Shadow of the Blue Ring (25 page)

“We can’t lift that thing all the way back to the flyer with the Hunters chasing us,” said Saavoy, “we have to find something else to carry it for us.”

“Maybe not,” James had come up with a plan, “if we can’t get the Shadow Bringer to the flyer, we’ll just have to bring the flyer to the Shadow Bringer.”

“Thats risky,” Isha warned him, “we would have to leave one half of the group to look after the weapon while the others go to get the flyer. It took all of us to take down those last two Hunters, divide our numbers up and we wont stand a chance.”

“We’ll just have to divide our force equally,” said James, “Jaiden, Julio, you two come with me, the rest of you stay here and keep an eye out for Hunters. Move the bodies and hide yourselves in one of these buildings, they wont find you so easily if you stay hidden.”

“I can keep a watch out for Hunters,” said Kalmar, “I can cover your path too, make sure nothing tries to sneak up on you.”

“I appreciate that, keep the paths clear for us,” said James, “Ok, lets move.”

Kosare and Julio joined James as he made his way down the road towards the shuttle bay, the three of them sticking to the shadows to avoid being seen. The landing pad was only a few hundred meters away, they just needed to avoid detection for a few more minutes while they made their way back to the flyer.

“Ok, I’ll admit, I may have been slightly wrong about you before,” James could hear Kosare whispering to Julio.

“See, I knew that you would come around eventually,” Julio chuckled, “I wasn’t lying when I said that I was fully qualified to be here. I know what I’m doing in a fight.”

“I guess maybe you do know a thing or two,” Kosare agreed, “but I just wanted to say thank you for not letting that thing finish me off back there.”

“You’re welcome,” Julio smiled back at her, “so maybe when we get back to the ship, you and I could…”

“The answer is still no,” Kosare dismissed his continuing unsubtle advances, “just because you saved my life, doesn’t mean I’m going to jump into bed with you. I’m just saying that I can maybe appreciate that fact that you’re more than just a pretty face now.”

“So you think I have a pretty face… ?”

“Quiet! both of you!” James quickly brought their conversation to a halt, and also bringing their progress to a stop. Another Hunter was lurking in the street ahead of them but fortunately it had not noticed them, the three of them keeping as still as possible so as not to alert it to their presence.

“I can get a clear shot from here,” Kosare whispered, “let me take it down.”

“No,” James stopped her before she could make a move, “we’ll try and sneak around it, there could be more lurking around the corner.”

James slid along the walls, staying in the shadows as much as he possibly could, Julio and Kosare following closely behind. He edged towards the corner of a side road leading away from the prowling Hunter but as he did, his foot caught on the curb and he stumbled, the Hunter instantly noticing his presence and making a dash towards him. He scrambled for his rifle to try and hit it before it reached him but it was bearing down on him too quickly. At that moment, there was a distant bang and a shot hit the Hunter right in the side of it’s head, sending it toppling to the ground. Kalmar had not let them down, his sniping skills were razor sharp.

“Hell of a shot that guy,” James muttered, “come on, it should just be around this corner.”

The rest of the way was clear. The three of them stayed in the shadows as much as they could but they picked up the pace to a light run, covering the ground a little more quickly. Eventually, they arrived back on the main highway through the city and onto the road leading towards the landing pad.

“Behind us!”

Julio called out and alerted the other two to another Hunter coming up behind them at pace, just a few meters short of the landing complex. Kosare was ready this time though, she spun around and aimed both pistols, firing in a concentrated pattern, hitting the Hunter in it’s legs and slowing it down, forcing it to it’s knees. The crippled creature was unable to avoid her finishing shot, catching it right in the face and killing it instantly.

“You certainly haven’t lost your edge,” James commented as Kosare turned to face him once more, “still just as sharp as you were back in old times.”

“I guess so,” Kosare said stoically, “I hadn’t planned on bringing these talents out ever again though. Between deadly alien races, ancient weapons of mass destruction and Julio’s lack of charm, I guess I just need to blow off a little steam.”

“My lack of charm keeps you coming back for more,” Julio laughed, “you can’t deny that you are a little bit…”

“As amusing as I find this, save it for back on the ship,” James cut across him, “I don’t need you two having one of your little love-ins while we’re stuck in this hell-hole.”

“We are not having a love-in,” Kosare protested, “I’ve already said I’m not…”

“You two are worse then Isha and myself back in the Revolution days,” James interrupted her again, “lets just save it for once we get back to the ship, the others are counting on us to pick them up.”

To James’s relief, both of them stayed quiet for the rest of the walk but he could still feel the tension between them. The two of them were just as he and Isha had been back then, although Kosare was playing a lot harder to get. Arriving back at the Mantis flyer, James quickly opened the doors and powered it up.

“Even if we do pick the others up, take the Shadow Bringer and make it off the surface, we still have to get past the Hunter ship in orbit” Julio pointed out, “how exactly do you plan to do that?”

“The unconventional way,” James replied, “I need a link back to the ship though, this will take careful timing.”

“The Evening Star can’t hold off the Hunter ship,” said Kosare, “it’s nowhere near powerful enough. We’re not going to be able to get to the ship with them blocking our escape either.”

“We aren’t going to the ship, we’re going to bring the ship to us.”

“That’s crazy!” Kosare exclaimed, “it will take far too long to land the ship, the Hunters could overwhelm us in that time.”

“All we need is for the ship to enter the atmosphere above the city,” said James, “as it does, we take the flyer, pick up the others and the Shadow Bringer and quickly fly into the hangar bay and make our escape before the Hunters can surround us.”

“Are you actually mad!?”

“Yeah, absolutely barking,” James retorted, “and I’m saving all of our lives in the process, now open a channel to the ship.”

“I really hope you know what you’re doing here,” Julio sighed, “Karlo always said you had a bit a mad streak in you, I guess I can see what he was talking about now.”

James ignored the protests though, he quickly worked to set up a link to the Evening Star and his crew in orbit around the planet’s moon.

“Helmsman Daniels, you still alive up there?”

“Alive and kicking,” Daniels replied, “are you all still in one piece down there?”

“That remains to be seen,” said James, “I need you to bring the ship down to the city. We’re in a bit of a tight spot and we could really use a lift out of here.”

“I can’t land the ship in the city captain, there isn’t a landing strip big enough. Plus, the moment we move, the Hunters will detect us and they’ll come straight for us.”

“I don’t need you to land, I just need you to bring the ship into the atmosphere above the city and have the hangar doors open for us, we’re gonna need to make a quick escape.”

“Captain, a mid-air pickup with a ship this size has never been attempted before and I’ve certainly never trained for a manoeuvre like this. I don’t know if I can get us into the planet’s atmosphere and out again before that Hunter ship finds us.”

“It’s either that or we sit around and act as prey for the Hunters,” said James, “you’re the best helmsman in the fleet Daniels, if anyone can pull this off, you can.”

“Appreciate the vote of confidence sir,” Daniels said sarcastically, “be sure to have it carved on my grave stone if I mess this up.”

“You wont mess it up, you can do this,” said James, “now lets get to it, we’re on a tight schedule here.”

Getting the Evening Star to the surface was just the first step, they still needed to get the rest of the crew and Shadow Bringer on board. James hoped that they were all still in once piece, he hoped that Isha was not in any danger back down in the city, he would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

“So now what?” Said Julio, “we take the flyer and land it in the middle of a city full of Hunters? Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Well if you have a better one, now would be a good time to speak up,” James continued to dismiss the objections to his plan, “this is the only way to get ourselves out of here safely. We can’t move the Shadow Bringer here so the only way to get it off the surface is to take the flyer there.”

“As soon as we take off, the Hunters will know exactly what we’re doing,” Kosare warned, “once we get there, I would say we will have little more than a minute to load that thing onto the flyer before the Hunters are all over us. We’ll be overrun if we don’t move fast enough.”

“So we improvise…”

James opened up a compartment in the back of the flyer’s main hold and dragged out a large turret gun that he had brought on board as a contingency plan.

“. . . Jaiden, I’ll cover you as you fly us over there. Just keep us steady and I’ll deal with the Hunters.”

“Do you actually plan any of this or do you just make it up as you go along?”

“I’m just going by the lessons of an old Tolian general who I used to know,” said James, “use your instinct and prepare for any potential situation that might arise, that was what she once taught me. I’m sure she would have done the same thing I’m doing right now to save any of her crew.”

Kosare just shook her head but regardless of her opinions, she took up the pilot’s seat and got them off the ground. Taking them out of the shuttle bay, she flew out and into the city, flying close to the ground below the level of the buildings so that Hunters could not look up and see the flyer in the sky.

“Almost halfway,” Kosare informed him, “keep and eye out for… HUNTERS!”

James was quick to react to the tall silver-clad figures on their right and instantly opened fire. His turret was several magnitudes more powerful than his standard rifle and the Hunters’ armour, considerable thought it was, couldn’t stand up to it’s firepower. James gunned the first two down before they could get a shot in. Kosare quickly zipped around a corner to get out of the line of sight of two more that were following but there was another group up ahead.

“Hold on, this might get a little bumpy!”

James was quick to turn his weapon forward and open fire again, spreading his shots across the street to keep the Hunters off balance and under pressure. One took a hit in the head and was instantly killed but the remaining ones were quick to dive out of the way and were dodging his shots. Even if she thought the plan was crazy, Kosare was clearly enjoying the ride, she might not have wanted to admit it though.

Finally, they were in the clear and Kosare made straight for the other half of the group. The Hunters would know what was going on though, they would only have a brief window of opportunity to get the Shadow Bringer aboard and get going. From a distance, James could see the rest of the group and all of them were accounted for. Saavoy was once again covered in blood but from the way he was confidently standing over three dead Hunters, James assumed that it was not his own. All of them looked pretty thankful to see that their ride had arrived.

“Need a lift?” James called to the rest of his crew as Kosare put the flyer down on the ground and dropped the loading ramp. Saavoy quickly carried the injured Morelli onto the flyer, letting her take over James’s position at the turret. Even if she wasn’t any use on her feet she could still keep the covered from the flyer.

James, Kosare and Julio were quick to join Saavoy, Ansare and Kalmar as they made another attempt to heave the device onto the flyer. It was hard going but they only had a short way to move it this time. Using every ounce of strength in them, they heaved it over to the flyer.

“More incoming!” Isha was quick to warn them, both she and Melina taking aim and opening fire on three approaching Hunters. They were still a few hundred meters away but they were closing fast.

“Damn it, we need more time!” James grumbled as he continued to try and heave the device onto the flyer, they still had a few meters to go yet, “Loca, take them out!”

The Hunters had caught on though, they had dodged out of the turret’s radius and Morelli couldn’t fire on them. Isha and Melina both broke cover and made for the flyer as one of the Hunters sprang towards them, it’s blade drawn. James was about to make a move to get in between his wife and the onrushing Hunter but again it was Saavoy who made the move, rushing out into the open, his blade drawn, ready to take on the enemy once more in close combat. The two girls quickly took over the gap he had vacated, lending their strength to the efforts to load the Shadow Bringer but they couldn’t leave Saavoy on his own against the Hunters, they would just keep coming. Saavoy cut off the Hunter’s attack, leading it away from the flyer and into Morelli’s line of sight. He dived behind another vehicle at the side of the road allowing Morelli to fire, taking down that Hunter and forcing the others to slow their attack.

Finally, the Shadow Bringer was loaded into the flyer’s passenger hold. The crew were able to release it and once more pick up their weapons. As soon as Saavoy was on board, they could leave.

“Kasha, get back to the flyer!”

He willingly obliged but as he did, two more Hunters jumped down from a nearby building and landed right between him and his goal, blocking him off from the rest of the crew. Morelli couldn’t fire on them without risking hitting Saavoy. Several more Hunters started to close on the group, seeing that one of the crew had been separated from the rest. One Hunter in particular was making its way to where Saavoy was stood, and it held up an arm to it’s people, stopping them in their tracks. This one had a blue stripe down it’s armour and from the looks of the authority it held over the other Hunters, this must have been their captain. The other Hunters had now formed a circle around where Saavoy and their captain stood… it was a challenge.