Relias: Uprising (24 page)

 Thompson and Ranjak stood at the broken window, both with full strength and ready to fight. Thompson waved him on.

 “Hendrick, come on!” He yelled. Hendrick shook his head.

 “Not a chance in hell.

 Frenz’s attention was split now. On the side facing Thompson and Ranjak he had set up a barrier while a barrier protected Hendrick from Frenz.

 “Leave me him, he’s mine!” Hendrick yelled.

 “Now THAT was gay!” Ranjak shouted.

 “CAN IT!”

 “HENDRICK!” Came a deeper, more intimidating voice.

 Hendrick watched as Morlo and Vyvyr appeared at the backs of Thompson and Ranjak, both dirtied and bloody. Their expressions changed when they saw Frenz. Frenz grinned as though he were greeting old friends.

 “And look who it is!” He exclaimed.

 “Shut your mouth you whiny bitch, I’ll tear you in half.” Morlo said.

 “Why don’t you come in here and show me?”

 Morlo gave a cocky smile and raised his eyebrows. “Kiss my ass, pretty.”

 “Nathan, another day.” Vyvyr said. He put a hand on Morlo’s arm. Morlo immediately moved towards Hendrick and lifted him up. Hendrick thrashed with what little strength he had left.

 “Leave me! He’s mine!”

 It didn’t take long for Morlo to get a grip on him. He dragged Hendrick through the rubble amidst his yelling, swearing and struggling.

 “Morlo!” He yelled.

 Morlo stepped out of the house and back into the street. Legionnaires knew they were there now and they were sprinting towards them. Twenty, maybe thirty seconds away. With Hendrick in tow Vyvyr and Morlo gave Thompson and Ranjak respectful nods.

 “God speed.” Vyvyr said.

 Ranjak laughed and waved them off. “You owe us for that little maneuver back at the gate.”

 Bullets impacted and whistled all around them. Vyvyr and Morlo ducked down and ran. Hendrick was composed enough now to run on his own. The fresh air must’ve knocked some sense into him. With the distance between them and the two Durants Hendrick shook his head.

 “As much as I hate to admit it we needed those two.”

 Morlo chuckled. At their backs the voice of Ranjak echoed through the street.

 “Hey Hendrick! We still got ourselves a man-date, remember!”

 Hendrick looked back over his shoulder as the two figures became small black spots on the street. And it was sobering.  As much as they hated to admit it they needed Thompson and Ranjak. They might’ve been cocky, arrogant, and their priorities might’ve been out of whack, but enemy of your enemy is your friend. And those two were two powerful Durants, some of the last Durants, who despised the Commune and the whole Lynch empire. It was too bad.

 “They sent the special unit Rush on ahead with half the Legionnaire hot on them.” Vyvyr explained. “They’re going to come down on Rush’s tracking beacon and meet us there.”

 As they sprinted through the ruined west gate of the city Hendrick shook his head. As he heard the Elemental explosions erupting behind them, Hendrick considered how long the two might be able to last against Frenz. But they were Thompson and Ranjak taking on one man. It could be a happy ending after all.

 They sprinted through the forest, leaping over fallen trees, making paths through the thick plant life towards the extraction point coordinates that had been sent to Morlo. Battlecrafts and Gunships soared just above the tree canopy, their onboard lights outlining the leaves that hung above them and casting their shadows across the dense undergrowth.

 There were patrols everywhere. The lights from the Legionnaire helmets seemed like stars in the forest in number and intensity. Nightwolves prowled everywhere and it was a miracle they hadn’t been caught yet. And with his massive sniper rifle at his shoulder, Vyvyr would clear the path in front of them, the ear-shattering explosions that issued from the three foot barrel of his rifle just adding to the perpetual chaos.

 Out here in the forest people were still screaming. Their yelps and cries echoed through the trees and disappeared into the darkness. The slick metal sounds of hacking metal resounded through the tree. The wet, messy noise of bloody slaughter could be heard, accompanied by raucous laughter.

 A large patrol passed just in front of them. The three ducked down behind a massive fern and waited for them to pass. Through the chaotically lit darkness Hendrick looked to Morlo.

 “So Price contacted you?” He asked.

 Morlo nodded and pointed just up the hill. “Small gulley up there. She’s parked there with the rest of the group.”

 Hendrick nodded. “And Trey?”

 Morlo shook his head. Hendrick wasn’t surprised. “Had to be sure.”

 There was immediate gunfire up the hill, followed by a massive explosion. The three turned immediately towards the sound. It was just over the top of the hill. Hendrick drew his combat knife and took off.

 “Get up there.”

 Without any concern with the patrolling Legionnaires the three ran. Morlo covered them with his chain gun, demolishing any Legionnaire who noticed them side-stepping while keeping stride with the others.

 The top of the hill glowed orange and smoke began to billow. To both sides the lights that had been searching for survivors were now heading up the hill towards the same spot they were. They saw this and ran faster.

 They came over the top of the hill and saw a Battlecraft resting amidst a basin of flame. Outside the Battlecraft Sable sliced up the Legionnaires with her katana while Pontious had transformed and was ripping them apart one by one. Manning the chain gun mounted on the side was Price, yelling insults and curses at their attackers and unleashing a firestorm of hot lead, tearing trees to splinters and Legionnaires to mush. She saw them come over the top of the hill.

 “COME ON!” She yelled through borne teeth. “DITRINITY! HOP IN!”

 She jumped from the gun and threw herself into the captain’s chair, hastily throwing on her flight helmet. The Battlecraft was already started. “HOP IN OR GET SHREDDED!”

 Morlo, Vyvyr and Hendrick jumped into the open side of the Battlecraft and held on to the handles inside. Morlo sat on the edge, keeping heavy cannon fire and pinning down an entire squad of soldiers while Vyvyr manned the machine gun. Backing themselves up and still fighting, Sable and Pontious kept the soldiers away from the Battlecraft.

 “Get in!” Hendrick yelled.

 Sable looked back, tapped Pontious hard on the shoulder and pointed back to the ship. Pontious finished off his victim, leapt onto the Battlecraft and skidded across the metal floor with sharp claws.

 The flaming greenery blew away as the Battlecraft took off. Sable was last onboard, putting a foot inside and giving one last deathly blow to a Berserker with her katana jammed into the top of his head. Hendrick grabbed her arm as the sword planted in the Legionnaire’s head had trouble loosening, nearly pulling her off the craft. It slid out with a grind and both Hendrick and Morlo pulled her onboard.

 “We’re gone!” Price exclaimed joyously, turning the craft towards empty sky and shoving the throttle hard and throwing the Battlecraft into a steep acceleration. The Legionnaires that had crowded at the extraction fired up at them. The Ditrinity was jerked back as the Battlecraft took off. Behind them the crowd of First Legionnaire became a white blur as the Battlecraft put the distance between them.

 A tall tree hit the bottom of the craft, making a loud bang and tilting it to one side.

 Then It was smooth riding. The explosions faded behind them and the gunfire disappeared. The only sound now was the humming engines and the heavy wind that rushed past them as they blazed through the sky, like an open door on a speeding car. Before Hendrick could get to his feet, a pair of slender, sweat dampened arms flew around his neck and caught him off guard. Seeing Sable’s white hair blowing in his face and her face buried into his neck, Hendrick froze in shock before returning the gesture.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” Sable whispered, her voice showing that her adrenaline was giving way to emotion. After a tear wet her cheek, she sniffed and gave Hendrick a glimpse out of the corner of her eye. “And you’re a bloody mess.” She said in an emotional laugh. Hendrick smiled and said nothing before releasing her.

Price was breathless. She flipped a few switches and turned to the group.

 “Feet in, guys. I’m closing the blast doors.”

 Immediate exhaustion set in. The group was sluggish, slow, and weak. The doors on the sides of the Battlecraft began to shut with an electronic grind. The wind began to get louder and whistle as the doors got closer to shutting. They closed entirely, locked into place and everything was quiet. The humming engines were no more than a gentle, relaxing, high-pitched purr now. Hendrick rested back on his hands and looked around.

 Everybody was asleep. Vyvyr sat on one of the seats where the team should have been sitting, his arms folded and his head bowed while his shoulders rose and fell with the calmed activity of slumber. Pontious was still a wolf and was sprawled out in a large white furry pile on the opposite side of the craft. Sable had curled up on the floor and had buried her face into her arm, her sword resting at her side as she slept.

 For a moment Hendrick couldn’t help but watch. She was so perfect, so innocent. A woman like her deserved more than to be fighting in a war. More impressive was the fact that she was as beautiful and as feminine as she was and she still fought harder and better than most people he knew. But this war wasn’t for her, yet Hendrick knew she’d never leave it. When Hendrick saw Sable he felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time. And when he was piloting that Raze armor and he watched her and Pontious running down the street and out of sight he felt as though a piece of himself was going with them. That’s when Hendrick felt something he knew he’d never felt before.

 He looked around the cabin of the Battlecraft at the sleeping Ditrinity and he realized something. One of the Ditrinity’s greatest assets was the fact that none of its members had any attachments and much less anything to lose. But after tonight, remembering all the life and death situations they’d scrapped their way through, Hendrick knew that they had attachments; they had something to lose. They had each other.

 Hendrick thought for a moment longer and got to his feet, stepping carefully over Sable and into the cockpit next to Price. Hendrick flopped back into the co-pilot’s chair and slumped low in it, pulling his Blazers off and dropping them on the floor. “That jagoff busted ‘em.” He looked over to Price and saw the tired in her eyes. His eyes half closed Hendrick reached over and gave her a gentle pat on the arm. Price gave a slight start and turned to Hendrick with wide eyes. She gave a reassured chuckled and calmed herself down. She did a double take and looked back towards Hendrick’s shredded face.

 “My god, Nate…” She said quietly. “How did you-“

 “Lots of different things.” Hendrick said with a laugh as he closed his eyes and rested his hands on his stomach. “How did we get past the battlecruisers?”

 Price yawned and wiped her eyes. “They were concentrated on Praemon. They left the outside of the city to the Forge Tanks. Guess they expected all the Battlecrafts to be taking off from inside.”

 Hendrick hummed and said with a half-conscious voice, “Rookie mistake.”

 Price forced a laugh and waited for Hendrick to say something else. After a few seconds she looked over and saw him sitting with his eyes closed. She gave him a good look and she smiled, admiring him before turning her attention back towards the flying. Hendrick took a sharp breath that one takes when waking  and sat up further in his chair. Price looked again and remembered a question she had to ask. She began to ask it and just the thought of the question seemed to make her uneasy. She thought quietly to herself.

 “So Nate?” She asked.

 Hendrick licked his lips, readjusted his sitting position and got himself comfortable. “Hmm?”

 Price was apprehensive. Her normally rough and tough exterior was plastered with uncertainty.

 “What now?” She asked timidly.

 “What do you mean ‘what now’?” Hendrick asked in a quiet groan.

 “There’s no place to go. Praemon is gone, Styne is being assaulted, and-“

 “We find Luke.” Hendrick interrupted her. “We find Luke, find his daughter and we take things from there.”

 Price was still unsure. She shook her head in discouragement, readjusted the trim on the ship, did a quick check of the gauges and answered. “Then what?”

 The horizon began to lighten to watercolor purples and blues. The crescent planets were spreading further apart as the moon crossed through between them. The stars were few in number and the other moons were small white dots spaced across the sky. The rolling forest stretched far beneath them, the Battlecraft staying low to the trees to avoid detection. Hendrick rolled to his side in the seat and, after getting comfortable, he answered.

 “The Legionnaires are chasing his daughter. Luke’ll have something in mind.”

Chapter 14

The Battlecraft flew all through the night and well into the morning. Not a single member of the Ditrinity had woken up since they passed out the night before. Morlo was flat on his back, his arms stretched out on both sides while his cavernous chest rose and fell with every massive, snoring breath. Pontious’s ears twitched in his sleep and his hind leg would kick out occasionally. Vyvyr, of course, hadn’t moved in the slightest, and Sable rested on her stomach, oblivious to Morlo’s massive arm resting across her back.

 Price was sleeping in the co-pilot’s chair and Hendrick, with bags beneath his eyes, piloted the ship. He had used a cloth and a few gauze bandages to clean himself up, wiping the dirt and blood from his face and doing his best to not make himself look like a raw piece of meat.

 He wanted to sleep. So bad that it hurt. But Price needed it more than he did and she’s one of the best pilots he knew. She had to be rested and ready when the nasty stuff came along. Hendrick could survive a bit longer.