Wylde Fyre
By Stephen Doyle
Characters created by Stephen Doyle
Zee created by Chris Mills
This story may contain bad language and hard violence - you have been warned
Chapter Three
“Journeys into something”
Antherian year 1140
Xerxes Capital
Marek Hive
Blackwind sneered at the Marek drone guards as he stepped through the doors of the throne room, again summoned by Santomagh, and again without any explanation. As he passed the guards, the wolf sighed, and instantly assumed his brown-nosing expression of supplication and wonder that he knew the Marek lord would have to see.
As he stepped past the doors, Blackwind was surprised to see the Marek lord was not seated on his throne, as was the norm, but instead he stood in the centre of the floor, flexing his wings and looking down as the wolf walked into sight.
“My lord” said Blackwind, kneeling briefly. “You summoned me?”
“Indeed I did. I have conceived of a plan, and thought I should show it to you, so that you may see why your species is doomed”.
Gimme a break, he thought. “How could there be any other result, lord. What is your plan?”
Santomagh stepped to one side, and made a beckoning motion with one hand. Blackwind was a little surprised when a female Antherian stepped forward. She was a canine, that was obvious… but her species was a little more indistinct. She seemed quite like both a fox and a wolf, but like neither. It didn’t help, he realized, that she was both stunningly beautiful, and also buck-naked. As he peered at her closer, he frowned. Despite her dusky grey fur, with its intricate black patterns, and starkly contrasting white chin, cheeks, and front, and the lustrous shiny fall of her light purple hair, as well as the smooth and ample curves that were revealed by such brazen nudity, there was something amiss. She showed not a reaction to his presence, and no contact between her eyes and his stare was noticed when he looked at her.
“How does she fit into your plan, lord… she looks like there is something… wrong with her? She seems mentally affected”.
Santomagh grinned - again, a fearsome sight, with his maw of razor-sharp teeth - down at Blackwind. “How little you understand. She is placid and docile at the moment, as she is under my control… Should I explain further?”
Blackwind nodded, and the Marek commander began to explain. “This is the result of a project my scientists have been working on for some time, Strike. She is a genetically engineered life form, bred into existence with Marek DNA and instincts dormant within her, as well as a full Antherian body, and nature. She can, and will, behave as an Antherian female would, without any clue to her true nature as a Marek operative. All the time she will be secretly supplying us with information, apprising us of everything that goes on and is to our interest and use. At any time we can use her to do things for us, and she will never be none the wiser, as her body will be convincing her that she was dreaming, or not even letting her know of the facts”.
Blackwind looked at the woman again, and gave mental acknowledgement to Santomagh: indeed, it was a brilliant plan, provided it worked. It would also be of advantage to him, and he had to steer it that way.
“A daring and clever plan indeed, my lord - But how do you intend to direct her intelligence gathering? Who will be responsible for her control?”
The Marek looked down at him, again gesturing at the Antherian clone. “Who better to control an Antherian, than an Antherian? You shall be responsible for keeping me updated of her status and intelligence reports. You shall be provided with a device capable of monitoring telepathic signals as well, to facilitate your role in this scheme as well. You should also know that her ‘normal’ state of mind is waiting to be programmed - all you need to do is reveal the details to our scientists, and they will give her a personal history and other such irrelevant details to complete the convincing illusion. All you need do then is to introduce her to the resistance at some convincing and convenient point in time. I would suggest in the same hive where the one you call ‘Talian Sahram’ is being held. As we discussed before, they may be attempting to rescue her”.
Blackwind nodded, silently plotting how he would use the woman to get his own plans moving, and take control of his own situation again. No more of this futile and irritating toadying to the Marek! He’d be the one on top, just wait and see. But in the meantime…
“An excellent suggestion, Lord Santomagh. I will make the necessary arrangements at once, and I will immediately inform you of the details”.
Santomagh nodded, and turned his back, heading for the balcony, the details of no further importance to him. Blackwind looked at the woman and stepped closer, wondering how to get her to follow him.
“You” he said hesitantly, and she turned her head in his direction, though still not making eye contact. “Follow me?” he tried, and stepped a little away. She followed him, and he smiled triumphantly, leading her out of the throne room.
As they walked through the hive, heading to the section Blackwind used as his own, he was surprised to see that none of the Marek creatures passed on the way spared a second glance for the infiltrator following behind him; thought all looked at him as he passed, as they normally did. This lead to more interesting thoughts on Blackwind’s part - had the Marek been told, via telepathy from Santomagh, not to see the Infiltrator as a potential threat? He would have to introduce an element into her personality that made her avoid fighting with the creatures - otherwise it may become suspicious, if she was found unscathed after any battles that may happen around her. Yes, that would do… Slowly his mind began to work, picking up speed as he thought of all the details he would add to the blank slate he had, making her eventually into a fully-fledged person, and more, into the instrumental piece in the plan he had concocted.
A few days later and far to the north, the boxy camouflaged shape of a Rhino Ground Assault Vehicle rumbled its way into the lightly forested plains that formed a barrier between the cities and towns of the central part of the continent of Pacifica and the outside areas, with their mountains, deserts, forests and ice fields. The woodland camouflaged all terrain vehicle stuck to the roads for the most part, with Jessy in the driving seat, although they left them in some places where Marek patrols or roaming bandits were known to frequent, or simply where they were damaged or so blocked with wreckage or plant life that it was impossible to pass, instead taking to the fields and meadows at the sides of the roads to gain passage.
As the vehicle rolled through the gently rolling flatlands towards the purple haze of the mountains in the far distance, both women were quiet as they considered their task. They knew the basic location in which to look for Silverwind, and their goal of bringing him back to the resistance… it was the particular details that were cause for thought.
It was known that Silverwind had survived the last large and fully-planned attack against the Marek, but he had been shot down, failing to combat and win against an enemy incursion that lead to the destruction of the Defense Command (or DefCom) command center, but it wasn’t known what had happened to him afterwards, or to be more accurate, why he had not joined the resistance. He had the chance to do so - many of the members of the guerrilla army were ex-soldiers, pilots, and marines, and even some of the White Knights. So, was there some personal motivation perhaps, for his not returning to continue the battle? Or was it a more practical or literal reason? An injury that was as yet unknown, or a disease, or maybe he’d even managed to raise a family?
Admittedly, the last idea seemed a little far-fetched and unlikely to Taia, but it was still possible. The more she thought on those possibilities though, the more she was convinced that it was some kind of personal conflict that had stopped the ace from returning to combat.
Silverwind had been widely regarded as a hero - though it was likely to have been coincidence, and good fortune, the media had played up the tales of how he had downed the enemy in an engagement, gaining the DefCom forces some kind of small break - though not enough obviously, and they had also done a job of glorifying his successful returns from many missions, or so she remembered. The brass had lapped it up too, promoting Silverwind with the speed of a rocket taking off, quickly sending him up through the ranks. However, what wasn’t known - and how could it have been - was how he had genuinely felt about the situation? Being promoted was a cause for celebration certainly… but what if he felt he hadn’t earned it? And with all of this publicity and attention, how must he have felt to fail in such an important mission… Taia considered that as an angle, and was convinced more of her theories.
Her silent reverie was interrupted as she realized Jessy was talking to her. Feeling foolish as she realized she hadn’t heard the question, she looked to the lynx and gave an apologetic smile.
“Sorry Jess, what was that?”
The lynx rolled her eyes and glanced again at Taia, before turning her attention back to the road. “I said you looked a little distant, and what were you thinking about?”
“Oh, I was just trying to riddle out the reasons behind Silverwind’s disappearance some more”.
“What did you come up with this time then, miss amateur psychoanalyst?” the redhead asked, with a smirk. Taia grinned in response as she eyed the lynx where she sat with one elbow on the edge of the window.
“Nothing conclusive, I guess. I suppose it’s dangerous to make any assumptions or try to reason anything out without talking to the guy” frowning, she decided to change tack, wanting to try and get away from the subject for the meantime.
“How long until we reach the mountains?”
Jessy shrugged as she looked ahead. “We’ll have to divert off of the road at least a few more times - there’s a river we need to cross, and there’re elevated sections of road that might be dangerous to try and cross too… so it could be nightfall at the earliest. If not, then it’s tomorrow at the earliest”. The lynx shook her head in disbelief. “You know, I used to vacation in the mountains, before all this. This drive never used to take more than about four hours back then - five if the traffic was bad… guess it makes you realize how much we take things like roads and railways for granted”.
Taia nodded, and looked ahead at the purple haze that marked the mountains on the horizon. “I think I know what you mean… It’s odd when you realize it though”.
The pair was quiet for a moment, before Jessy spoke up again. “So, worked out how we’re gonna find him yet?”
Taia sighed and shook her head. “I’m still not sure about that… I’ve got a few ideas - after all, he must be staying somewhere up there, so we should be able to find wherever he’s living, and we can check for tracks from any vehicles too… but beyond that I haven’t got a clue. I’m hoping that he might notice us first, to be honest with you”.
“If he’s this legendary soldier he’s made out to be, I wouldn’t place that in doubt - I’d expect him to know the moment we’re there, to be honest… though that’s something else I’ve been wondering about”.
Taia looked at Jessy, gesturing for her to go on with a slight nod. The feline looked into her friends face for a moment, before looking back ahead at the road and continuing.
“Traveling here, in the open like this… I’ve been worrying that the Marek might spot us at any moment. And to be honest… well - we’ve been traveling for at least - what, five hours? Six? And we haven’t been attacked once. You have to ask yourself if that doesn’t seem the slightest bit unusual”.
Thinking about it, Taia had to admit that Jessy was right - traveling on the roads, in the daytime, it was normally an easy place for the Marek to spot them, which was why the resistance normally avoided the method of traveling, except in special cases, like their current mission. So far they hadn’t seen any of the creatures, except for a distant high-flying pair of assault troopers, whom they had avoided with ease when they had turned away to the east and a single patrol of troopers who had passed by in the distance right back at the beginning of their journey. It was all beginning to seem strange, but so far there seemed no real reason for it.
“Don’t worry Jess” she heard herself saying, even as she thought about it. “I’m sure it’s nothing”.
Talian woke to the sound of bodies and voices outside her ‘room’, such as it was, consisting of nothing much more than a hole in one corner, and a bed. The sounds grew louder, and she could hear the distinctive sounds of a woman crying, in either pain or sadness, or perhaps even in both. Then her door dilated open - doors didn’t swing open most of the time in Marek hives, as most things were organic - and someone was thrown bodily into the room, and the door promptly shut again, just as quickly. The noise outside ceased as whomever it was moved off. Talian sat quiet and tensed for a moment, getting an idea of who was in the room, but all she could hear was quiet sobbing and scared, ragged breathing. The smell of sweat and blood was evident, as well as the identifying scents of a wolf and a female one at that. Quietly, she crept forwards, curious about her new roommate.
“Hello?” she whispered quietly. “Who’s there?”
“Hello?” a timid voice came in reply, shaking and quavering as the word was spoken.
“Don’t be frightened” said Talian softly, crawling a little closer. “I’m not going to hurt you. My name is Talian. Who are you? What happened?”
The other person looked round as Talian came closer, her posture shifting to a sitting one, her knees drawn close underneath her, and her eyes still wide with fear and surprise. “I- I’m Nehrannah Sydek… I don’t know why I was brought here. The Marek captured me in the wastelands, and they bought me here”. There was silence and then the sounds of her crying. Talian scooted over and curled an arm around the other woman’s shoulders. She was cold and shaking - the first signs of shock. Talian wrapped her thick sweater around the wolf’s - or at least she thought she was a wolf - her scent was becoming confusing - shoulders over the thin cotton clothes she wore, and held her quietly for a long time. Eventually the sobs went away, and were replaced with the quiet rhythmic breaths of someone asleep. Talian sat where she was for the moment - the shared warmth was worth it, and considered the new arrival. She had no idea of why she was here, though she could easily have been picked up from the wastelands. It didn’t matter at the moment, either way. She had company, and that was enough. She’d do her best to look after Nehrannah, and somehow figure a way to get them, and as many others as possible, out of this place.
“Did it work?” asked Sheen curiously, trying to gain a peek over Blackwind’s shoulder at the remote viewer now installed (or grown, depending how you looked at the way Marek biotechnology worked) in his quarters - cum - operations room. “I’m not sure yet” answered the wolf, still looking at the screen. “But Sahram seems to have taken the fact that she is Antherian for granted at least. And her display of emotion was convincing as well”.
“All going according to plan so far then” the black-furred vixen said with a nod, a small smile creeping onto her muzzle, which Blackwind mirrored.
“Yes, all according to plan so far. Now, so long as Denzi and T’ai do as they’re supposed to, we may pull off even more of a lucky break”.
“Do you really think the resistance will try and rescue Talian? And even of they do - do you think they’ll take Nehrannah with them?”
“I have no doubt of that at all, my dear. The resistance is dedicated to freeing every Antherian they can - Talian is in the middle of a slave-labor camp surrounded by other Antherians - they can’t just leave them! No, this plan will work you mark my words. I think this time Santomagh may have actually have come up with a plan that has some merit, and complexity enough to be of use to me, rather than his brute force tactics. Effective as they are, they’re not usually of use to me. I suppose this time he has actually taken what I have said onboard”.
Blackwind stood aside, and Sheen looked at the screen at last. All it showed at the moment was darkness, as Nehrannah was asleep, and the sound was only the breathing of the two Antherians as they slept. However, she easily realized the value of the system - as it used telepathy as a transmission medium, instead of radio or any other kind of system, it would be near impossible to jam or disrupt. It monitored everything that Nehrannah saw and heard, and it could be reviewed and replayed at any time. Slowly Sheen understood the intricacies of Blackwinds plan - when the resistance came to rescue Talian, and took Nehrannah away with them, they would inadvertently reveal the location of their base, and as well as that, they would easily find out what the resistance needed Talian for, and then that could be turned to their advantage to overthrow the Marek, should they so desire. It was simple, but brilliant.
Sheen turned her head, to see Blackwind smiling at her, and she returned the smile, realizing he realized she had worked out the plan.
“A cunning and yet so simple plan” she said, with a sly smile.
“And one that will give us everything we need” he answered.
“Are you sure we’re going the right direction?” asked Josh again, for the third time in an hour. An exasperated mutter came from Adam in the front, anticipating Zee’s angry response as she was questioned again.
“Look, pal. I’m here because I know the way, all right? If you think you know where we’re headed, perhaps you’d better direct this bucket in the right heading, and we’ll see where we end up then, hmm?”
Josh had no reply, and instead fell silent, watching the instruments in the gunner’s cockpit as the Razorback helicopter cruised on through the mid-afternoon sky. Ahead of him he could see down to the ground rushing by beneath them, and above that the machine gun and sensor equipment on the nose of the chopper. Behind and above him was Adam in the pilot’s cockpit, which was higher up to maintain a better view of the surroundings as the chopper flew. He couldn’t see Zee, but knew she was in the back compartment in the body of the helicopter, along with their equipment and supplies.
They’d purposefully left one of the doors open at her request so she could use her armor’s sensors and weapons to help them out, and to get them headed on the right direction.
Inwardly, he knew they were actually heading the right way - he had only asked, for some kind of personal conformation that they were actually going through with this - mainly because he didn’t believe it himself. Normally the resistance operated on guerrilla tactics, performing hit and run operations to rescue a few survivors at a time, to disrupt enemy mining and supply operations, or to disable key structures and individuals in the Marek chain of command and control. They didn’t normally send fully armed and equipped teams into battle to attack fortified enemy strongholds and positions, in the sole aim of rescuing one individual out of several hundred - and he still wasn’t sure how they were going to deal with that either. They couldn’t rescue or carry everyone who was present in the camp in the Razorback, and they certainly couldn’t arm or equip all of them either.
Adam cursed fluently from the back cockpit suddenly. “I have just realized where we are, after looking at the map. We are coming up on the ruins of Holbrook, are we not?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s right. Why, is that a problem?” said Zee, from in back, where she was sitting on the floor of the cabin, her armored legs dangling in the slipstream and her helmeted head scanning the horizon. A strap held her in, so that she wouldn’t be lost in mid-air if the aircraft had to make any sudden moves to avoid being hit by enemy weapons fire.
“It might be” answered Adam, his voice tainted with concern. “I have heard that there is a well equipped bandit group operating out of Holbrook… they might harass us as we pass by. I do not know much more though, so we had better stay alert”.
“Roger” said Zee. “I didn’t remember seeing any of them on my way through… but I’m admittedly a much less noticeable target than this whirlybird of yours, so I doubt they even knew I was here”.
“Don’t worry” said Josh, smiling as he passed his eyes over the weapons controls. “We’ve got more than enough firepower on this baby to take ‘em out if we need to”.
The Razorback was well armed, all told. It had the big machine gun in the nose, which was mounted in a turret that followed the facing of the pilots’ head, thanks to some fancy gear in the helmet. It also had short ‘stub wings’ on the body just to the rear of the cabin, on which were hung rocket launcher pods, that could launch a barrage of the small but powerfully explosive unguided projectiles, as well as powerful laser-guided missiles of different types for both ground and air targets.
Adam was less optimistic however. He knew the Razorback’s capabilities well, as he had had full helicopter pilots training prior to the war with the White Knights, and had flown the machine before. It could fly fast and high, and was maneuverable at both low and high altitudes, but it was poorly armored, and generated a lot of heat, which meant it could be tracked easily. And while its weapons were powerful and plentiful, he didn’t know how well they’d fare against the Marek. The bandits would also prove a problem.
If they were well equipped, that could be taken to mean quite a few things. The most likely, however, was that they were equipped with either helicopter gunships like the one the trio were in now, or CRV’s of various types. The other, and most likely, possibility was that they had a mixture of both. While the helicopter was agile, it was also vulnerable to the weapons and methods available to a CRV as well. Since the humanoid combat robots were just that - humanoid, it meant that they were agile, and had quick response times. Added to this, that they carried a similar weapons fit to a helicopter, with the added dangers of lasers and similar energy weapons, as well as fists and the ability to use sheer strength to wrestle the chopper out of the sky or smash it’s rotor blades apart with it’s armored bulk, should they come close enough, it made for a dangerous and potentially fatal confrontation… but then, it was just as possible that given the right circumstances the Razorback could come out on top.
“Let us just keep our optimism at a healthy level,” said Adam after a while. “We do not know what they have, or where they are - so stay alert. If they show up, then we will go low, and silent - they may not even see us if we are lucky. I do not want to stick here and fight, since we are going to have to do that with the Marek anyway, and that is not a good situation to be in”.
The other two crew members confirmed silently with a click of their microphones, and the silence took over as the three pairs of eyes monitored sensors and the horizon in the event anything came to challenge the flight of the Razorback towards the far distant Marek hive, not even visible in the southern city of Firstholme.
“I still don’t get why Blackwind even sent us here” muttered T’ai as he moved through the dilapidated corridors of what had once been one of the biggest and best university complexes in the whole of Antheria. The tiger sneered as a rat scuttled away from his foot, and he looked up and back at Denzi, who returned his look as she swept her flashlight around the halls of the university building they were in some more.
“You don’t get a lot of things, T’ai, and it’s not my job to make sure you do. However, since I’d prefer your help in a useful way, as opposed to watching you make friends with the local rodent population, I’ll tell you again so we can get out of this rotting shithole quicker. We’re here to try and find Talian Sahram’s office, as well as the records centre, because Blackwind thinks he knows what the resistance are looking for, and he wants us to get it first”.
T’ai nodded as he understood what she meant, and turned on his own flashlight, and began to swing it around the corridors.
From the inside, the building looked as though it had been spared the general mass destruction of the rest of the city of Reveille. A few huge cracks ran up the walls, and naturally the paint was peeling and damp and mosses were everywhere. All the glass was cracked and smashed too, gone in the countless past rumblings and rattling from explosions all across the city and the surrounding area. As the pair moved slowly down the hall, they kept their flashlights at arm’s length, and their pistols drawn and in one hand - it wasn’t as if they were expecting any enemies, but it was best to be on the safe side.
Denzi let out a short gasp of surprise as she heard T’ai exclaim in a loud ‘ah-hah!’ at something he had evidently found nearby. Moving quickly, she crossed to where he was standing at the base of a grand and sweeping stone staircase, his light shining on the floor plan for the building.
“Well, what did you find that’s so important as to give me a heart attack?” she demanded impatiently, shining her light in his eyes on purpose.
“A floor plan” he said, squinting as she shone her torch in his eyes. Pushing it away, he gestured with the barrel of his gun at the diagram, complete with directions written in common, Felness, and Canus.
“It’s got the names of each professor and teacher on their office location - including Talian’s. It’s got the location of the records hall as well”.
“I’m impressed,” said Denzi with a smirk. “Let’s go then,” she said, gesturing for him to lead the way. He moved off ahead, giving her a sarcastic sneer, which she returned with an equally venomous smile, as she followed him up the stairs and along to the corridor. After a few moments they reached the room indicated on the map.
The door was locked, and shut tight. However, a few experimental kicks, and the poorly kept wood splinted away into pieces and they had access to the room. By contrast to the chaos outside, the place was a refreshing change. No one had touched it in years, and it had remained immaculate, except for the layer of dust, and small bits of plaster and other debris that had fallen in explosions and other disturbances.
Papers were stacked neatly, and files arranged alphabetically. Half-finished formulae decorated a blackboard on one wall, complete with yellow sticky note reminders scrawled in messy handwriting. A computer sat meticulously arranged on the desk, with a small family of rubber dinosaurs decorating the top of the monitor. Experimentally Denzi pushed the power button, but naturally nothing happened - there had been no electricity for years. Even so, she disassembled the machine and pocketed the hard drive, as well as the stack of optical disks on the desktop. Idly, she also pocketed one of the rubber dinosaurs, for no particular reason. On the other side of the room, T’ai began to flick through the files.
“What exactly are we looking for?” he asked after a few moments. “Blueprints? Chemical formulas?”
“No, nothing like that” the cybernetic cat murmured as she scanned the titles of various papers. “Talian was a Theo-historian, but she had some very… interesting theories and ideas. The boss thinks that some of them might just be true. So, we’re looking for any of that stuff - her Theo-history notes… and especially anything from the three years before the invasion. She made an expedition at that time, and it was funded by the government, albeit discreetly, and that’s why Blackwind thinks that she was on to something”.
T’ai nodded, and then held up a file a few moments later. “I think this might be something we’re looking for”. Denzi took it as he passed it over, and began to scan the pages, her expression growing into a small grin as she appraised the volume. “I think you’ve got it. This is just what we’re after, T’ai… But we should keep looking - see if we can find anything else!”
After around an hour of searching the office, as well as the library area, the pair had a stack of papers in their arms, ranging from thesis papers, to notes scribbled on notepaper. All seemed to be related around similar subjects that Blackwind had told them to pay attention to - namely the significance and locations of any expeditions to the ruins of the civilization that had existed on Antheria before the advent of the Canus and Felness races. They had been told to pay special attention to any documents that even hinted at the participation of the military, an idea that they had originally shrugged off, but were now surprised to find several documents that related to military involvement in archaeological expeditions.
The pair stacked the papers into storage bins in the cockpits of their flight-capable CRV’s, and then started up the machines, taking to the air and heading back for the central hive in Xerxes.
“Denzi” T’ai’s voice came over the radio channel between the two mecha, “what does Blackwind want to know about archaeological digs for?”
The cat bristled at the question, annoyed at her companion for asking yet another irrelevant question, but then stopped and asked it to herself - what did he want the information for? Archaeology wasn’t one of his hobbies, and even if it were - it would be indulgent to send out two of his pilots and their machines to pick up hobby-related materials. He also had no professional (as in scientific) interest in the information, as far as she knew, so that left only his current position - as a military commander. Did that mean the papers were of some tactical benefit? But if that was the case, then how so? There certainly wasn’t much value in any of the lists of equipment involved… but maybe there was something she was overlooking. She frowned and patted her bottom lip with one mechanical finger as she considered. Could it be personnel, she wondered? Briefly she recalled something about an expedition before the war, involving Talian Sahram and a famous pilot… something Blade…?
Silverwind Blade that was it - the ace dogfighter and pilot, a hero to the people, who had disappeared during the war much to the dismay of the people and the military. Her mind started to tick over now as she considered further - Silverwind was a combat pilot, not a transport pilot or helicopter pilot, and the convoy wouldn’t have required an escort at that time - the political and military situations were very calm, which was why the expedition had even gone ahead in the first place, as it was such remote and contested territory.
A combat pilot on an archaeological expedition… he did have some skills as an infantryman, but not near enough to require or recommend him to be part of an expedition like that… so why?
The answer crept into her mind slowly, and she almost discounted it right away for its sheer foolishness, but it was certainly one of the only plausible ones - what if there had been something at the site of the expedition he had been required to fly? Some device or piece of engineering that required a pilot’s skill and knowledge?
Her mind boggled at the idea, but at the same time she realized it was a possibility. Even after scanning the records briefly as they had gathered them up, she had noticed a string of repeat visits to the same locations - perhaps there was more than she was seeing here?
The thought in mind, she let her mind return to the task in hand - piloting her machine. She had the knowledge she had gathered by reasoning and thought, but so far that’s all it had been - reasoning and guesswork. She’d have to somehow discreetly enquire to Blackwind about the nature of his plan - unless he was planning to reveal it already - when the pair returned to the hive.
A fleeting smile crossed her lips as she thought about it. Some new vehicle or device… Maybe his intention was to capture it, and use it against their enemies. That would be a thing of excitement and interest to her, sure enough. Grabbing her throttles tightly, she grinned as the mecha powered on through the darkening skies.
The light from the small campfire they had made painted leering shadows on both Jessy and Taia’s faces as they sat around it, looking into the flames and cupping their canned food in their hands. The Rhino sat a few feet away, within easy reach, and their small one-man tents were pitched right next to the machine. They were sitting on bundled up sleeping bags, as they eyed the deep shadows between the trees.
“So, how much do you know about him?” Jessy said quietly, poking the glowing and crackling fire with the end of a stick.
“Not much” Taia admitted, knowing what she was talking about immediately - it was hard not to, as it was the only thing on both of their minds by now.
“I know he had a sister, younger than him. His parents were both Knights like he was… Died when he was young. About as much as everyone else otherwise - born in the Aerie went to college and passed with flying colors and was headhunted by the White Knights. Exceptional recruit, popular, and was inducted as a full Knight a few years later – one of the youngest to become one, blah, blah, blah…” she trailed off, unwilling to recite the rest of the press-friendly biography she had read before the pair had headed out.
Jessy nodded, her tufted ears tilted forward as she listened to the sounds of the forest. She took a mouthful of the soup, grimaced at the taste, before she leaned back and looked up.
“I heard a little bit more… Some guy in my old unit worked with him one time, was part of his squadrons ground crew for a little while”.
Taia leaned forward after eating the last of her soup - and grimacing too - her ears pointing forward as she listened in. “And? What did he say?”
Jessy looked back at Taia with a slight frown as she thought, her expression pensive. “It was a way back, before he was really famous, just before all that kicked off. He said that he was kind of different then - always very quiet, but polite and friendly… he said that he had some other friends in the squad, and he used to join in with their social lives too… but he was always quiet and reserved”.
Taia tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “Really? I’d have expected different from an ace pilot”.
Jessy nodded. “Yeah, me too… but that’s the other thing this guy said. He remembered listening in over the radio once when Silverwind and his unit intercepted a bunch of fighters one time. He said that the guy practically came alive in the air, like it was a whole different person. He was giving orders, reports, and updates all over the place… And his flying… he couldn’t describe the flying with words, or so he says”.
Taia frowned and looked up at the sky, as if she’d look up and see some kind of elaborate aerial display through the gaps in the canopy of pine needles and leaves that stretched above the pair to the blue-black night sky. What would he have been like, she wondered. Like most people, her perception of flight and flying was limited, as was her experience - unlike Jessy or Adam; she had no CRV or aircraft pilot experience. In her minds eye she pictured the fox wrestling at the stick, his craft performing to all standards…
She shook her head, surprised at herself. It wasn’t like her to wonder off in thought like that - especially if it was fantasy. Sighing, she decided it was time for rest and sleep, and said so to Jessy.
“All right then, Taia. Have a good night,” she said, with a small smile and a twinkle in her eyes. Taia raised an eyebrow, not sure what she meant by that, and she lightly crossed over to her tent and slipped inside.
The inside of the little tent was warm, so she slipped her boots, jacket and combat trousers, as well as her holsters and other tactical gear off, and wriggled into her sleeping bag in her panties and T-shirt. Warm, she purred quietly to herself and curled up tight, her nose nestled into her hands, and her tail curled around herself in the bag.
She awoke with a start into the darkness of the tent, and felt a sudden sense of alarm as her eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom. The fire’s light was gone now, and she let her feline senses slowly adjust to compensate for the loss, her senses of smell and hearing cutting the gloom down.
The sharp scents of pine and wood were obvious, and overpowering, as were the artificial smell of the tent, and the tang of diesel fumes from the ATV. Her ears twitched and turned as she listened to the sounds of night. The soft calls of nighttime animals, the rustling of leaves - there! The sudden sharp crack of a twig signified a footfall. A slight rustling and creaking could be sound over the leaves and the wood, and she detected a slight scent that made her heart leap and her tail twitch nervously - There were Marek nearby. Several of them, from the signals she was getting. Her heart hammered like a piston as she slowly reached for her combats and pulled them on, and then her boots, which she loosely pulled on without tying them or securing their straps properly, before she grabbed her holster, slowly drawing her pistol. Mentally, she cursed the fact Jessy was in a separate tent, and that she couldn’t raise her without making a noise.
Gritting her teeth, she summoned an effort of will to make herself not panic, and she hunched silently and tried to decide what to do. The Marek would know they were there - that was obvious - but they might not know she was awake yet, which gave her time to work out what she should do. All she had at the moment was the pistol, which wasn’t going to do a lot of damage on its own. She might bring down one of them with it, but it’d take all the rounds in the clip to get through their amour, and that was only if they were scout troopers. She had one spare magazine as well, but that was it. Anything more substantial that the pistols had been left in the Rhino, and the chances of her getting into the vehicle were remote.
She thought more, weighing the pistol in her hand and considering. She was a good shot with a handgun - one of the best, or so she was told, and she was agile and fast on her feet. There were ways she could take the Marek down, she theorized. After all, everything had its weak point. If she managed a shot at say, the eyes, or at a joint between segments of overlapping amour, then perhaps she’d get lucky. By now she wasn’t looking to kill the creatures - just disable them long enough to get into the Rhino and retrieve something with a bit more ‘oomph’.
Taking a slow, deep breath, she mentally steeled herself, and reached for the zipper at the front of the tent - a tent that suddenly wobbled and pitched, followed by the tearing sound of material, and the stench of decay and the harsh scent of the Marek in full force. Slavering teeth, set in multiple rows, snatched at the air in front of her face, and despite herself Taia let out a short scream of surprise as the Marek Stalker-beast shredded the rest of her tent in an attempt to get at her. She leapt to her feet and struggled out of the ruins of the tent, and into Jessy’s. The lynx was awake by now, and burst out of the front of her tent, half-dressed like Taia was, and brandishing her handgun as well.
“Taia!” she exclaimed, before leaping aside as the Stalker snarled and jumped for her. She quickly dived to the ground and fired a couple of shots at the beast, which angered it further as they smashed divots out of its’ armored hide. The beast bore down on the Lynx, until she was rudely hauled into the air by an armored and clawed green and brown mottled hand. A Marek trooper grabbed a hold of her, another close behind. The two stalkers, still snarling and lashing their tails, narrowed in on Taia. Quickly she raised her pistol, and sighted along the barrel. Squeezing the trigger gently, she opened fire and was rewarded with a howling yelp from one of the beasts as her bullet hit home into it’s eye, the organ exploding in a haze of purplish gunk. Enjoying her momentary success, she quickly jumped aside as the other beast snapped for her hand, missing only by inches, close enough she felt its stinking hot breath ruffle her fur. She rolled to her feet and opened fire in desperation, the shots glancing off of the creatures’ amour, before it landed astride her, its jaws ominously close to her face, and her gun knocked aside. Its presence crowded her view, pressing down on her chest and her arms straining under its heavy front feet, the claws tearing into her skin with burning streaks of pain in her arms.
Knowing she was defeated, she felt tears build in her eyes, but instead of crying she yelled her defiance at the beast, her voice raised into a defiant wail of anger and anguish as the jaws loomed closer.
To be continued…