The queen had fooled him. she wasn’t out of range; she’d purposefully not jumped as high the last time. when he’d ordered Sam to lower the ship, he’d been taking them right into her range. One of her talons had been disabled by K3’s hammer blow, but the other one slammed into the side of the ship. Ronin couldn’t see from this angle for sure, but he thought it had hit the cargo area.
While he’d been looking up, Ronin failed to notice the manipulator claw wrapping itself around his body. He let out a howl of pain as the hand squeezed down on him. almost by accident, he slammed the giant carabineer down on the hand, clipping it snuggly around one of the claws. The way the exoskeleton was ridged, he didn’t think it could slide off from there. Fighting to breathe, he slapped the button on his harness to start reeling in the line.
He checked on his companions as he fumbled with his mace. K3 was the closest to him, and he’d already looped his carabiner around the queen’s other manipulator hand. The Kaldarr was doing his best to catch the queen’s attention, by bashing her repeatedly with his shield. Unfortunately, his efforts didn’t have much effect.
Ronin was starting to black out, the hand large enough to cover his entire torso and it was squeezing down like a vice. He couldn’t reach his mace, and the rifle was trapped on his back too. he didn’t have any gear he could reach from where he was. So, he started punching. His gauntleted fist carried a lot of force behind it. enough to send the elf across the room and smash her armor, but he was already running out of air. His swings didn’t contain full power, and he wasn’t able to affect the queen at all.
The elves were swooping around the locust queen, shooting arrows at her and the drones that she’d brought with her on this jump. A few of the sparrows even made diving runs, snatching drones from the air, and crushing their wings before letting them fall. Before he blacked out entirely, Ronin saw Owl five landing on the queen’s head. she dropped down to the bug’s shoulder and started slamming her daggers into the joint between two of the queen’s head plates. He stayed awake long enough to watch her fist disappear inside the queen’s skull before he lost consciousness.
* * *
“You really need to work on the whole, passing out after every fight, thing.” Brie said when he opened his eyes. he was sitting in flight one’s copilot seat and Brie was sandwiched between his seat and Samantha’s. Ronin looked at the pilot. If she was dissatisfied at all about having an extra person crammed into the two-seater cockpit, she didn’t show it. her eyes were focused squarely out the window ahead.
Ronin turned his attention back to brie. She was leaning into him, though that was largely due to the space constraints, and her face looked worried. She had one hand on his shoulder, the other one supported her on the armrest. The hand resting on his shoulder was covered in bug guts, Ronin assumed it was the hand she’d shoved the parasite into the queen with.
“What happened?” he asked, trying to get a feel for his own body. He didn’t feel injured, but it was hard to tell how quickly his body healed itself.
“You got yourself in too close again.” brie said with a crooked smile at his question. “The queen got her hand around you. She couldn’t penetrate your armor, but it looks like she was able to squeeze you hard enough to stop your breathing. You might have had a broken rib, but if so, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t healed already.” She patted him on the shoulder, sending gobbets of gore splashing onto his face. that made her smile even wider.
“Boss,” Guts said looking in through the partially open hatch. “Your awake, oh good, Owl five almost went on a rampage when you blacked out and you should have heard Sam…” he was cut off when Owl five’s gore covered hand covered his mouth.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better sir.” It looked like Owl five was back. Ronin sighed, wishing Guts would learn to read the room.
“Thank you, Owl five.” He said, knowing he couldn’t draw her back out now. “How is the rest of the team, did we lose anyone?” he asked, gently ushering her out of the cockpit and following her out. he gave Sam an apologetic smile as he left, but she was still solely focused on flying the ship.
“Everyone is fine,” Owl five said. “The elves kept the drones off the hull while we fought, and the queen has been restrained. She’s currently bound tight to the underside of the ship. she stopped struggling after I got the drone in, but with you out cold we didn’t want to risk it.”
Worried about that very thing, Ronin reached out through the mother parasite to the queen.
“Can you hear me?” he asked over the link. What he got back was a jumbled mess of feelings and impressions, along with the ship shaking violently. “Remain still, please.” he sent, and the shaking stopped. He got another jumble of impressions, but this time he was almost able to make them out. “Can you send them again? only go slower this time, I can’t quite make out what you’re trying to say.” The impressions came again, and the feelings along with them. this time they were much slower, and he was able to put words to what he was seeing and feeling.
“We’re sorry we hurt you,” she sent. “We didn’t know... We are sorry… we are injured… can we eat?... the birds are hurting us… we are hungry… can we eat?” She wasn’t speaking exactly, but the pictures and feelings Ronin was getting came together and translated themselves through the parasite into those words, repeated over and over.
“Sam,” Ronin said opening the hatch to the cockpit again. “Can you get on external coms and ask the elves to stop shooting the queen please?” he could see how difficult it would be for her to remain calm while she was continuing to be shot at, even if the arrows couldn’t really hurt her. While Sam was relaying his message to the elves, Ronin responded to the queen.
“I am getting them to stop now,” he sent. “It’s ok, you know now, and I know you won’t do it again.” he reassured her next, so that she would quit spamming his link with apologies. “I will make sure you’re fed, will that help you recover?” he asked, as he looked out the window again to see the elves had stopped firing. She sent him an affirmation, before continuing to tell him that she was hungry.
“Where are we headed?” he asked Owl five, who hadn’t left his side. Looking around for the first time, Ronin saw that K3 was also standing nearby. The rest of the cargo area was empty apart from his team. The remainder of his team and the elves having been shooed back into the troop transport compartment.
“Deeper into the infested zone,” she said answering his question. “We didn’t want to take the queen back to the wall, and we also need to find out just how far the locusts have spread.”
“Good,” ronin said. “Try to find an isolated place for us to put the queen down. she needs to eat to recover, and her constant crying for food is starting to get on my nerves.”
They flew for several hours, until they came upon a sea. There was an enormous city on the shore, that looked like it would have been right at home on earth, before the crystallin beetles arrived. The tall buildings were made of steel and glass, and he saw vehicles in the streets. They didn’t look like buildings or cars from his earth’s history, but they were from a similar time period. The main draw, however, was that the place was mostly empty. There were a few hundred locusts milling around, but that was all.
“That place looks good,” Ronin said over Sam’s shoulder. We’ll set her down, then land on a roof while she eats.” He was pretty sure the elves wanted to talk anyway. they were getting increasingly closer to his ship, the farther they’d flown. He’d considered leaving them behind once or twice but decided that would cause unnecessary friction between their factions. They still had to fight together after all.
They set the queen loose to gobble up all the locust drones she could eat. Before landing on top of a parking garage. Ronin had gotten himself cleaned up by that point, and all his people were still in fighting shape. Taking a breath, he took the collar off Elyria, who thankfully didn’t immediately attack him. He’d listened to the three of them talking, using the ships coms unit. He knew the other two had been trying their best to get her to see reason, it seemed to have worked, for now at least.
“I’m sorry I collared you,” he said trying to extend an olive branch. “If we hadn’t been in the middle of combat, I wouldn’t have… I hope you can observe me a little longer, before deciding that I must die. Judge me on my actions, that’s all I can ask.” He’d thought over that speech on and off for the last few hours. He wished he could just be rid of this insane elf, but he needed the elves to fight the locusts. So, he’d just have to deal.
He waited for some sort of response, but Elyria only stared at him coldly. She hadn’t outright attacked him though, so he chalked it up to progress. Tossing the collar to Soft step, Ronin moved over to the drop ramp. With a nod, K1 pressed the controls that would open it to the outside. The door opened to seven elven warriors, standing outside holding ornately carved bows. None were nocked, but that didn’t mean anything, Ronin had seen how fast they could draw.
“I’m sorry for the long flight time,” he said stepping out of the ship. “I got careless during the battle and ended up sleeping for a while. As you can see, I’ve subverted this queen. And…” he actually got more words out than he expected before lord Ellanaril raised a hand for silence.
“With respect, White flame.” He said, politely but firmly. “I would like to speak with my people before we converse further. I do not wish to sound as though I mistrust your words… however, this hunt has not gone how it was anticipated. I simply wish to be sure that our conversation can take place with mutual trust.” Ronin barely restrained a smirk. It was worded politely, but the elf had quite literally just told him; to wait until his people told him the story, so he’d know what Ronin lied about.
“By all means,” Ronin said. he motioned for Elyria and her escorts to come out and join their brethren. “If you don’t mind lord Ellanaril, I would like to explore this structure while you converse with your subjects.” He didn’t phrase it as a question, nevertheless the elf waved his hand as if granting him permission anyway.
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Trying to keep the annoyance off his face, Ronin walked back to the ramp. Motioning his people over, he looked at them all with pride. They’d all performed well under the circumstances.
“Firstly,” he said on the spur of the moment. “I’d just like to tell you how proud I am of you all. that was a tough battle, but you performed admirably. Yet, even before the battle, in everything I’ve asked of you. you’ve given it your all, and I appreciate it… still, don’t let it go to your heads. When we get back to base, I’m going straight to Owl two and having a queen card printed… we’ll see who can beat me then.” He smirked at a few people who’d stomped on him several times on the trip to the wall. Everyone laughed at his joke, then crisply saluted. The sound of their mailed fists hitting their steel covered hearts rang out through the otherwise silent air.
“Thank you,” Ronin said returning their salute. “Now, I want to explore this building while our friends talk. Karr, I’m sorry to do it to you but your team needs to guard the ship. Guts, you, and the food corps will be staying here too. same with you two, K1 and 2. Hunter, please take your team on a sweep of the building, Owl five can accompany you.” he didn’t need to give K3 orders, the Kaldarr was his unofficial, official bodyguard. He waited five minutes before moving down the parking garage. The building was packed with vehicles, and he wanted to give the scouts enough time to clear the area before moving out himself.
He moved down the rows, inspecting each vehicle as he passed. Most were four-wheeled two seaters, with narrow and short frames that sat low to the ground. He’d read several car magazines back on earth, and most of the vehicles reminded him of a ‘street buggy’. The tops were open to the air, with metal frames to prevent injuries, should the vehicle roll. There were also a few two wheeled versions that looked a lot like an earth motorcycle. It looked like someone had taken pre-invasion earth tech and overlayed a layer of science fiction on top. They looked sleek, with large wheels and good suspension. Not things one would need to ride on these well-maintained roads.
“More evidence of how unlike reality my adventure books are.” He thought, looking at the unrealistically designed modes of transportation. Still, they looked really cool, with their shiny paint jobs in every color imaginable. He resolved to put a few in the ship before they left this place. As small as they were, he could probably fit at least four of them in the cargo compartment.
The lower into the building he went, the less pretty everything looked. There were signs of struggle down here. smears of dried blood and shredded clothes. No matter how much blood, there weren’t any bodies. Those had all been taken by the locusts, as they stripped the city clean of everything they could use as sustenance. Picking up an abandoned firearm, Ronin examined it. it looked like a revolver from back home. Flipping open the cylinder, he saw that it still contained one round. He slid the gun into his pack, knowing that with just one round and the gun Owl two could reproduce it.
“Anything?” he asked when Owl five joined him some time later.
“No signs of life sir,” Owl five said stiffly. “There are some interesting artifacts laying around though, I’ve asked the scout team to collect what they can.”
“Thanks Owl five.” Ronin said with a smile. “Before we leave, I’ve earmarked a few of these vehicles to take back with us. If time permits, I’d like to go on a quick raid of the other buildings. I think this place is exactly what we need to advance our city by several centuries. In fact, after the war with the locusts is over, we’ll have to come back and clean this place out properly.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself boss.” Owl five said, not unkindly. “We still have two wars to win before that happens… still, I’m glad you decided to bring back that red one.” she added pointing to a brightly colored motorcycle, that sat low to the ground between two big wheels. The design looked like it would be comfortably driven off road, and it wasn’t one of the vehicles Ronin had marked to bring back with them. he sighed, already wondering which one of his other picks he’d have to leave behind.
“Lord White flame?” Ronin turned around at the sound of the voice, it was one of the elves who’d flown a sparrow over. He hadn’t heard the elf approaching, but since K3 and Owl five hadn’t reacted, he supposed that they had known he was there.
“Yes?” he asked politely.
“Lord Ellanaril has finished debriefing his brother’s wife and wishes to have words with you, at your convenience, my lord.” The elf finished with a bow.
“Very well,” Ronin said with a nod. “Let’s go now then,” he motioned the elf to proceed him, “If you would.” As he followed the elf back, he wondered. “This guy was a lot nicer than before; I wonder what they said about me?” as he followed the elf back with K3 and Owl five in tow.
“Lord White flame,” lord Ellanaril said with a bow upon their return to the roof. “I apologize for my earlier rudeness. Please, let us take a seat and discuss the situation.” Ronin really wanted to know what they’d been talking about now, and wished he’d thought to bug their clothes or something.
“They told him how you got stabbed in the chest. Punched Elyria across the room with enough force to shatter her armor, with the knife still inside you. before calmly pulling the bloody blade free, rearming a potential enemy, and politely asking them to wait while you battled the monster. Then how you jumped out of the ship, still bleeding, to do battle with the queen in midair.” Owl five said over private coms. clearly having read his thoughts, and just as clearly having thought to place a few bugs on their guests’ clothes. “It sounded way more intimidating the way they explained it, than it actually was.” She added… unnecessarily in Ronin’s opinion.
“Thank you,” Ronin said as he seated himself on the hood of a car. “Again, I apologize for any inconvenience the long flight may have caused. The queen I conquered was badly damaged during the fighting and we required a secluded place for her to eat and restore herself.” He watched the elf lord settle in on the hood of the neighboring car. The move so graceful and self-assured it looked like he was settling onto a throne.
“Yes, about that.” The elf lord said with a frown. “Elyria told me, at length, about how you are a slaver. Technically, that violates your oath to her, and you should have allowed yourself to be killed.” Ronin tried to interject, but the elf raised his hand in a ‘hold’ gesture. “I fully understand, after entering this small kingdom, that our ways are not the ways of humans. Also, the fact that you didn’t kill her, but asked for her patience while you prove yourself… I respect that. The biggest consideration by far, however, is the current situation. You are strong, that is clear. It would be foolish to deprive ourselves of strong allies when we’re on the verge of being overrun… but I must know the queen you captured will not slip free of your control. It’s too important a matter for blind trust.”
Ronin leaned back against the car’s roll bar and looked at the elf with confusion. This conversation felt a lot closer to what he expected from his adventure books. Except the elf was talking like the prince, not him… so what did that make him? he didn’t feel like a bad guy. Then again, a good guy wouldn’t be using advanced technology to enslave people’s minds, or shock collars to ensure obedience. Come to that, they wouldn’t condone breeding programs to create a genetically superior soldier either… “Oh my gosh, am I the bad guy?” He panicked as the thought popped into his head.
“Hold on,” he said weakly to the elf before he stood up and paced around the roof. He kept muttering, “I’m not the bad guy, I’m not the bad guy” over and over while he paced. The elves were staring at him in confusion and his own people were gearing up for something to happen. He’d just reached the end of his path and turned around when he found himself in a tight embrace.
“You’re not the bad guy, Ronin.” Brie whispered up into his ear. Her scarlet hair tickled his nose, and he inhaled her scent for the first time. The doubts fled his mind, only to be replaced by new concerns. “You’re in a tough spot, and doing the best you can… But I need you to man up now.” she said drawing back and punching him, hard enough to rattle his armor. “You’re our lord, remember? Can’t have you embarrassing us in front of the elves.” She was putting her helmet on as she spoke, and by the last word she was already gone.
Ronin blinked and tried to get himself back under control. She was right, he could have a crisis of conscience later. Right now, he had a job to do, that no one else could do besides him. straightening his shoulders, he walked back over to lord Ellanaril and settled back down on the car.
“My apologies, lord Ellanaril.” He said once he had resumed his seat. “I needed a word with a member of my team.” He decided to gloss over the whole situation and just hope the moon elf was polite enough to let it slide. “Now, about your concerns… I regret to inform you that I have no way of confirming my words. The drone parasite I used on the queen, was the last one I brought with me to this planet. Yes, as you assumed, I am not from this world either. All I can say is that I plan to use the queen against her sister queens. Should we fight this war together, her actions should be easy enough to observe. Also, there are a lot of queens out there. It is always possible that she will fall before the war ends. If that happens then you have no cause for worry. If she stays loyal to me throughout the eradication of the locust threat, however, I’d hope you can take that as proof the conversion is permanent.”
It was probably a surreal sight, to anyone who might come across the scene. An elf and a human, sitting on the hoods of cars on the roof of a parking garage, staring each other down. surrounded by elves, goblins, Kaldarr, who very much resembled fantasy orcs, humans, and giant truck sized sparrows. Oh, and the spaceship, can’t forget the spaceship. Ronin wanted to shake his head at the absurdity of his life now, but he just sat there, holding Ellanaril’s eye.
“Very well,” the elven lord said at last, surprising Ronin. The elf looked over at Elyria, who’d been listening intently to their conversation. “I believe, my dear sister-in-law will give you a fair chance now. She promised to ‘observe you a little longer’; if she finds you an honorable man after that, then I will have no troubles taking you at your word, lord White flame.” Ellanaril stood up then and walked to the edge of the roof. Ronin joined him a moment later, and they watched as the queen rampaged through the small number of locust drones that were in the area. “I very much hope, for all our sakes, that you can control her.” He said with a tired sigh.
Ronin could only nod. He’d nearly forgotten that the elves had been fighting the locust invasion for months now. How hard had it been on them, how many loved ones had they lost? He glanced at Elyria, who had by all counts gone insane from grief. Suddenly, his worries about being a bad guy didn’t seem so important.
“What will you do now?” Ellanaril asked after a time, still watching the queen’s eating spree.
“I intend to salvage a few things from this town.” Ronin said, deciding that truth was the easiest and best course of action with the elves. “Then, I plan to fly a circle around the affected area. I need to get a feel for how far the locusts have spread, and if there is any real hope of reining them in at this point.” Then, since he didn’t see the harm he continued, “I am still consolidating my foothold in this world. I will have to leave in a few weeks, for a short time, but when I return, I hope to bring a true army with me.” He had observed the elves strength. They were powerful individually, but there were only fifty of them allowed down at any one time. if they couldn’t be trusted, they could be dealt with. Although he really hoped it didn’t come to that.
“My people also made a sweep of the area and found the fight a worthwhile one. still, any good commander would want to see the field for himself. Go then, and when you return to the wall, we will face this foe together.” Having spoken, he nodded to Ronin, a nod between equals this time. before walking back to his sparrow. All his people mounted up at his command, and Surrallathil and Durrallathil mounted up behind two of their fellows.
With a shrill cry from Ellanaril’s sparrow, they leapt off the roof as one. Ronin watched as they soared away, back towards the wall. he didn’t know if he’d made an ally just now, or an enemy. All he knew was that he had a lot of work to do, and only a short time to do it.