The View from the Imperium (26 page)

“Stun the enemy!” I shouted. The militia duly peppered the parts of the pirate crew they could see. The reptilians howled with rage, and returned fire. Sooner or later even their metabolisms would give way under repeated energy rounds. The captain fired at me. I ducked him easily. He roared in fury and came at me, shooting. I danced around him, looking for an opening. My sword was of little use; I could try to engage him in unarmed combat. I eyed him. It would be a challenge. I had the reach, but several times more muscles writhed within that scaly skin than I possessed in mine. I needed to keep away from him. Besides the powerful tail that was a weapon in itself, Croctoids liked to grasp an enemy against their bodies and roll with it upon the floor. Their distant ancestors drowned their prey in that fashion; on dry land, the effect was to crush and disorient. We circled one another as our forces pelted one another with energy charges.

Miraculously, none of the shots hissing through the air touched either of us. The restaurant facilities took the brunt. Images of vegetables and fruit that were affixed about the top edge of the walls fell, blackened and smoking. I felt in my pocket for the handful of plastic restraints the constables among the ad hoc force had handed out. The captain bracketed me with two shots. I dodged both, dreading the third. I’d have to figure out how to secure even one hand.

P-yow!

A blast from one of the enemy Geckos drilled right through a tabletop and severed the spring holding the legs out. Margolies fell under it, clutching his arm and swearing. Behind him, a nanicarriage trapped by the melee swerved this way and that to avoid the hot plasma bursts. The baby inside it started howling angrily.

“You have woken the baby! You inconsiderate biped!” The nanibot raised a laser pistol from its control center and opened fire on us. Its attack distracted the captain. I leaped away from him. The nanibot peppered us all with fire. A blue-skinned Uctu pirate fell, her midsection smoking. Her fellows retaliated, but the nanibot was better armored than they were. It laid down a barrage of covering shots and retreated into the midst of the crowd jamming the doorway. I dove for cover under half a smoldering table. I was in more danger from a non-combatant than I was from the enemy.

The simple capture was not going as I had envisioned it. I was ashamed of myself. I had placed innocent civilians in harm’s way. Kinagos, let alone Loches, must never put those they were sworn to protect under threat! I had to get the pirates out of the restaurant and into a more isolated location. But there were few places in a colony like Smithereen that fulfilled that criterion. And how to move them there?

I had not much time to work out this conundrum. They had already decided on their own to depart from this arena.

“Come on, you salamanders! Together!” the captain bellowed.

Ignoring the barrage of stun charges, the captain and his crew sprang out of their hiding place and rushed toward the jammed entrance. They started throwing humans, Geckos and Wichus right and left as if they were rag dolls. Drawing the antique sword from my belt, I sprang out from my hiding place.

“Smithereen militia, with me!” I cried.

I advanced and executed a handsome ballestra toward the pirate’s back. The point of my sword went through the fabric of his shipsuit, but bounced rather than penetrating the tough hide underneath.

“Ow!” The Croctoid turned on his heel and backhanded me with a whip of his tail. Shocked, I staggered into the arms of Bailly. My ear sang with the blow. I shook my head and assumed an
en garde
pose. The captain’s little eyes were hot. He leveled his pistol. “You worm!” He peppered the gray composite floor around me with hot blasts. Tiles melted into goo. Bailly and I retreated. Employing my best footwork, I managed to stay out of the line of fire, but I was running out of room. A hot ball of energy erupted near my ear. I smacked out the fire in my hair with my palm and rolled under a nearby table.

In the meanwhile, the militia was pulling pirates out of the crowd and attempting to disarm them. Naturally, the illicit crew was uncooperative. At close quarters, it was more difficult to aim pistols, but each of them possessed physical weaponry that was nearly as formidable. The Solinian dropped to all fours and wrapped itself around Plet’s legs. She fired round after round of stun charges into its knobby head, but it shook them off. At last, she plunged the heels of her hands into its eye sockets. Bellowing, it rolled over, taking her with it into the midst of broken tables and chairs. Was she all right? Fearing for her safety, I crawled toward the spot where they had disappeared, ready to assist, but suddenly she emerged, straightening her hair with one hand, looking as cool as ever. I could have applauded. The Solinian crawled out after her, its hands bound together, looking sheepish. I would put Plet in for a promotion as soon as we were back on board the
Wedjet
. As soon as it caught me looking, it gnawed the strap off with one bite and spat it at me.

The Croctoids lunged at faces and necks with their sharp, hooked claws raking the air. The
Wedjet
crew beings were less prepared, but the local militiabeings dove in, proving themselves just as dirty fighters as their opponents. Knees to groins, fingers to eyes, elbows to the side of necks, all connected with thuds and crunches. Margolies clapped her hands over the sensitive ear holes of a Croctoid. It dropped to its knees, bawling. She smacked its jaws shut and wrapped a plastic strap around them. Its beady eyes widened with fury. It tried to gouge her with its claws. She kneed it in the belly and smashed down on its head with her joined fists. I rushed to help.

“Where are the authorities?” I bellowed into my audio pickup, as we each grabbed for a flailing claw.

Juhrman’s dry voice spoke into my ear. “Not interested in a little brawl. They’ll pick up the bodies when it’s all over.”

“What?” I was outraged.

“We can take care of it, sir,” said Hek-et-rahm, one of the local constabulary.

“Confound it, what is it with law enforcement today?” I demanded. “They’d have had me and my cousins in a cell before you can say ‘disturbing the peace’!”

A Gecko threw himself at me, falling over my sword. The captain raised his fist and smashed it toward my face. I leaped to the left. It impacted upon my right shoulder with the force of a flitter banging into a wall. I gasped at the pain.

“Self-correcting,” Chan said. I could hear the shrug in her voice. She backhanded a Croctoid with her stunner. Pointed teeth flew. It shook its head and snapped at her again, having plenty more to spare. “Let the unsavory elements take care of themselves. The people here know better than to hang out in alleys, and the ones who don’t aren’t gonna survive anyway.”

“What now, sir?” Plet’s breathless voice came in my ear as I scrambled to my feet. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her hanging onto the wrist of an Uctu, trying to snap a plastic restraint with the other hand.

My arm around a Gecko’s throat, I took a quick look around. At least five of the pirates were on the ground, but at least twice that many of my force were wounded and gasping. A human female lay on the floor as limp as a discarded sock. I couldn’t see her face. My heart wrenched with shame. These brave beings were my responsibility! I had to prevent any more casualties.

“We must isolate them somewhere until we can find Parsons,” I said. “We need a distraction.”

“Are you kidding?” she asked. She secured the crewbeing’s one hand and reached for the other. The Gecko kicked nimbly out at her and Rous dove for its feet, holding it still while she fastened the pirate’s arms under its tail. “How? What?”

What, indeed?

The captain shook off the four humans trying to hold it and made for the door again.

“No, sir!” I shouted. I sidled into his path with my sword pointed at its eye, daring it to defy me. “You shall not pass!”

“You uniformed action figure!” he snarled. “Get out of my way!”

He barreled forward, intending to go through me. I lunged, scoring a slash on the bridge of his nose just short of his left eye. Purple blood spurted. I wasn’t sure which of us was more surprised, he or I. I danced backward as he lumbered toward me.

While fending off the huge Croctoid with my sword, I scanned the enemy combatants. None of the pirates seemed worth taking as a hostage. Knowing the ruthless nature of such beings and their purported guidelines, I doubted they would pursue us to rescue one of their own. But lying on their abandoned dining table was something they could not and would not do without: their ship’s half-license. The captain had left the square of indestructible metal beside his platter, no doubt believing that he could retrieve it at his leisure after he had disposed of as many of us as necessary before the local constabulary was summoned.

I lunged toward the Croctoid, parrying the very barrel of the pistol in his hand. He let off a shot at the ceiling by mistake. A light fixture exploded, raining shards of plastic down on us. All around us, Chan’s militia was doing their best to control and contain the rest of the crew without killing them. The pirates were under no such restraint. Torkadir, or perhaps Premulo, fell, his leg sticking out sideways at a horribly unnatural angle. My internal organs knotted in sympathy, but I needed to look to my own survival. I recovered forward and ducked under Growteing’s crooked arm. He spun, more slowly than a human would, drawing a fresh bead upon me.

I took advantage of his dilatory movements. Beating another Croctoid’s gun with my sword hilt to point upward, I slipped among the thrashing forms of my troops wrestling with pirate adversaries in the direction of my prey. The captain finished his rotation and ended up facing me just in time to ascertain my intent.

“No! Curse you!”

I hoped his curse would not take. I reached the table and snatched up the metal square. I held it up triumphantly. He roared out more invective. I made a face at him and ran toward the rear of the restaurant.

“Retreat!” I called. With the map of the area limned upon my mind as brightly as the exit sign overhead, I headed toward the back door that opened out into the service passage where deliveries were made. “Team A, follow me! We can lead them into a trap! Team B, stay behind them and make sure none of them remains here! We can take them!”

“What?” Plet’s voice echoed breathless in my ear. “Where?”

My mind raced through the possibilities open to us. Our ship was out of the question. The crew might decide to flee to its own vessel and threaten others with its onboard cannon and missile until I was forced to return the license. The station manager had not taken my warning seriously, and was more likely to be hindrance than help. Sweating, I strained my cerebral faculties for inspiration.

Yes!

There was only one place that I could think of that would—could—act as a temporary holding cell until Parsons or the
Wedjet
returned to take the crew into custody.

“The hotel ballroom!” I cried.

“What?”

“We will lure them into that wonderful maze of walls and floors. If I stir it up, I believe I can box them in a room without doors until they could be taken into custody.”

“And that’s your plan?” Plet hissed.

“Yes!”

There was a brief silence, and I thought that I had lost her.

“Actually, that’s a good idea. We’ll try to buy you some time.”

“Carry on, troops!” I shouted into the communications link. “Evasive maneuvers, and protect the public!”

I shot away, waving my booty over my head in a fleering manner. The pirate captain let out a roar of fury and stumbled after me, shoving aside damaged furniture and dithering traybots. I ran down the length of the enormous room, weaving between hastily abandoned tables and upset chairs. I leaped over a cowering server and skidded to a halt at the control beside the service door.

My enemy bore down on me, as I had predicted. My move was not without precedent. I had once snatched the lunch of a bigger cousin with a notoriously bad temper on a dare when I was in school. My long legs gave me the only advantage I had, fleeing from an angry, much larger opponent. This time, however, I was unprepared for the frisson of cold fear that went up my body as the entire crew left their individual battles and came after me. There was a lengthy hesitation before the door opened. For a moment I was afraid that it required some kind of security code. In eight paces, the Croctoid captain would be upon me.

At last, with a weary explosion of sound, the door slid into the wall to the right. A noisome wind, redolent with the fumes of ancient garbage, fuel, body odor and mildew, whooshed into my face. I gagged in a breath of only half-rotted air, and fled.

Into a rectangular tunnel I dashed. Pools of faint yellow light from emergency fixtures were my main source of illumination at first, but a blast of bright whiteness blinded me. I burst through it blindly. Motion-sensitive lamps were fixed into the walls at the rear door of the business establishments on this corridor to facilitate deliveries during less hostile moments. I hoped that my pursuers were as taken off guard as I was.

The hammering of shipboots behind propelled me forward like an afterburner. I navigated by memory, feeling my way down the steel corridor for the third left. Was it the third? Could I be mistaken? No, I was positive it was the third. Here it was!

I flew into the darkened turnoff. My eyes, stunned by the flashes of light, took a while to become accustomed to the blackness of this passageway. I sought the second of two narrow doorways close together after six irregularly spaced doors. It should put me into the main corridor just outside the tavern to which Chan and the others had taken me for a drink. I did not want to chance leading the pirates through the crowds down to the hotel, but did I have a choice? I could not take the time to read my map. Oh, for the heads-up display in my combat helmet back in the ship! I could hear the captain behind me, swearing as he lumbered along. More heavy footsteps joined his. Alarmed, I increased my pace. A painful stitch arose in my right ribcage. I ignored it. The side of my head ached from the energy blast, and my shoulder ached from the Croctoid captain’s blow. Nothing mattered but getting the pirates to a place of temporary incarceration until Parsons could be located. I toggled my communications link.