Jessie was worried about Samantha and Neirdith. They had been gone for over an hour now and hadn't said so much as a squeak in that time. What was even worse, they had not responded to any of the messages that he and Creesh had sent in the last ten minutes either. Jessie looked at Creesh and grimaced, they were standing near the airlock behind Skorr whom they had just informed of the problem.
The huge creature was still a bit of a marvel to him. The massive metal being had to weigh well over ten tons guessing by the way they shook the floor when they moved. But this didn't seem to hinder their movement as Jessie had seen just how fast they were capable of moving when provoked.
"What are we going to do? She told us to stay here. But what if she is in trouble?" Creesh muttered to herself while pacing back and forth.
Skorr rumbled in seeming consternation at her remark saying "If she is in danger then that is reason enough to disobey. But we have no way to tell, and my sensors cannot penetrate far enough to detect her." The cyborg seemed to sink into themselves as they experienced a severe internal dilemma.
Jessie thought about it "She would have responded by now unless she was unable. It's possible that she is just occupied by something at the moment. Yeah, that's probably all it is." He lied to himself.
Creesh seemed to be in a similar state of conflict as she fluttered her feathered mane in a series of conflicting emotions. Finally settling on a determined look she spoke up “We should go out and look for her.” She stated.
“And where would we start? Jessie asked her, we don't have any idea where she went, or even if she was going to be back by now.” Jessie retorted. He passed his hand through his hair and tried to think.
While he was lost in his own conflicting emotions Gloom’s voice came over the ship's intercom nearby. “I have Samantha approaching on external sensors. She is not alone, but Neirdith is not with her, be prepared for trouble.” With this Skorr began to move, They drew that massive dark sword from the hook scabbard on their back and held it point down in front of them as they blocked the entrance to the ship.
The sound of the outer airlock cycling reached his ears as he crept towards the entrance behind Skorr. Looking through the titan’s legs, he watched as the airlock cycled and a very agitated looking Samantha bolted through, she pulled up short as she saw Skorr blocking the entrance and looked about to shout but was cut off by a scream from her immediate left.
A small man with blond hair was staring at Skorr with a horrified expression “What in Luck’s name is that?” He cried out.
Samantha looked at her companion and pushed him towards the figure saying “That's the one who I warned you wouldn't be happy to hear what happened. Now move!”
The man, whom Jessie assumed was this Yquillan person, stumbled towards Skorr and reflexively put up his hands in a warding gesture as he got near. Samantha walked right up to Skorr and announced “Neirdith ordered me to get him on board, she stayed behind, I fear that she may be in grave danger Skorr. We need to go out there, but there are enemies that would do us harm, are you ready to deal out some justice?”
“If they have harmed her, there is no plane in this vast cosmos that they will be safe from my wrath, I will tear them asunder with blade and fury, their corpses will create the foundation I will use to cross an ocean of death.” He announced in his deep grating tones.
Jessie raised his voice as well “You won't be alone Skorr, I'm coming with you. If she is in trouble we will tear this fucking place to the ground to get her!” He shouted vigorously.
Creesh said “I will accompany you as well. Skorr, will you be able to find her?” The large figure seemed to think for a moment.
“Unclear, the architecture in this place seems to have scan blocking properties, I will not be able to locate her.” They rumbled angrily.
Samantha cut in at this point “I might be able to help you with that. This is Yquillan, he is a UIA agent that was tasked with finding out about a crime ring here, he should be able to tell us where she might have been taken if she was captured.”
Yquillan gulped as Skorr turned their burning eyes onto him once again “Y-y-yes, I might know where they are centered in this place. But there are too many of them, they have a small army, and there are only four of you…”
“Five” said a new voice from behind them. As Jessie turned he raised his eyebrows in surprise. Behind them stood Grendel in full heavy riot gear and holding a railgun as well as three pistols of various types. “I will not stand idly by while the good captain of this ship is in danger. I was a soldier in the past, and the Mother willing, I can be again.” Jessie smiled hugely as the large man scuttled over to them.
Samantha let loose a loud growl and said “Yes, we would love to have your expertise on this venture. Skorr, what about Gloom?”
“Skorr has instructed me to watch over the ship. I have been thinking that next time we are in a friendly port, we need to get internal automated weapons installed by the entrances of the ship that I can control. Anyways, I will cover your retreat path the best I can from here and try to relay the data I can find. Good luck, and may the sun shine through you.”
Skorr reached up and sheathed the giant sword back into its holster before placing their giant hand palm up next to Creesh. “You will not be able to keep up with them for long, even with your bionics little Creesh. Come, I shall shelter you.” The juggernaut stated in a strangely gentle way.
Creesh looked up at their eyes and seemed to come to an internal decision as she shook out her feathers and hopped onto their giant palm. She let loose a high whistle of alarm as Skorr picked her up and curled their fingers into a sort of protective cage around her front, effectively giving her a ride in an armoured bunker.
“Woah, this is interesting.” She said as she peered down at Jessie. “Skorr move your fingers a bit, I can shoot between them.” Skorr did as she instructed and soon the barrel of her pulse gun was poking out from a small gap in Skorr’s hand.
Samantha looked at Jessie and he gave her a strong nod, Grendel did the same as they began to move out of the ship and into the colony, staying behind Skorr they exited the airlock as a tight group. The people on the street stopped and stared at the retribution squad as they appeared before running for cover in mixtures of terror and panic.
“Well, it looks like we won't have the element of surprise.” Jessie grumbled to himself.
Samantha heard him and chuckled while hefting her massive gauss gun, “We have Skorr, it's not like we need it.” Creesh gave a chuckle from her raised vantage point. “Alright, Skorr, Yquillan sent me the directions to their headquarters, it looks like it's about fifteen hundred meters away. Oh boy, this could get rough. We need to go back to where I left her though, just to… to make sure she isn't still there.” Samantha said darkly.
As they made their way cautiously down the road and towards the building that Samantha had last seen Neirdith, Grendel remarked. “These streets were clear before we came, I wonder if that means the people were alerted already, or if they fled for another reason?”
They reached the street where Samantha said they had last been together, and the first thing that he noticed was the dead body lying crumpled in the street. He tensed for a moment before realising that it was surrounded by red blood, not the bright blue of a Nerivith. Samantha motioned for Jessie to come with her as she made her way to the side of an adjoining building, where they climbed a series of switchback stairs to the roof. Upon reaching the roof Jessie saw her wrinkle her nose as if detecting a bad smell. As they approached the building the dead man had fallen from he began to detect the distinct odor of spilled blood and voided bowels.
“No…” Breathed Samantha, Jessie walked to her side to see what had grabbed her attention and his eyes glazed over as he saw the splash of bright blue blood on the rooftop beside a badly damaged concrete entranceway.
“There are drag marks here.” Jessie said as he looked at the scene. “Maybe she is okay and they just have her prisoner?” he speculated.
He looked at Samantha and was shocked to see her face contorted in a savage grimace that he had never seen on her face before, as she turned her reflective green eyes to him he realised that it was rage. “I don't care what they did, they hurt her, and I will flense the flesh from their bones in response. I will tear them apart with my claws!” She screamed as she slammed her fists down on the low partition between the two rooftops.
Jessie walked to her side and wrapped her a strong hug as she trembled. The Yeown were a very pack centric society, and so to lose not only a member, but the leader of her pack must be devastating to her psyche. He muttered some calming words to her as he stroked her upper back, after a minute of this she calmed down and relaxed a bit. “I understand what you are feeling Samantha, I watched my parents die, and was powerless to stop it. But we need to keep going, no matter what happens we need to see this through. Be strong for her, be strong for Creesh. I promise you, if she has been… if she is truly gone, I will help you kill every last one of these bastards personally. But we need to go.” He finished tugging her gently.
With heavy steps she followed him, as they got farther from the grisly scene she seemed to regain herself as she shook her head. Turning to look at him she lowered her eyes and said “Thanks Jessie, I was so focused on all the bad things that could have happened I forgot the whole reason we were out here. You are a good friend, I'm glad Creesh chose you. I think that you are the perfect match to temper her more ruthless side."
Jessie smiled at her as they made their way down to the others, when they reached them Skorr took a step forward and asked “She is gone?” in a voice that echoed with infinite pain.
“Yes, but there were drag marks on the roof. It's my opinion that she was rendered unconscious and then dragged away. For what purpose I don't know, but I feel like we do know where they have taken her.” Jessie relayed to them.
“The Administrators palace…” Creesh spat venomously.
“It seems the most likely, but we must be careful. They will no longer show us restraint, not now that one of ours has drawn blood.” Grendel remarked. “Skorr, you said these buildings block your scans, how far away will you be able to detect potential enemies?” the large man asked.
Skorr seemed to cast their senses out and after a moment replied “No more than one hundred of your meters, we will have to be extremely cautious.”
Samantha growled “The time for caution is over, I say we rush in there and kill every last packbreaker in that cursed place, we do to them what they did to her.” She finished with a head flick that made the longer hair of her neck and shoulders bounce.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
“I disagree.” Creesh said from her perch in Skorr’s hand. “I believe that we should move purposefully, but with restraint. If we are not careful, we could end up losing far more than just Neirdith here. This whole place is like a barrel of explosive powder, ready to blow at the slightest touch.” She said sagely.
Jessie nodded and agreed “Yeah, I think that's the best way to go.” Samantha thought it over for a moment before grimacing and nodding. Motioning to Skorr, Samantha had them start moving in the direction of the Administrator's palace.
Skorr’s heavy footfalls echoed down the narrow streets as they made their way to their objective. Jessie was hyper aware of his surroundings, every creak and clatter of the surrounding area seemed deafening to his stressed ears. They had managed to get close to the administration area without any kind of noticeable resistance. But as they turned a corner Skorr held up their crusher to signal a problem.
“I am detecting a multitude of signals in that building to our left, I believe that they mean to let us pass before jumping out to assault our rear.” they said quietly, well as quietly as they could.
Samantha looked at them and thought before saying “Jessie and Creesh you stay with Skorr. Jessie make sure you stay near them, Grendel, you come with me, we are going to catch them in their own trap.” Grendel bobbed his antennae in agreement as Skorr and Jessie continued out into the street.
As they reached a point about halfway down, Skorr suddenly stepped to the right and shielded Jessie just as a spray of automatic fire ricocheted off his impenetrable back. As Skorr turned and presented Creesh with a flurry of targets, Jessie leaned out from the cover of Skorr’s leg and let off a spray of fire from his MR-12 in the enemy's direction. Jessie smiled as he saw one of the guards' heads snap back as Creesh put a pulse round into their head. While the guards were focused on them they seemed to miss the large forms of Samantha and Grendel rushing up behind them.
True to her word Samantha had holstered her Gauss gun and unsheathed her claws, which she used to slash open the throat of the first guard that she met. Bright purple arterial blood sprayed from the ruined throat of the Slaaveth as they gagged and fell forwards. Another of the guards whipped around in shock and screamed as she took out his eyes with a vicious back swipe. Before the man could recover she slammed her claws through their chest and shattered their ribs with the disemboweling strike. As the guard fell another that seemed to react quickly pulled around their gun and lined it up on her snarling face. Before they could fire they were slammed back by a fusillade of shots from Grendel as he fired all three of his pistols into the guard simultaneously.
Jessie dropped another as they turned their attention to their rear, the compacted copper dust bullets carving devastating wounds into the guard as they were smashed to the wall behind them in a spray of blood. Creesh picked off another as Grendel charged the last surviving guard, he smashed into the unfortunate guard at a dead sprint, which for even an older Vinarfel was around thirty kilometers per hour. Grendel used the entirety of his impressive three hundred plus kilograms of bulk to crush the guard into paste. As he got back to his feet he wiped some of the blood from his thick riot armour and holstered his many guns.
Skorr waited till they had caught back up with them before turning and continuing on towards the administrative zone. “That was impressive as fuck Grendel, I don't think I have ever seen anyone move that fast before.” Samantha panted as they reached Skorr.
Grendel hissed in apparent amusement and said “That was slow, you should have seen me in basic training when I was younger, I could outrun almost all of my peers and even my instructors. They nicknamed me The Meteor as though I was capable of tackling with the force of one.” Jessie looked back at the pile of snapped bones and ruptured flesh that was all that remained of the guard that he had demonstrated on.
“I think that it's an accurate description.” He said seriously.
They continued on walking, reaching another street before Skorr again said “Possible hostiles around the next corner, they appear to be situated behind some sort of barricade. I will handle this one alone. Wait here.” With that declaration he placed Creesh down and drew Death’s Veil from his back.
Jessie watched as the titan stepped around the corner and was immediately lit up with all manner of small arms fire. They didn't even flinch as they let loose a war cry that sounded like a planet cracking apart, before charging with surprising speed. Jessie was once again struck by the sheer force that their footfalls seemed to have as the windows in the surrounding buildings shook in their frames from Skorr’s incredible bulk. Jessie peeked around the corner and watched in horrid fascination as the enraged monster smashed straight through the guards barricades like they were made of matchsticks and layed about with that titanic black sword.
Blood splashed and screams echoed as Skorr quickly cut down an entire score of guards with contemptuous ease. As the last corpse flopped to the ground in several pieces Skorr turned and raised their sword to the artificial sky and loosed another bellow.
Samantha and the others looked at Jessie as he turned towards them slightly pale faced and said “Well, looks like it's clear.” he said in a shaky voice. He had seen the aftermath on Medrigil’s station of Skorr’s wrath, but to see the ease in which Skorr had slaughtered those men, it was unnatural. Nothing with that kind of power should exist, it went against the laws of nature. Jessie was glad that they were on their side.
They continued to walk towards their ultimate destination as a group and were only about two hundred meters away when Smanatha made a surprised noise and looked at her wrist. Her assistant was chiming at her with an unfamiliar caller. Skorr halted as she stopped and raised her arm, answering the device.
A female voice issued from the speaker, its voice laced with false humour it spoke “Congratulations on your progress, but those you have killed were only the scouts, do you really believe that you can kill all of my men and make it to me? I know why you are here, and trust me when I say, you are not making it out of here alive.” the voice finished with confidence.
Samantha snarled and replied “I don't care how many you have, I will slaughter them all, there is nothing in this system capable of stopping us. You have no idea what you have done, the being you have angered. It's not me or my friends you need to fear, but Skorr. You hurt their best friend, and they are coming for you.” she severed the link with a shout of anger and took a few gasping breaths before calming.
Jessie looked at her and asked “So, What's the plan then?”
Skorr said “It will be as she said, nothing will stop me from enacting my wrath on this place. I will clear the way, Creesh, you must stay here, where you will be safe.” He once again placed the small avian down and then stood to their full height, drawing their sword. “I will clear the way, then you can follow and find what fate has befallen her. I will take care of this treacherous scum personally.” without another word the indestructible cyborg turned and walked towards the Administrator’s palace.
**********
Creesh watched as the huge figure walked away from them with heavy steps. She turned her attention to those around her as Samatha began “Okay, we will give Skorr a minute to clear the entrance, then we will follow them in. If they have taken Neirdith prisoner then she is most likely being held in the detention area.” She pulled up a schematic on her assistant and scrutinised it for a few moments before enlarging an area and highlighting it in yellow. “Here, if she is down there then our priority is getting her back to the ship. Skorr will be fine, like I said, there is nothing on this stupid rock that can give them any trouble. Us on the other hand, we need to be careful. Grendel and I will take the lead, Creesh you and Jessie cover the rear okay?” As everyone nodded in agreement, they heard the first reports of gunfire from the distance followed shortly by faint yells of terror and pain.
Creesh raised her feathers in satisfaction ‘Good, let them suffer and die’ she thought to herself as they waited for the noise to die down. As silence seemed to close in they moved towards the large palace-like structure.
Situated in the center of the colony, it was the grandest building she had seen in the whole place. It had garish over the top architecture of an unfamiliar type and was painted in bright eye offending colors in seemingly random patterns. They made their way cautiously up to the main entrance but need not have bothered. The remains of the palace defenders were strewn about like a plate of dropped food. She heard Jessie gag and reached over to grip his arm. He nodded to her appreciatively and they walked through the mess into the building itself.
Inside, the signs of Skorr's wrath were just as apparent. As they made their way deeper into the complex Samantha once more looked to her arm as her assistant chimed at her.
She growled and answered it, snarling as the face of an aged Razah'vool appeared. "What demon have you unleashed upon my world?" She cried in fear.
Samantha snickered at her as she said "I told you that you had no Idea who you were dealing with. You had better pray that Neirdith is still alive, or Skorr will drag out your suffering in a manner that breaks the mind to even contemplate. Though they may just do that anyways." She growled with satisfaction.
"Please, spare me and I will let her go. She is being held in the detention area, but she is unconscious. Take her and leave me alone, I swear that I won't stop you." She pleaded.
Samantha grinned as she began to walk towards the detention area "You are in no position to make demands. You have committed a crime, and will be punished accordingly. Skorr will see to that. Goodbye."
"NO NO WAIT PLEASE, MAKE TH---" Grunhort's panicked voice screamed before Samantha forcibly severed the link again.
Grendel said "Thank the Mother, she said Neirdith lives still. We must hurry, she may be severely injured."
Creesh picked up the pace to follow as they hurried down some stairs deeper into the complex.
Samantha grunted in surprise as a bullet sparked off her chest plate and quickly threw herself back into the stairwell as more shots rang out. Snarling, Samantha unslung her gun and hefted it.
Creesh looked through the opening and an idea formed in her head, turning to Grendel she asked "You have sharpshooter training correct?"
"I do indeed, why, what are you thinking?" The large Vinarfel asked curiously.
Creesh shuffled for a moment before she said "Well, I have an idea, it's asinine and dangerous as a wingterror but it might just be crazy enough to work. I'm going to give you my pulse gun and glide across the hall, while they are distracted you rush them. They are likely unfamiliar with how fast you can move and should be taken completely by surprise." Grendel just observed her for a moment with his impassive blue compound eyes and said nothing.
Samantha blurted "No way, that's way too dangerous. We just need to go a different way, or…"
Creesh shook her head quickly, "No, that would take too long. This will work. Trust me Samantha." She implored her larger friend.
Creesh grunted as Samantha wrapped her in a crushing hug and said "Please be careful Creesh. I wont lose you here."
Grendel held out two of his upper arms and Creesh handed him her sniper as Jessie walked up the stairs out of her way.
Flexing her wings, she tested the width of the stairwell and found it to be just wide enough. Sucking in a deep breath she leapt from the top stair and glided down the stairwell, crossing the hall in a flash she heard the sound of bullets being fired at her, but as she had guessed they were woefully inaccurate as she had taken the guards by surprise. She flared her wings and absorbed her impact with the wall with her reinforced legs as she dropped to the ground painfully.
Her plan worked perfectly however as Grendel rushed into the hall like a bolt of lightning and dropped all four of the hostile guards in a volley of shots. She tried to stand to her feet but screeched in pain as she felt something in her foot shift. Laying back down she winced and felt her left foot with her graspers, she gasped in pain as she felt the quickly swelling limb. She had definitely broken something when she had slammed into the wall.
Samantha rushed to her side and asked "Creesh are you okay? Are you hit?" Creesh gave her a smile and replied.
"I'm not hit, but I broke something in my foot when I hit the wall, or maybe when I hit the ground. Damn, trying to fly in this high gravity is really dangerous." She said with a pained giggle.
Jessie walked over and told Samantha "You keep up with Grendel, I've got her." Samantha nodded and walked over to Grendel who was keeping watch for more threats.
Turning her attention to Jessie as he knelt and scooped her up in his powerful cybernetic arms, she smiled as she joked "Just couldn't keep your hands off me huh big boy." She gave him a slap on the shoulder before wincing.
Jessie apologized "Sorry Creesh, it's hard to tell how good of a grip I have on you, these arms aren't very sensitive."
Creesh gave him a look as he carried her like a precious package "Yeah, we are fixing that as soon as we get to Highland. I'm going to buy you arms so sensitive I will be able to tickle you into tears." He turned red at her statement.
"You sure, those kinds of cybernetics are really expensive." He had a hopeful look on his youthful face that she couldn't say no too.
Reaching up and placing a three fingered wing grasper on his cheek she said "Jessie, you are worth it to me and more." He smiled with those strange flat teeth and gave her a slight squeeze.
She turned her head to look forwards and smiled to herself as she thought of all the things Jessie could feel with the new arms she was going to get him.