Sizzling projectiles flashed past Duke’s head the moment he appeared. He immediately split the group by using his TELEPORTATION to send Mira, Lya, and Aurelia to the bridge of the Iron Reaver. He sent himself and the Steel Tusks about sixty meters further into the massive hangar and out of the gunfire, he hoped.
A quick assessment showed that they were not likely the targets of the gunfire. As the trio of orcs scrambled to get their bearings, Duke had already spotted two groups of individuals exchanging gunfire in the hangar. One group was arrayed by the Iron Reaver, using its landing struts for cover while the other group was spread out around the ship using glowing barriers for their own cover.
“Syndicate! It’s the Syndicate!” Gro’nok shouted, raising his weapon to his shoulder and firing at the individuals behind the energy barriers. His two companions joined him and, after the first combatant went down from their fire, additional barriers appeared facing their way.
“Who the fuck is the Syndicate and why are they shooting at people huddled around our ship?” Duke was confused, not knowing who any of the players were or what the conflict was all about. Wait, didn’t one of the mutineers say something about the Syndicate?
Between shots, Gro’nok answered, “They are the real reason we were trapped here. One by one, they are taking out the competition. They mean to be the sole name in mech transport. Most, they have bought out, but I bet the pirates that trashed our ship were Syndicate in disguise.”
Duke nodded. Corporations doing corporation things. Guess it’s the same everywhere and it gives me an idea of who the attackers are, but who are the defenders? “Who are the others then?”
“Turin Station security. They are doing far more than they normally would. But they are not going to last long pinned down like this.” As Gro’nok spoke, gunfire started to erupt at them as more Syndicate forces came pouring out of the halls sparking the four of them to take cover behind some random supply crates.
Duke felt he had a good handle on the players and was about to act when a high-pitched whirring sound came from the Iron Reaver. He stared, stunned as he saw a pod pop out of the ship, spinning at a tremendous rate. Without warning, he was slammed to the ground as Gro’nok tackled him, shouting, “Get down! That mad Ignarri is going to kill us all!”
Duke watched as the spinning pod began to spit what appeared to be tiny fireballs at a ridiculous speed. The entire area around the ship was filled with flaming death in seconds. The Syndicate attackers huddled behind their barriers for the scant seconds they held the fireballs back but ultimately, the barriers collapsed, and they were burned to ash. Seconds later, the fireballs stopped, and the pod spun to a stop. Duke was relieved to see the security forces were unharmed but the area where the Syndicate forces had been was melted to slag with glowing runescript exposed and glowing ominously.
The security forces began to warily emerge from under the landing struts of the ship. As they got clear of the ship, the entrance ramp began to lower, the sound making them snap their heads around, still keyed-up from the fight. Duke noticed that the security forces were dragging more than a dozen of their comrades’ bodies out with them. Clearly the fight had a toll.
Gro’nok addressed Duke, “How did we get to this spot?”
“Magic. But is that really the most important thing right now?” He left the conversation by hastily walking towards the ship. Dammit! I reacted, rather than acted. Again. Now, my TELEPORTATION Ability is out in the open. What do I do now? Damage control? Not likely. Will have to downplay the Ability to a limited-use item. That might work.
As Duke approached the security forces, the doors to the station opened up which surprised Duke – he had not noticed that they were closed but the sound of them opening was unmistakable. He slowed his walk, looking over his shoulder at who was coming in and came to a complete stop when a pair of ten-meter-tall mechs marched in.
The security forces behind Duke bolted which told Duke the most important piece of information that he needed to know – these mechs were not friendly. As he quickly glanced around himself and processed the situation he noticed a few more things. The ramp to the Iron Reaver was already almost closed and the Steel Tusks had also bolted. This left him the sole person standing in the path of the mechs.
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The mechs’ amplified speakers rang out, “Stand aside. There is no need for additional bloodshed. Surrender the pirate vessel and you will be permitted to leave peacefully.”
Duke set his jaw and stared the mechs down. “What pirate ship would that be?”
“The Iron Reaver is a known pirate ship, and the Syndicate has been given writ to capture it or, failing that, salvage rights should it resist.” The mechs continued to stride forward. These mechs were different from what Duke had expected, being quadrupedal with no discernable head or cockpit. The expectation that was met was that they were bristling with weapons, none of which Duke was familiar with.
Duke felt a humming coming from the Iron Reaver and saw that some sort of shield had surrounded the ship, shimmering with a slightly bluish hue. As he watched, multiple weapons sprouted from the hull, trained on the pair of mechs. The ship’s external speakers flared to life, “This is no pirate ship and you are heavily outgunned. Go back to your masters and tell them to piss off!”
Duke smiled at Mira’s response and paused, waiting for the Syndicate’s next move. I want to do something but I’m really enjoying the standoff and, more importantly, I am not about to reveal any of my capabilities to the Syndicate. They seem like a large-scale faction that could cause no end of trouble. So…I wait.
Duke watched as things kept static in the tense standoff. The hum of shields and the occasional crackle of mis-firing runic circuitry from the previous fight were the only sounds for a full minute. The silence was broken by the appearance of four more mechs that marched in, blending their own shields with the existing mechs. These were nearly identical in appearance save for large protrusions on their backs that seemed to be projecting stronger shields than the original pair of mechs.
“Now who is outgunned? You wouldn’t dare fire any of your anti-ship weaponry inside a station hangar, would you? Nothing else you have on that relic will punch through a six-fold shield.”
Duke used his Jewel of Whispers to reach out to Mira, “Mira, this is Duke. Nod a weapon if you can hear me.” One of the multiple weapons, an energy cannon of some sort by Duke’s guess moved up and down slightly. Duke continued, “Good. Now, are they right? Do they have you outmatched?” The same weapon nodded again. “OK, if you have to run, do so. I’ll meet you at our last stop. Try not to trash the station if you can help it. I don’t want us to get blacklisted for destroying a hangar or worse.” One more nod and Duke turned back to the Syndicate mechs.
“You heard the lady, fuck off.” He started slowly walking towards the mechs as their weapons carefully began to track his movements. Got a plan here, Duke? Some of those weapons are as big as your torso. Might not leave much of you left. Duke continued to advance slowly trying to piece together a plan that wouldn’t reveal his Abilities. He wasn’t coming up with much. I don’t think I can punch my way through those shields. Well, maybe I could. I am a lot stronger than any person has a right to expect. It might work. Call that Plan B.
As more weapons trained on Duke, he paused his walk forward just at the edge of their combined, glowing shield. He reached up and touched it, feeling a tingle of magic and the start of an idea. This was, of course, interrupted by the mech’s speakers erupting to life again, “Please stand aside side, citizen. There is no need for you to be caught in any crossfire that may or may not occur.” One of the weapons aimed in his direction began to glow an eerie pink as if charging up to fire giving him the not-too-subtle sense of what kind of crossfire there would be.
Duke chuckled inwardly and started to walk around the mechs, his hand tracing the shield as he moved. They seemed to be waiting for him to get out of the way before engaging which left Duke with an odd feeling – he was not used to being overlooked and dismissed like this. The feeling firmed his resolve to act as he completed his walk behind the mechs. Ignore me, will ya? It has to be the AURA CONCEALMENT making me look innocuous. Good. Maybe I can lull them into a false sense of superiority and catch them by surprise.
His thoughts were interrupted by a large group of Syndicate troops entering the hangar, heading right for him. Well, plan C it is. He used the Jewel of Whispers, “Mira, get out of here if you need to. I’m about to get this fighting started!” He turned to face the approaching troops. There was more than a dozen of them but Duke was full of confidence – they were just people and Duke couldn’t remember the last time he had trouble in a hand-to-hand fight.
“You boys want to tangle? I’m unarmed but I’m not surrendering to the gestapo. I’m more than happy to beat you all to a pulp.”
In unison, the Syndicate troops unstrapped batons that crackled with electricity and advanced. Duke had an immediate flashback to the cage under the arena and the toadlike creature and his shocking baton. With a shudder he dismissed the haunting memory of pain and helplessness. He shook his head and clenched his jaw before stepping towards the advancing soldiers. His lips curled up in a feral grin as he forcefully engaged his COMBAT SENSE Ability and launched himself forward.