran to the ship to inspect the damage. Garrett opened the hatch as I went under the far wing to check for damage. Garmon took a position where he could protect us from the alley where the salvagers had run.

Garrett came over the comm. "She’s not going anywhere for a while. They took out the inertial dampener. The engines won’t move her at much faster than walking speed now. That protection is a built-in to keep us from killing ourselves with too much acceleration. We are now stuck here."

I replied, "I think the dampener is OK. The blast severed the control lines running to it. If we had the proper tools, we could have her back flying in a day."

Garrett sighed. "I wish we had a day. Those salvagers are sure to come back to finish the job. A ship like this is worth a fortune in parts."

I stepped up into the hatch. "You said she could fly at a reduced speed? I say we move her elsewhere and attempt the repairs. There is a good chance that we can find the tools required to fix her in one of these empty factories. Control lines should not be difficult to repair. Patching the hull may be a problem.

"The factory we explored the other day had a courtyard in the middle that the
Jess
should fit nicely into. It's a kilometer northwest of here on the opposite side of the hotel. Take her there, and we'll scout for tools after we decide to fight from the hotel or not."

Garrett nodded. "Can someone come collect me from the factory on a helocycle?"

I replied, "Garmon knows the way. I’ll send him right out."

With the
Jess
in flight to the factory, we made our way back down the street to the hotel. Garmon was sent out to pick up Garrett. I walked the hotel lobby, evaluating whether or not we could reasonably defend her, always with a wary eye toward the street just outside.

I slowly pushed the stairwell door to our floor open before yelling out, "It’s me! Knog!"

Layda replied, "Is everyone OK?"

I spoke as I walked to the room. "Yeah. The ship took a hit, but we should be able to fix her. I need you to come down to watch the lobby as I close this building up. I want to block off the other stairwell. The elevators are already out of commission. That should limit them to the main stairwell. I need to make a quick stop on the sixth floor. There is a cable there that runs from this building to the next. If it’s strong enough, we could use that as an escape should this building be compromised."

Layda nodded. "I’ll take the lobby. What should we do with the other helocycle?"

"Park it by the lobby door. If needed, we will shove it out into the street and blast it. I don’t want to give it back to them. If everything is clear when I get down there, I may have you ride out to park it with the
Jess
. Garmon can ferry you and Garrett back to here from there."

Layda replied as she turned away, "Got it. I’ll have it by the door when you get down there."

Starting on the sixth floor, one level below ours, I began to blast away the stairs going down to the lobby, leaving the single stairwell as the only way up. The cable running to the next building was secure and substantial enough to hold my weight, and therefore the weight of anyone in our group. When I arrived in the lobby, Layda was waiting.

I pointed to the helocycle. "Take it. If you pass Garmon and Garrett on their way back, tell him to return to pick you up as well."

As Layda sped away on the cycle, I was startled by Jallis’s voice behind me. "Tell me what I can do, Knog. I can’t swing a pipe or a fist, but maybe I can be of use as a spotter."

I shook my head. "You should have stayed upstairs. If you are moving slow, you may not make it back up if a fight starts."

Jallis turned and using a closet rod as a walking stick, began his climb back up to the sixth floor. I scouted the street near the hotel’s entrance for places that would offer good cover to an attacker. I then looked for vulnerabilities. Fifteen minutes passed before Garmon showed up with Garrett. After a quick unload, Garmon was on his way back to get Layda.

As we walked back into the lobby of the hotel, Garrett said, "I think we should be good at the factory. It would be incredibly bad luck for someone to stumble across it before we get back there in the morning."

I replied, "I don’t like that the sun is going down on us. It gets dark here quickly, and even with as quiet as those helocycles are, they still put off a whine that can be heard for a good distance at night."

Garrett slapped me on the shoulder as he walked past. "I think they will be OK. It’s only a five-minute ride. Layda was almost there when we ran into her. Is there anything we can do here to better defend this place?"

I took Garrett out the front door and pointed out the possible places an attack could come from, and how we might defend against it. I then moved to the back of the building and showed him the two huge freezer units that I had moved over to buttress the back door. Next I showed him the blocked second stairwell.

I gestured upwards. "And if all else fails and we get forced back up the stairs, we can knock out the stairwell coming up as we go. I’ve located a cable that stretches from here over to the building to the west. We can escape across it if trapped up here for too long. We have enough food to last us for several weeks; let’s hope the salvagers don’t settle in for a siege."

Layda and Garmon returned without incident. The helocycle was parked just inside the lobby doorway in a position that could easily be sent out into the street, where it could then be blasted. I sent Layda up to check on Jallis as the rest of us pushed anything that we could find that might offer protection from a blaster strike, towards the front door. If attacked, we would slowly work our way back to the stairwell if the Harpian salvagers managed to advance.

After setting ourselves in a good defensive posture, we waited. The days on Effica were only eighteen hours long. The night passed quickly.

As the sun shone on the street in front of the hotel, Garrett spoke. "I need to get back to the
Jess
to get started on those repairs. I suggest we all go as a group. I’ll head over there first and bring back the helocycle for Jallis. He can’t walk far, but he should be able to ride without effort."

I nodded. "Go. And be careful leaving out of here. They could be lying in wait for you at almost any point between here and there."

Garrett smiled. "Hey, remember, I’m the guy who made his living from being invisible. Unless you hear blaster fire, I should be back shortly."

Garrett slipped out the front door and was quickly out of sight around the corner. I watched diligently for any movement up or down the street. There was none.

Garmon had been sent up to bring down Jallis and Layda, as well as our food supply. When the door opened, Jallis walked out without the use of his walking stick.

I said, "You look better."

Jallis smiled. "I feel better. Layda stayed up the entire night massaging my back with the magnetic healer. I am nowhere near 100 percent. But I feel as though I can move around without being a hindrance to anyone, so it’s a big improvement. Another week of that and I could be as good as new, although that is not something I could ask of Layda. It is a grueling task to operate that healer for hours on end."

Layda nodded. "I would do it. You risked your life to free me and the other slaves. That is a debt that a year’s worth of massage would not repay. When we get to the factory, I will continue your treatment."

Jallis shook his head. "You did not sleep last night. We all need our sleep. I will heal well enough in time."

I could see from the smiles between them that a close bond was forming. Being trapped on Effica while on the run from slavers was not the place for a budding romance to begin, but it was a welcome distraction.

Garrett soon arrived with the helocycle. It was put to use ferrying Jallis and our food store as the rest of us walked the short kilometer’s distance. When we arrived at the factory, Garrett made a quick jog to the
Jess
. He stopped at the doorway to the courtyard and stared.

Before we could reach his location, Garrett Rourke turned, shaking his head. "They found her, the
Jess
. She’s been stripped bare. They even took the hull plating."

We each moved to the door to have a look at our only way off Effica. The
Jess II
was now nothing more than a frame sitting on the ground. Garrett reasoned that the salvagers had left the frame as a joke. It was their way of saying that they would get their way regardless.

Garrett spoke. "I knew I should have stayed with her."

I replied, "Had you done so, you would be dead and the
Jess
would have been stripped anyway. We did the right thing. They just got lucky with their search."

Garrett turned back to look at the frame. "I have to have a ship."

As we stood and stared, Garrett turned and walked back to the helocycle.

I raised my voice. "What are you doing?"

Garrett replied, "I'm going to find their ship. They trapped us here, I'm going to do the same to them!"

Before I could move to stop him, Garrett turned the helocycle and sped out of the factory. The whine of the helocycle’s rotors quickly disappeared into the daytime ambient noise.

Jallis spoke. "We can’t let him do this on his own."

Layda nodded. "I’m with Jallis. We go find the salvagers and help Garrett."

I looked at Garmon. "Well?"

Garmon replied, "I think it’s the right thing to do."

A suitable hiding place was found for our food store. We walked out of the factory and down a street in the direction Garrett had taken.

As we walked, Jallis spoke. "Where in this city would you park your ship if you were a salvager?"

I pulled up a holo-display above my arm pad and began perusing maps of the city. We were in the industrial sector in the north. To the west was purely middle-class residential. The east held the lower-class slums, and the south was commercial and medical interests. The city center was government and business.

I pointed to the southwest. "Here, shopping and warehouses. I would start there. Probably as close to city center as I could so it would be a shorter run out to investigate any other parts of the city. We go southwest."

We walked for more than an hour, always ducking in and around buildings in an attempt to keep our presence hidden. Walking through the city without a populace was surreal. At every corner I expected citizens of Effica to emerge from the buildings as if it was just another day. The sounds were limited to those of our footsteps and the occasional breeze.

After traveling through the northwest portion of the business sector, we came upon a wide avenue that ran to the southwest. Just over a kilometer in the distance, I could see a barricade of sorts blocking the road. The heads of two Harpian guards could be seen bobbing up and down behind the barricade as they patrolled.

I pointed. "We approach from this second street and then make our way up on top of that tall building about halfway down. That should give us a good vantage point. Let’s just hope there aren’t any more of them than what we saw yesterday."

Twenty minutes later, we were moving out onto the roof of the twelve-story building. From the roof’s edge, we had a clear view of the three salvager ships that had brought the Harpians to Effica. It was soon evident that there were many more salvagers than the initial two dozen we had encountered.

Jallis spoke. "There have to be at least fifty of them down there. Who knows how many are out scouring the city right now for more salvage."

I replied, "We can’t possibly fight that many. We need to find Garrett before he starts something he can’t finish."

Layda spoke. "I’ve got him. He’s on top of that six-story building to the west of them. He’s almost looking back toward us from that position."

I snapped an image of the ships with my arm pad sensor and brought it up on the holo-display. "Two of those ships are personnel transports. I would guess about forty persons each. The bigger ship is for the salvage. I would place it at about fifteen thousand cubic meters. They could have fit the
Jess
in there intact. I would guess that hold door is also a gravity wall so it could double as a docking bay.

"Given the number of people we see here and the fact that there are probably others out there, I would say we are looking at eighty workers and a dozen ship’s crewmen."

Layda spoke. "Look, down there by the smaller reddish-brown ship. I would bet that heavy guy is their leader."

I snapped an image and zoomed in. "Yeah, I would say you are right. He’s adorned with jewelry and appears to be telling the others what to do. Hold on, he’s got something in his left hand."

I zoomed in further on the image and began to chuckle. "It looks like about half a leg of roasted Borak. I think we know why he’s as big as he is. He’s definitely the stereotypical leader of a work team about that size. I’ve dealt with them many a time during ship inspections where there were worker teams on board. If we take him out, and that muscular one over there, that whole camp will be in chaos. Those types like to surround themselves with doers and not thinkers. That works great when they are there to give orders. It falls apart when they aren’t."

Jallis nodded. "First we need to contact Garrett and tell him to work his way back around to us. Then we need a plan to take out those two."

I scanned the image further. "I think I have a better plan."

I opened a comm to Garrett. "We are watching you watch the Harpians. Look to the roof of the twelve-story building straight up the avenue, about a half kilometer from their ships."

Garrett replied, "I see you."

I smiled. "OK, this is what we are going to do. Jallis will remain here as our spotter. I will give him my arm pad. What I need you to do is to create a diversion. Fire your blaster, do whatever it takes to get their attention. They will send men to investigate. Just make sure you leave yourself an out.

"Garmon, Layda and I are going to go down and steal their ships. Worst case, we try to disable two and take the third. If you can draw enough of those salvagers to your position, I think we can do this."

Garrett replied, "I’m much better with a blaster; I should be going in with you. Send one of the others to create the diversion."

I shook my head. "If we wait, we run the risk of them being in a much better position to defend themselves. They have about twenty of them working on disassembly of some piece of machinery. They are away from the ships right now; if they start loading parts, we aren’t going to get near those ships. Figure out a way to draw as many of them towards you as you can."

I turned to Jallis. "Watch for me on this corner. When I come into view, have Garrett start his diversion. That should give us three to four minutes to take those ships. If you see something going terribly wrong from up here, pass that info on to Garrett immediately."

Jallis nodded as I turned to Garmon and Layda. "The three of us are going to have to work fast. I’ll give each of you the transports. They probably have a single crewman aboard. Take them out and fire up the engines and get out of there."

Garmon spoke as he raised a hand. "I’ve never piloted a ship."

Layda replied, "I have. Just blow the console in front of the captain’s chair with your blaster. That should keep them on the ground. You can then join me and keep anyone from attempting to come aboard while I get us out of there."

Jallis placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. "Just do as they say, and we will be done with these people. There are other cities on this planet for us to make use of."

Under Garrett’s protest, we made our way down to the street and moved into position for our ship assault. Jallis was signaled. We waited for Garrett’s distraction. Several minutes passed before the first blaster fire could be heard.