“I swear, what is that moron thinking dropping smoke now?”
Lux hung her torso over the railing and watched as the raiders quickly became obscured by the dark plume. Up on the back deck she could make out Esma showing a similar level of concern at the odd choice of tactics. Odd for Lautnor at least as she couldn’t imagine a proactive CC like him taking steps to delay confrontation. If that had been the intent behind the smoke deployment.
The fact that he’d ordered them to the platforms prior to the smoke provided some insight though. He’d likely noticed that the raiders were taking advantage of the stack formation to limit the number of deck officers who could see them and therefore intercept a possible approach from the rear. In a way his response had been to force the enemy to double-down by making the sides even more undesirable as an approach point. He’d then followed up with a cost-effective method for herding the raiders away from the rear. Putting it all together, this meant the objective of making these plays was—
“Baiting a reaction then...”
Likely to get some more mileage out of the drum majors. Helpful in the long run perhaps, but Lux was of the opinion that Galen Runs should be treated with a more sincere approach.
“...that means running the risk of getting a reaction you might not like.”
And it would appear the first part of that reaction was silencing the drums. A welcome change as it allowed Lux’s ears to pick up the subtle but unmistakable sound of pistol cocking to her left. In response she stealthily shifted her weight onto her outside foot and allowed her finger to rest on the rifle’s trigger.
“Hey Esma!”
The brunette turned around and glanced down at her interim instructor, noting that Lux’s gaze was pointedly level and fixed towards the rear despite calling out to her.
“Trouble you for a hair tie.”
Esma reached behind her neck and scooped her ponytail over her shoulder, grabbing it by the end she waved it side to side.
“I’ve only got the one, and its impractical to run it down to you right now.”
Lux grinned and nodded to herself.
“You’re right, it’s more practical for you to stay up top. And you shouldn’t give away things you only have one of either. I’m sure we can agree on that much.”
Esma picked up on the fact something was amiss, the leading question and subsequent impromptu life tip alerting her to some double meaning. Instinctively she readjusted the grip on her rifle and followed the barrel of Lux’s. Well versed in the absurdity of her ‘late hands.’
And just in time to see the beginnings of a Volts body armor emerging from the tree line of the limestone forest. A short whistle gave way to the sound of a bullet rebounding as the opening shot skirted off the face of an emblazoned buckler. Not for the party of Cloud Nine, but for the faction of Baugh. A reminder of who they were up against. As if the fact they’d somehow reacted to a split-second shot from a sharpshooter wasn’t enough to get the point across.
Lux quickly discarded the pomp and circumstance, squaring up the approach that had begun leaking through the limestone towers. The angle of entry allowing her to easily distinguish each of the raider’s respective roles. Not that conventional stall tactics seemed applicable given the very limited amount of space between the two sides from the get-go. What would normally constitute the gunner being so far out front she didn’t have a shot to work with. So instead Lux targeted those closest, her main intent to apply pressure in such a way it forced them back towards the towers unconsciously.
As one would expect this was a lofty undertaking and didn’t allow the sharpshooter to offer any further instructions or guidance to Esma above. At the very least Lux being the more immediate threat should give the rookie some wiggle room to get a few shots in. Assuming she could build the nerve to do so.
In the meantime the two sides continued to exchange fire as the approach tried to organize. Understanding this Lux did everything in her power to stall them by targeting those attempting to merge. All the while staying rooted in place, a desideratum given she hadn’t been afforded the chance to connect a tether. Provided she’d have to make use of the railing as her tether point because Youn, the self-proclaimed son of a bitch, won the preferred platform. And with such close proximity between forces Wash would be advised to act sooner rather than later.
On cue the call went out and the Crusader created distance between the approach in short order. A welcome coincidence that offered her enough respite to reload. To no surprise the raiders did not pursue, choosing to rally the remaining members into the approach. But if they thought a little whiplash was going to deter Lux from remaining a hinderance, they were sorely mistaken.
Taking advantage of her new vantage point, Lux targeted the gunner along with the other party members heading the formation. Something they seemed ill-prepared for as they’d been distracted comprehending whatever orders the drum major was currently disseminating. A presence she’d long since sorted into the ignore pile. Better to leave the issue of the talking drums to the CO’s. Speaking of CO’s...
After baiting a raider into taking a shot for their gunner, Lux’s thoughts returned to the back deck. She’d been paying close attention and the only assistance coming her way had originated from the front. Faust’s handiwork if she’d ever seen it. And the main reason she’d been so comfortable staying in one position on the platform for the duration of the exchange.
Lux suspected her protégée would continue to hold off discharging her rifle until it became absolutely necessary. Something that could become problematic in subsequent visits. Furthermore a party of this pedigree would use this first confrontation to gather intel on the crews. And the fact she hadn’t contributed to the defense of the convoy would be noted.
As she was contemplating ways to keep a target of Esma’s back the Crusader suddenly lurched the opposite direction, back towards the approach that had since reorganized. The abrupt change forced Lux to brace herself against the railing to prevent going over, in turn preventing her from keeping two hands on her rifle. A problem now that she was essentially being thrown headlong back into the enemy. Though the speed they were progressing suggested command meant to force the raiders out of the passageway.
Aware of the encroaching Crusader the party members began to flee in various directions, namely those who weren’t confident enough to escape between the passing towers. Faust and the other officers, being on the lead Crusader, were content to let them go as a means to conserve ammunition for the castles later in the route.
But even with such leeway some the raiders skewed towards the center of the approach had been boxed in by indecisive companions and no longer had somewhere to escape to. Lux spotted two such Volts falling into the path of their Crusader. The bulkier of the two, owing to some heavy-duty body armor, took charge of the situation and signaled the woman behind him. She responded in kind and took up a position at his hip.
Deducing the pair meant to abandon their bikes and board as part of a last-ditch effort to avoid being crushed to death, Lux sat back on her heels and took her rifle in both hands. The plan being to knock the first would-be-boarder away while they were mid leap from the saddle. Meanwhile Faust could act to finish or delay the other.
Not that she’d hoped or expected otherwise, but it soon became clear Lux would be tasked with repelling the larger armored member as they drew closer. This raider had seemingly taken it upon themselves to make the best of a bad situation and being armored made them more suited for taking the brunt of the response. Perhaps he’d overlooked Faust or optimistically judged he wouldn’t shoot the woman as it could be interpreted as a waste of ammo under the context of a Galen Run. Not that working any of this out would make her job any easier.
“Sorry, but we’re not accepting passengers!”
Lux moved to intercept rather than receive, knowing full well she was at a significant weight disadvantage. But the raider wasn’t about to wait around for her to meet him either. As such he’d jumped with his buckler raised above his head. Intending to use the momentum of his landing to bring it down on her. An impressive display of dexterity and proprioception, commonplace among well regarded Voltigeurs. Their job was boarding moving bodies after all.
The buckler connected hard with the barrel of her rifle resulting in painful vibrations being sent up both arms. The decision to lock both elbows also had Lux’s back striking the wall of the Crusader behind her. Fortunately she had enough wherewithal to tuck her chin and avoid a knock to the back of her head. Gritting her teeth she mustered the strength necessary to push the man and his buckler back before he could find stable footing. The raider responded by releasing his buckler as it was allowing the blonde to focus all her force into one spot. He followed up with a somewhat desperate attempt to grab her. Needing some way to reduce the momentum sending him back over the railing.
Lux’s close combat instincts kicked in and she redirected the path of his hand upwards with her left elbow. The man adapted and grabbed the upper portion of her sleeve thinking it would be enough to pull him forward but overextended his right side in the process. Providing Lux ample opportunity to bring the other end of the rifle around and into the side of his jaw.
The clunk at the point of impact that followed was consistent with a dislocation of the mandibular joint and precipitated the raider’s legs giving way as his consciousness faded. Making it easy for Lux to guide him back over the railing with her follow through.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
That’s one.
Lux tried to reset quickly, recognizing that no shot had sounded beside her during the brief confrontation. Suggesting the other raider had managed to board uncontested for whatever reason. But about halfway through her turn she felt something press into her temple just above her ear. A throbbing pain formed where the end of the pistol had been driven, causing her to hiss through her teeth. She noted that the hand gripping the pistol was rock steady, a blow to her chances of surviving the next few seconds. But it was just as telling that they were making her sweat rather than blowing her head off outright.
A form of payback for the comrade she’d disposed of perhaps. Unfortunately for them Lux wasn’t much of a sweater, so she made use of the delay to search for an opening. And with each passing second felt more certain she’d make it through this. Because if they really felt that strongly about killing her, then her corpse would currently be sliding off the platform.
As moving her body would be grounds for pulling the trigger Lux relied solely on her sight to assess her current circumstances. Her eyes flicking from the cool gaze of the women holding her hostage to the front deck above her. Where she saw Faust partially slumped over the railing, pain evident on his face. His right hand clutching the fabric over his left shoulder as it grew darker by the second. She wasn’t sure where his rifle could have ended up.
By no means the answer she was hoping for as to why the other Volt hadn’t been thwarted but one nonetheless. Lux’s mindset promptly shifted to buying time for Faust to collect himself or better yet his rifle. That or wait for another crew member to take notice. Not too big an ask now that the approach had been partially scattered.
“You pull that trigger and it’ll alert the rest of the Crusader to your presence. And they won’t take kindly to my ill-timed demise.”
“Then consider this me not taking kindly to my own colleague’s demise.”
“Don’t write him off like that, he might be alive. I made sure to knock him unconscious prior to his pushing him over. Factor in the body armor and he’ll be right as rain after someone puts his jaw back together.”
“Interesting theory, shall we provide a control?”
“So my jaw remains intact and I get to stay conscious. You’re on.”
The two exchanged looks liable to make a passerby cross the street when a new presence appeared in the doorway.
“Drop it!”
Lux internally rejoiced at the welcome sight of Esma leveling her own rifle at the woman’s head. And though it was definitely false bravado the brunette’s tone and body language expressed that she was serious. She’d also taken care to position herself just far enough to react to any hypothetical forms of retaliation, while also being close enough that missing would be a real challenge. Though to the woman’s credit she did not so much as flinch at the new arrival.
“I said drop it!”
The Volt turned towards Esma but increased the pressure of the pistol against Lux’s skull. A silent warning to behave or else.
“Assuming we both pull the trigger, your side will face a much harsher blow than we will. Ms Optimist over here is a sharpshooter after all.”
It appeared Lux hadn’t been the only one carefully assessing things. If she had to guess her belt had likely been exposed when she’d raised her arms to meet the raider’s buckler. Not ideal if this encounter was going to come down to negotiating. What’s more it looked like Lux would have to be the one to do the talking as Esma was becoming increasingly overwhelmed.
“Can the sharpshooting optimist have the floor for a moment?”
“Just see to it your mouth is the only thing that moves.”
Prior to making her pitch Lux glanced at Esma out of the corner of her eye. And if the bead of sweat rolling down the poor girl’s face was any indication, it would be best to resolve this manner before things got any messier. Literally, as Faust was in the process of applying a tourniquet to quell the flow of blood running down his arm and onto the deck.
“Look, longer this goes on the worse your position becomes. Instead it would be in both of our best interests for you to turn over the pistol and allow yourself to be taken into custody.”
“And how exactly would that be of any benefit to me?”
“For one thing you won’t be shot. I’m not particularly interested in shooting you, our man upstairs is well on his way to passing out from iron-deficiency anemia and the brunette over there has an aversion to getting her hands dirty.”
“I don’t think that choice of idiom properly encapsulates my animus towards —”
“I mean listen to her ramble, idiom this animus that. Think that kind of person is a real threat to you?”
The raider let those words sink in and looked between both Faust and Esma. The latter scoffing indignantly as she half-lowered her rifle.
“I’m sure you understand this better than anyone, but firearms do their job regardless of how the person pulling the trigger feels. So go ahead and skip to what custody would entail.”
She didn’t know if this was part of the raider’s master plan to deceive them, but Lux was beginning to like this woman. Rather she might feel a skosh of remorse if she had to shoot her later.
“We’d restrain your hands and keep you in a space where further interference would be difficult to manage. As for after we reach Riga...I can pull some strings and get you some expedited processing.”
Esma looked over at her with a raised brow. Not a whole lot of sympathy in those emerald hues for the comrade being held at gunpoint. Meanwhile the woman had taken to tapping her foot against the platform, mulling over her options before speaking up.
“Consider it a soft agreement, we’re out of time.”
The raider eased the pistol off of Lux’s temple and offered it to her handle first. She then strode purposefully over to Esma whose body tensed as a form of defense mechanism, only to relax again when the woman offered her wrists for restraining. As Esma scrambled to find the cuffs lent to her from Wash, who’d been privy to the earlier discussion on taking prisoners via the speaking tubes, Lux inspected the pistol before tucking it into her back waistband.
“What’s your name legs?”
The woman held still while Esma worked out how to apply the cuffs.
“Carrie Roe.”
She’d used a common placeholder for concealing one’s identity in legal proceedings. Which meant her real name would have rung some alarm bells and potentially weakened her leverage for negotiations. Something that could have been avoided if Lux hadn’t hinted at her ability to influence the woman’s processing at Riga. It had also opened an entirely new can of worms she would have to start sorting through.
“Legs it is then. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go patch up Faust.”
She proceeded up the stairs to the front deck, leaving Esma to show their new prisoner to her holding area.
“Right this way, hope you’re not sensitive to heat or cramped spaces...”
*
“They got me good.”
“Yes they did. Fortunately we were able to make use of the terrain much the same way they did.”
“Looks like they don’t hand Class A operating licenses out like candy after all.”
“And I’ll be sure to extend that praise to Redcliffe later, but now we have new concerns to address.”
Cloud Nine had used the cover of the smoke to access entrances to the natural drainage systems running underneath the entire region. The use of which allowing the party to take up flanking positions while the convoy remained largely focused on the rear. Only the incidental deployment of officers to the platforms had saved them from catastrophe.
“It makes you wonder though, why not commit more members to the cause? They had us right where they wanted us.”
“I imagine the drainage systems are unimaginably difficult to maneuver and navigate, plus they had to squeeze through the openings between towers in order to commence the approach. Even a feeder of Baugh’s only has so many riders skilled enough to pull that off.”
Lautnor positioned himself with his legs crossed atop the console.
“I suppose it does make more sense to position the less skilled riders in the castles...that or Baugh’s party’s aren’t the monolith we think they are.”
“You think Hite placed his more prominent dissenters in this approach to thin them out?”
“It’d be a win-win situation. They succeed and the convoy is drastically weakened, maybe even toppled. The credit of which would go to him. Or they fail and his opposition takes a blow in what’s boiled down as a misplay.”
“I’m not so sure, according to the reports Reed wasn’t even present. And he doubles as they’re best rider and Hite’s biggest dissenter.”
The CC waved his finger back and forth.
“Of course he wasn’t. It’s in Hite’s best interest to keep him close, otherwise it becomes too easy for Reed to carry out plots against him.”
“All of that sounds very convenient, but without proof it’s no more than speculation. And it doesn’t change the fact that Cloud Nine has a working understanding of the drainage systems.”
“In that regard we might’ve shot ourselves in the foot just now...”
“I doubt any of the members making up those approaches were stupid enough to bring a copy of the underground map with them. They would have memorized it beforehand to safeguard their homefield advantage. As unlike the castles we have no way of digging up information on what’s below.”
“You called them castles again.”
Sumiye looked over at the commander as if his mere presence was a hindrance. An impressive feat for someone with what would be considered expressionless eyes.
“I’m mean I don’t have a horse in this race per se but pick a lane already.”
Before the head CO could dignify the commander’s nonsense with a response a transmission came over the main channel.
“Is now a good time?”
“Go ahead Officer Katsurn.”
“Seems two of ours have taken a party member into custody.”
Sumiye made eye contact with Lautnor, prompting him to put his own headset back on.
“Is the party member in a state where they can be questioned?”
“They are. To a worrying extent from what I’ve been told.”
“Go on.”
“They’re unharmed, struck a timely deal with Lux, and turned over their firearm. The whole shebang.”
“Alright, I see the problem. Give us a moment.”
She lifted the mic to kick around the matter with Lautnor.
“Well?”
“Normally I'd have Lux see this through, but with the injury to Faust we can’t afford to keep her off deck long.”
“Sounds like a perfect excuse to have Faust do it.”
“Not his MO, he wouldn’t be able to tell the good intel from the bad.”
“What’s the alternative, make the rookie do it?”
“Not a terrible idea actually, but I’ll have Cade do it.”
“Your reasoning?”
“If we’re talking about a place onboard a Crusader that can keep someone out of the way then the engine room is the only real option. Seeing as that he’ll be spending a bulk of his time there anyway, why not let him chip away at our guest as he works.”
The idea being that it would feel less like an interrogation and more like idle conversation to pass the time.
“If it means keeping our security officers free you won’t hear me complaining.”
Lautnor sighed as he leaned back on his hands.
“If nothing else at least Galen Runs aren’t boring.”