BigBadWoof and Misfit Writes:
'Khayone!' Grimar took half a step after the fleeing cyborg, then glanced back, eyes wide. The ship was lifting off, leaving without them! He blinked. A quick head count. Khantur and Shanni had remained aboard. Khantur was no surprise, but he had assumed Shanni would have followed. Khantur must have stopped her, damn him.
To his left, Derah waved urgently. 'Grimar! Khayone's getting away, and I'm picking up droids all over the place!'
Growling, he shook his head. 'Right, get after her, but take no chances.' He turned to Rusty. 'You with us?'
'I guess. sir.'
Grimar didn't reply, couldn't think of anything to say. Instead he set off at a sprint, back into the woodland in the direction Khayone had taken. Derah and Rusty followed.
'Derah, do you have Khayone on sensors?'
'Her and a zillion assault droids, yeah.'
'Any idea where she's going?'
'Back the way we came.'
'Don't let her out of your sights!' Grimar panted as he pushed his mesh-mek to its limits, jinking between trees and brush.
'Derah, flank left! Rusty, you take right!' He could just barely make out the cyborg's golden highlights up ahead, what the hell had gotten into her? A frown creased his brow. The scouts had taken a long route away from the factory, making use of the woodland for cover. If Khayone were headed back to the factory, surely she'd have taken a more direct route, so. what was she doing?
'Gotcha, five by five!'
'Yeah, yeah, I'm on it..*pant*'
Just then a deathly shriek washed over them and the scouts instinctively dived for cover as hails of bright photon pulses rained from the sky and raked across the ground. Grimar lost sight of the others, obscured by flying mud and burning foliage. 'Dammit, skimmers?' He snarled at himself, he'd been intent on watching for droid activity on the ground, should've known there'd be enemy flyers as well!
The ship was gone, but the thunderous roar of photon fire continued in the distance, punctuated by explosions and the shriek of missiles. Grimar rolled to his feet, railgun ready. 'Is everybody okay?'
Derah leapt into view, casually brushing a clump of smouldering moss from her armour. 'I'm fine.' She reported. 'What're they shooting at?'
'I don't know. Rusty?' The bushes rustled and a fallen branch rolled further into view, followed closely by the smaller canine's mesh-mek.
They could almost hear Rusty's grimace. 'You're all nuts if you ask me. What if she's been taken over by the Gyran network or something? Hacked?' A pause for breath, a small curse as the canine scrambled back into cover and almost lost his footing. 'Feck! Why don't we just let her go?'
Derah's response was clipped 'If y're so hell-bent on abandoning her, mister, why'd ya jump out of the transport in the first place?'
Good question, Rusty thought to himself. No way was he going to tell them about Khantur and what the commander had become, he was in enough trouble already. 'I ahh-, somebody's got to watch your backs, right?' Ghah, that sounded lame, even to him, so he added '.and besides.I want to find out what she's after!'
'Mister WooOOoolf! Where are you.?'
Khayone rushed headlong back towards the ruined remains of J-14, oblivious to the pursuing scouts and their shouted pleas for her to stop. Shockwaves from the bombings didn't slow her down either, she had to find him, he was helpless without her!
'I'm coming! Don't worry, I won't leave you, just you wait and see!' Ohhhh, where could he BE, she HAD to find him, she could feel him close by, now wher- OH!
'THERE you are!' The cyborg skidded to a halt and quickly knelt down amidst mulchy leaves and dense undergrowth. 'Oh, LOOK at you, you're a mess!' Giggling, she plucked a few twigs out of the li'l plush-wolf's pelt, then held him out at arm's length, her expression mock-stern. 'Don't you EVER do that again, you hear?' Khayone waggled an armoured finger under the mascot's diminutive muzzle. 'Bad wolf.' Waggle. 'I was sooo worried, I- awww, don't look at me like that!'
Just then the scouts caught up, gouging deep furrows in the soil with their armoured feet as they slid to a halt. The cyborg quickly shifted her torso, shielding the toy as clods of dirt sprayed past.
'Hey!' Khayone turned a mild scowl towards Grimar, 'We didn't throw mud at you!'
The lead wolf glanced at the fuzzy toy, his blank muzzle unreadable. 'We?' he shook his head. 'Never mind that, what do you think you're doing, running off like that?'
Khayone hugged the plushie to her chest. 'I had to come rescue Mister Wolf. He was lost, and all alone, but he wasn't afraid, because he knew I'd come back for him.' She smiled, stroking the toy's head. 'Yes you did, and here I am.' She looked back up. 'He's so smart. Mister Wolf knows everything.'
Rusty surveyed their surroundings, cleared his throat. 'Ah, sir? Shouldn't we find some cover?'
Khayone nodded agreement. 'Mister Wolf says there should be some disused tunnels near here. The droids will be busy for a while rebuilding their network, so we should be okay in there for a while.'
Grimar blinked. That sounded tactically reasonable, but. 'The toy- uh, Mister Wolf told you that?'
Khayone nodded. 'Yep. He knows all kinds of things, like sneaking and fighting and computers and stuff.'
Derah stepped forward. 'Can I have a look at that for a moment, honey?'
The girl tilted her head for a moment, then handed over the toy. 'Don't hurt him or anything.'
'I just want to take a look, make sure he's okay.'
Derah frowned, flicking her optics to full sensors, pausing before adjusting the settings. Her eyes widened. 'Grimar!'
'What?'
'Incoming!'
'Where are those tunnels?'
Khayone blinked, then pointed. 'That way.'
The scouts were already moving as a deafening scream filled the air. Photon cannons chattered, a rapid blaze of energy packets reducing the woodland to flaming matchwood.
Rusty kept his head down, bounding along in huge leaps. 'I thought WE were supposed to have air superiority!'
Derah risked a glance over her shoulder. 'That's not a gyran ship... DOWN!'
Four armoured bodies tumbled over a small rise and lay flat as a flurry of missiles streaked overhead. Seconds later a series of explosions shook the ground. Grimar cursed. 'Our own ships are shooting at us?'
Derah shook her head. 'It's not one of ours, either, it's one of the pirate skimmers, the freaky-looking green one, remember it?'
Grimar frowned. 'Barely. I only caught a glimpse.' He looked up, checked his sensors. 'We should keep moving, in case it comes back. Any sign of those tunnels?'
Rusty pointed. 'I think I see something, just over there.'
'Then let's go.'
'Droid deployment points form a vital part of Gyran's anti-personnel strategy. This tunnel, reaching back to the factory, stores a unit of assault droids ready to engage infantry. The concealed hatches provide the elephant of surprise.' Khayone ceased her recital, frowning at the toy in her hands. 'An elephant? Are you sure?'
She listened for a moment, blinked.
'An elephant would be quite surprising, I suppose, but aren't they a bit big?' She tilted her head. 'Hannibal? No, I never heard- Oh. Cool.'
Grimar shook his head, turned to Derah. He flicked to LOS communications. 'Did you get a good scan of the toy?'
'There's a little homing beacon in it, but that's all. I'd say it had a range of a couple of hundred metres.'
'No computer? No database?'
'Nothing, just screwed up rags, it looked like. Oh, and.'
'What?'
Derah chuckled. 'He looks a bit like you.'
Clad all in black, Ruchai Trammerden was a sombre sight, deep in thought. His human companion, Loh'leih, hovered nearby, datapad in hand. Eventually he looked up. 'Get me the scouts' personnel files.'
Loh'leih nodded once, then span on her heel and headed back into the operations centre. 'Mister Smith?'
Slightly wild-eyed, Smith cast a wary eye over the woman's skintight outfit. 'Um, yes?'
'Commander Trammerden requires the scouts' personnel files.'
'What?' The scouts very existance was supposed to be a secret, their technology even more so. He was probably breaking half a dozen treaties getting the mercenaries involved - the council would have him skinned alive for this as it was. His best bet was to salvage what he could from this mission, at least he'd have something positive to report.
'Okay, fine, I'll get clearance.'
The woman smiled, her eyes sparkling glassily. 'Thank you.'
Smith hesitated a moment. 'Can I ask you a question?'
The woman froze, tilted her head. 'Of course.'
'Where are you from? You're not really human, are you?'
Loh'leih just smiled. 'I'm not human, I'm androthi,' She paused, raised an eyebrow. 'We appear very much alike.'
Minutes later, Ruchai was sifting through the scouts' records. 'The vixen looks promising. She's impulsive, but smart. Hopefully smart enough to keep her mouth shut.'
'We cannot be certain which scouts are on the surface.'
'True. If not her, then the other female, S'than. Looks like she's the best negotiator of the pack.'
'Do you believe Ans'kil will be spared because of her species?'
'I sorely hope so. It's a gamble.'
Ruchai blinked at Loh'leih leaned over his shoulder. 'If Ans'kil says the wrong things, Jalya will no longer trust you. I cannot advise this course of action, it is too dangerous.'
'She won't be alone, we'll have a direct comlink the whole time.'
'I have misgivings.'
'Loh'leih, relax. Everything will work out fine.' He stood up, and placed a palm on her cheek. 'Trust me.'
* vshhhh-scout pack, this is vshhhhhh * A human voice, couched in static, crackled over the com.
Grimar blinked. 'Did you hear that?'
* -ander R'tan, this is Agent Smith, do you read? *
Derah waved frantically at him. 'Are you going to reply?'
Khayone piped up. 'It could be a trick, so they can trace the signal.'
Grimar frowned. Damn, that made sense. Who'd have suspected the girl possessed such tactical knowledge? 'I'm going to reply. When I give the word, we move, fast and low. Got it?'
The others nodded, Khayone clapping her hands quietly.
Grimar twitched his comms to full broadcast range. 'VDS1, this is Ahl'enn. Please advise.' He held up a hand, ready. If he didn't get the reply he expected, they were out of there.
The next few seconds were tense. Derah and Rusty stood at the tunnel exit, weapons ready. The message had been short, hopefully meaningless to the droids. How long would it take them to triangulate their signal?
The next transmission was a coded burst, a channel and encryption specification. Grimar released his breath, a sigh of relief. 'It's okay, but stay alert.'
The others nodded understanding.
* Leiutenant, intelligence suggests there are deployment tunnels in the area which you could use for shelter. *
Grimar blinked, prepared to give the signal. '...Affirmative.'
* We're making plans to get you out of there. Air units have sighted four of you, correct? *
Still wary, Grimar chose his words carefully. 'Affirmative. Myself, Ans'kil, Un'sarre and... one other.'
* Please confirm, Derah Ans'kil is with you on the surface? *
Grimar blinked, and Derah glanced his way, surprised. 'Confirmed.'
A new voice cut into the channel. * Grimar, my name is Trammerden. Two of my ships are going to pick you up. Yourself, Un'Sarre and your companion will rendezvous with our bomber. Ans'kil will be riding in our gunship. *
'Roger'.
* I'll explain while you move. I'm transmitting touchdown coordinates. *
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