Sigil of the Wolf - 34. Chapter 34

Shifting Sands - Ordessus System

The shuttle lifted into the gap between a pair of large pleasure yachts, Katz repositioning the nose as he brought the bulk of the fuselage in to land on the narrow walkway. Behind him, Lauren was already up, her team of pilots turned Commandos opening the shuttle's hatch and letting it clang to the deck with a resonant boom around the massive chamber of ships suspended in the air.

They charged down, pouring forward and positioning themselves to cover the second force of Taïrians who advanced to the doors and through into the showrooms beyond.

Katz darted his hands across the controls, shutting down the shuttle as he got up, pulling off his helmet and tossing it into the seat, stopping to pull his pulse rifle out from its mount behind the chair, checking the magazine as he walked back down into the main body of the shuttle and down the ramp.

"Cheer up," he said, smiling at Firlotte who stood dressed in his utility vest tools poking out at odd angles, "The amount of subbing you've been doing lately, you might as well just give it up and become a Marine."

Firlotte shot him a dark look. "I would if I could do a push up..." he adjusted his grip on the sub-machine gun, "Maybe you should teach me..." he waggled his eyebrows as Lauren waved for them to advance into the showroom.

Katz stared after Firlotte in shock, before he shook himself down to rid himself of the huge grin that he'd gained, hurrying to catch up to Lauren, "What's the plan, Commander?" Katz asked, looking around the darkened showroom: floor model shuttles on display, stopping alongside a TER-SEC interceptor, a vicious-looking gatling gun mounted on its front end.

"We need to get to the bridge," Lauren stated, watching the pilots and Taïrians fan out and take cover waiting for them to move forward, "We'll be able to activate the ship's main drives from there."

"Right, should I lead the second team down to Engineering?" Katz murmured, distracted by the TER-SEC vehicle. It had been heavily modified from the old style, the Denver conglomerate's latest work, outfitted with Orion systems in a bid to win the lucrative TER-SEC contracts.

Lauren nodded, pausing to look over his shoulder, "What?" Lauren asked, looking to see where he was looking.

"We don't know how many Amsus are onboard this ship, right?" Katz said, slipping into the bucket seat under the gull wing door and firing up the interceptor's systems. He waited while the interceptor's computer ran through its boot sequence, a friendly splash screen reminding the user that the computers ran on Denver '56.

"You know," Firlotte chimed in, "That music is probably another way for Denver to torture..."

Katz flashed Firlotte a look and held up a hand to cover his mouth. "Shut up..."

Lauren shivered, looking about her again, over to the grinning cardboard cut out of the man who had violated her. "It's okay Squadron Leader, it was just a joke..."

Katz leaned on the small console and looked up and out at her. "You sure?" he asked, looking concerned.

Lauren flashed him a smile, hesitating when she saw understanding in the brash young pilot's eyes, and she realized that, given his past, he knew exactly what she had been through. She paled, knowing that he wasn't going to accept any bullshit, and she just offered him a nod. "I'll be okay..."

Katz released his hand from Firlotte's mouth, the young tech looking nervous realizing he'd just opened his mouth for the sole purpose of inserting his foot. He leaned down to help Katz as he adjusted the ship's scanning systems to search for heat signatures inside the Shifting Sands. Relieved that the Orion's had fitted a decent package to the shuttle, he smiled triumphantly and looked up at Lauren. "Thirty," he said, fiddling with the controls, trying to get better data. "I think we have a bunch of Orion crew members as well if the scanner's working right."

"Can you tell where they are?" Lauren asked, looking back towards him.

Katz frowned down, tapping more commands into the system. "I..."

The first bullet ricocheted off of the bulletproof Plexiglas of the interceptor, telling them all exactly where the Amsus were.

Lauren dived for cover behind a raffle table that was announcing the chance to win the latest Orion pleasure skimmer. The Imperials around the showroom began to return fire, their pulse rifles whining sharply compared to the staccato chattering of the Amsus firearms.

Katz reached down and tugged Firlotte inside the interceptor, allowing the technician to scramble over his lap into the passenger seat. The ace fighter pilot depressed the button to seal the interceptor's door, a second hail of bullets bouncing off of the hull and smattering on the glass denting the paintwork.

Katz assessed the situation as he fired up the engines, pushing back on the stick as the interceptor swept backwards on its anti-gravity cushion, knocking over the part of the display splintering the sign with Nicholas Denver pledging it will serve and protect.

The showroom was large, the size of a small arena, and Katz had plenty of room to manoeuvre as he swept the interceptor up into the air, bringing the nose around and tapping the weapon display.

"Come on, be Orions," he murmured, hoping to god they'd loaded live ammunition into the gatling gun. Frustratingly, they hadn't; it was a floor model, the last thing they wanted was some enterprising person doing exactly what Katz was trying to do.

Katz shrugged. "Hard way it is," he murmured, pulling back on the controls as the interceptor lifted up and over a larger shuttle a pair of Amsus were using as cover, the pair turning their attention onto the interceptor arcing over them and dropping down alongside their position. The police vehicle slid over, Katz nudging the controls as it knocked the first trooper back. He swung out for a bit more speed, and brought it back again crunching the trooper between the two vehicles with an audible squish.

The second broke from his cover, backing away from the interceptor as he backed into the firing arcs of one of the Taïrians, pulse rifle rounds chewing him up in short order.

Katz turned the interceptor, looking across the floor at a trooper bold enough to be unloading his clip at the interceptor. He nudged the interceptor around and fired the main drive, causing the vehicle to close the distance, its nose striking the trooper in the legs, flipping him up and over to crash against the cockpit canopy.

"You did that just to be tart," Firlotte accused, gripping on for dear life in the passenger seat.

Katz blinked. "Hell yes," he said incredulously;"I'm supposed to impress you, right?"

* * *

Darien nodded to the doors. "Cover us," he ordered, moving quickly behind the security desk the Inquisitor had been using, fortunately it was a standard security station; he slipped off his backpack, pulling Commander Durnham free, and searched for the right jack for the computers.

"You know," Riley said, "A little warning next time before you start shooting Inquisitors might help my heart condition..."

Darien looked up at the General. "It's good for you," he replied, plugging the connectors in and watching as the Commander appeared. "Elevators," he said quickly.

Durnham looked about him. "I'm sorry?" He looked confused.

"Elevators, can you turn them on?" Darien asked insistently.

"How exactly do you want me to do that?" Kit repeated, remaining confused, "They are a mechanical system, and last I checked the Amsus weren't big on computerising their systems..."

Darien glanced at Riley; the General was standing over by the doors, his Inquisitor's rod in hand as he stared out at the men watching the hall. An alarm was ringing, there had to be garrison troops on the way, pretty soon they'd be trapped in a firefight. "Stairwells?" Darien asked, "Can you get a schematic of where we need to go?"

The Commander nodded. "Code slicing isn't something I get much experience with, but Lieutenant Elias was quite thorough in updating my capacity for it after the Eisenhower affair, this will take a minute..."

Riley looked over at Darien. "The garrison has to be moving into position, they'll be here soon."

"I know," Darien said, shaking his head, "We weren't counting on the Inquisitor..."

Riley returned to the security desk, watching the commander as he tried to search for an alternate root. Shaking his head he swore, "We don't have time for this."

He turned and levelled the rod at the elevator doors and fired twice, disintegrating the doors. His first shot blew open the shaft as the second shot disintegrated the cables supporting the car. Somewhere beneath them, a loud explosion of sound echoed through the facility as the elevator car crashed into its depths.

Commander Durnham looked up from his work to stare at the General in disbelief. "I guess that solves that problem..."

The General gestured to a couple of his men, pulling back from their positions covering the doors to pull the rappelling gear from their backpacks. The remaining Commandos began to open fire as the first of the Amsus troopers began their slow advance up the hall. The Commandos used the Amsus defences for cover, laying down suppressive fire.

"They'll hold for awhile," Riley bent and recovered the second Inquisitor's rod and looked over at Darien. "Do we have a map yet?"

Kit nodded as Darien unclipped him, tucking the computer back into the backpack and jogging across the elevator lobby to the open shaft. He looked back at the men who were fighting behind him.

He lifted his arms as Shale buckled the support harness around him, slipping his PKD back into its holster as the firefight in the hall behind him began to intensify.

"Are you sure they can hold them?" Darien asked, looking at Riley.

Riley looked up from where he rested preparing to swing down the shaft. "Not for long, but the Amsus are in the open, and we have cover. We need to hurry though." He tucked the rods into his belt as he stepped off the edge, beginning to rappel down the inside of the elevator shaft.

Shale indicated Darien should go next, watching the Highlord carefully as he began his descent. He paused to hook a rope onto his own harness and shifted his shotgun on its sling so he'd have easy access to it as he began to make his way down behind the Highlord.

The walls of the elevator shaft were almost mirror smooth, and Darien struggled to find purchase as his feet slipped out from under him, nearly loosing his grip on the rope. He grabbed on tight and steadied himself, trying to keep his balance, feeling his whole body begin to shake from the exertion. His feet slipped again and he felt Shale swinging down, taking a hold of him, and supporting him as they began to descend again.

Riley was first down. Stopping at the doors, he tugged the rod free and shot them open, he bounced and swung to the right side of the doors as a burst of gunfire slammed into the wall behind where he had been. He stuffed the rod into his belt. He fought to catch onto something before he swung back into the open doors and into the path of the gunfire again, his hand closing around a pipe as he wrenched awkwardly, dangling a second as he steadied himself.

He looked back up at the shaft towards Darien and Shale, grinning as he worked a grenade out of his other pocket. He was more than happy to let the Amsus troopers play with that, and he casually tossed it through the doors and did his best to cover his ears. The explosion sent debris into the elevator shaft; a muted thump silenced any more gunfire and the General swung about flipping into the hall and ducking his head back inside.

"Coming?"

Darien dropped in behind him as Riley shrugged out of the Inquisitor coat, his pair of rods sweeping for anything that moved. A couple of shots ensured that they didn't do so again. He twirled one of the batons in his hand and smiled. "That was fun."

Shale grunted as he came into the corridor, releasing the rope to allow the two Commandos behind him to descend, the gunfire from above still echoing as the rest held the attacking Amsus garrison at bay. Shale sweeping his own coat off as he brought his shotgun up to cover the group.

Darien knelt, sliding Kit out again. "Which way?" He asked, looking at the corridor about them.

The holographic projector lit up and highlighted a diagram: a quick and clear route that would lead them into the Propylon chamber. "It's through a door to your right," Darien remarked, looking up and pointing to the right.

"Right," Riley murmured eyeing the distribution of defences that had to be manned, "It's going to get tougher from here."

Darien reached into his pack, pulling out the attachments for his PKD, rotating and sliding the weapon together as he converted it into its sub-machine mode, glad that he'd spent the time to recover the components aboard the Shifting Sands. Behind him, the Commandos disposed of the bulky pieces of Amsus body armour while Riley joined Shale in covering them.

The General took the time to survey the corridor ahead of them, pulling back as the troopers guarding the entranceway to the chamber shot at him. He mumbled a curse: he should have seen that coming.

"A squad sitting on the door," Riley said, looking back... in time to watch a small canister bounced up to the corner and rebounded past their junction. "Grenade!" he turned white as he leapt backwards, the explosion shedding flame and shrapnel around them.

The Imperial strike team picked itself up, Riley shaking his head and coughing, a trickle of blood from where a piece had punctured his skin; they'd been lucky the hall had channelled most of the debris away from them. He uttered a curse, spinning the two rods as he swung around the corner and opened fire, stepping bodily into the corridor yelling as he walked through the black smoke, the twin rods bucking and firing as he poured shots into the Amsus troopers, expecting at any moment to be riddled with holes.

"Riley!" Darien caught the General's shoulder and pulled him back, and Riley stopped his war cry as he realized there was no shooting. Both men turned to look at the devastation the twin rods had made of the Amsus position. It was with good reason Inquisitors were terrifying.

Molten metal dripped from where a couple of his shots had gone wide, searing holes in the ceiling, dripping onto the smouldering remains of the troopers literally cooked as the rods had incinerated the air around them.

"Oh-oh god..." Riley murmured as he tried not to be sick, the smell was incredible as was the heat. He turned his head and brushed his nose, shaking his head against the vomit.

Darien stared down the hall for a long moment, remembering his own encounter with an Inquisitor back aboard the Orion guildhall, trying to seek cover behind a heavy metal stove and watching the weapon burn its way through it melting it like cheese on a hotplate. He'd been lucky then, the Amsus had not.

* * *

Sephradon watched as molten metal dripped down from the holes melted in the door from the bolts that had seared through it. She stared down one of the stray bolts hovering in the air before her, so close... It had taken all of her will to stop the weapon from hitting home. A lucky shot and she would have been dead.

She swept her hand to dissipate the energy harmlessly, looking at the Amsus fleet officers clustered around her, their weapons drawn and levelled. Pachyeus-Ra was breathing heavily as he awaited her orders.

Her beautiful face twisted into a snarl. "Kill them!" she intoned as she walked back towards the Propylons.

* * *

The doors ground open with a shuddering lurch; powerful pistons forcing the melted blast doors apart, the thick smoke in the hall clearing as it was swept into the massive Propylon Chamber. There was a yell as Amsus fleet officers began pouring forward. Darien and the two Commandos met them, sending automatic fire into their ranks, the PKD sending the bodies flying as they braced for a second charge.

The shots fell silent and through the dissipating smoke a huge, armoured behemoth appeared. He stood resting on a Polian staff weapon, heavy black armour plates etched in complex patterns, undulating as he breathed. The fingers on Ra's free hand flexed with anticipation as the smoke curled away from him. The deep pattern of interlocking plates were sliding and grinding as he stared the Imperials down, daring them to make the first move.

Darien shook his head, lifted the Assault PKD to his shoulder, and opened fire.

The electromagnetic shield sprang to life, a shimmering screen of light that flared with each impact, deflecting the shots aside and sending them smashing into pieces of electrical equipment that shattered and exploded under the force of the blasts. The fire echoed into silence as the Imperials realized they weren't doing any good.

Pachyeus-Ra began his advance, slow methodical steps, heavy biomechanical footfalls that rang on the solid black floor. Ahead of him the clustered group of Imperials began to back up the corridor, trying a second volley of fire, shots ringing uselessly off of the shield as they too were deflected aside.

Riley stumbled, the Polian almost on top of him, shakily lifting his rods, tossing the first aside when it trilled it was out of power. He began to sweat as he brought the second one up, cursing loudly as that one also trilled, expended to clear the hall. He breathed closing his eyes as Ra loomed over him. The massive form clanked past him as if he wasn't there, not even bothering to acknowledge the General with a turn of his head.

Riley fumbled for a replacement charge as Ra carried on down the corridor towards the intruders.

Shale, keeping to the cover of the elevator corridor, swung around the corner and opened fire, the blast similarly faring no better than the other weapons had, the shot smattering uselessly as the shield absorbed the blast, the force of the buckshot rippling over the shield.

The Taïrian lifted his shotgun after a single shot, snarling as he swung back around the corner, pulling one of the Commandos with him, keeping the boys head down as Ra's staff dropped level and opened fire. The crystal flared as the liquid hot bolt of light erupted from the shaft, roaring up the corridor towards Darien.

He tripped, the Highlord stumbling backwards and falling to the ground as the bolt swept past him. It charged the air above him sweeping past to rend open a pair of double doors at the far end of the hall, sending them spinning out onto a broad service catwalk that ran beneath the suspension bridge.

Darien scrambled to his feet, slipping again as he began to back-pedal, desperate to get to his feet before Ra could fire again. The massive visored helm angled towards him as the staff came about, ready to end his life in a blaze of brilliant light.

The roaring Taïrian plunged from the side corridor, stepping in and swinging his shotgun as if it were a club, connecting on the first strike and causing Ra to stagger. The second blow was intercepted by the staff, the Polian spinning the beautiful weapon in a graceful dance that flipped the shotgun from Shale's hands seconds before it swept his legs out from underneath him.

Ra's staff came up again as he sighted in to fire on Shale.

"No!" Darien yelled, as he fired again; as the shield snapped up, Ra's sweep was stopped firm, refusing to move as the shield gripped the staff, inches from being able to fire. The PKD whined as its burst of fire kept the shield active and held the staff immobile.

The shield crackling over his head, Shale saw his opportunity. Powerfully he thrust upwards, his paws locking onto the Polian's weapon, muscles bulging as he forced the staff, still gripped by the shield, away from him. The massive bulk that was Ra teetered as he staggered. Darien released his trigger, and with it the shield, allowing Shale to tear the staff weapon from the Polian's hands.

Spinning to regain his balance, Ra braced his heavy feet, his haunches pistoning as he stabilized himself. Taking a slow step backwards, he lifted his arms as the sheathed triple hooked barbs shrieked from each of his gauntlets, the deadly weapons glimmering in the light moments before the creature burst into motion.

His first blow raked open the front of Shale's shirt; the surprised Taïrian was unprepared for the ferocity of Ra's counterattack. He brought the staff up, using it to ward off the crashing blows, driven back step-by-step, the staff blurring as Ra continued to pressure him onwards.

It wasn't fast enough; panting, Shale tried to bring the staff around to snap off a quick shot, Ra side stepping as two of his hands seized the weapon dragging it up, his tertiary arm swinging downwards as its blades splintered the staff in the Taïrian's grip. The resonant crystals detonated their charge, a bright burst of energy and light that blew both combatants back.

Shale ground to his knees as he slid across the floor, his eyes wild as his head snapped up. Ra rebounded from the wall landing heavily on his feet, up and charging again, his blades swinging in a deadly scything arc. The two collided, Ra's weight bowling the huge Taïrian over onto his back, struggling against the wall as he fought to get away from Ra's grappling clutch.

The pair of Commandos tried to scatter and get clear, one scrambling forward to help the Taïrian Captain swinging his rifle to block Ra's blow, drawing the full wrath of the Polian Inquisitor. He backed up a step shaking as Ra rose to his feet, his clawed hands flying as he drove the sharp barbs into soft human flesh pulling the dying man towards him before he cast him aside.

His gauntleted hands closed upon Shale's legs dragging the frantic Taïrian towards him, Shale clawing for any kind of purchase that would let him escape, frenzied legs kicking to get free as Ra's hands yanked him upwards, throwing him bodily through a side door, the metal buckling under the weight of the alien crashing into it.

Coldly, Ra's bladed arm drew back for a final, life-ending thrust. He slammed his hand forward, smashing the blades into the glowing green shield that sprang to life around him. The metal barbs impacted with his shield again as they buckled and broke under the force of his strike.

Slowly, Ra's visored helm rotated to regard the troublesome human who had dared to deny him his rite of execution.

The Polian Inquisitor turned his attention from the fallen Taïrian, letting the limp body drop to the ground and stepping over it. Striding down the corridor, Darien fixed squarely in his sights as the Highlord ejected his magazine, switching it for a fresh one. Ra marched with murderous intent pausing only long enough to rend the last Commando who tried to jump into his path.

The brave young soldier bellowed a line from a Kardiac prayer as he threw himself between the monster and his commander, both hands slipping from the rifle as Ra sent it spinning from his hands, the sharp blades savagely raking the boy from stem to stern.

Darien's eyes narrowed angrily, continuing to back up the hall realizing that he was now alone fighting the behemoth that had torn through his strike team. He watched as Ra took his time advancing on him, content to drive the human back and through the shattered doors and onto the flat platform that connected to the catwalks over the volcano basin.

Darien stepped around the doorframe, out of Ra's view, glancing quickly about him as he ran, vaulting the railing of the catwalk and out onto the high beam lattice that supported the bridge above. The slippery metal beneath his feet threatened to cast him down into the factories on the basin floor far below him, and he flailed his arms to regain his balance, realizing that he had made better command decisions in his time.

Ra sprang out of the door, his arms pulling him through as he landed on the catwalk, looking out at the human balanced on the support beam his arms wide and wind whipping around him, wavering as he tried to keep his footing.

"Come on!" Darien taunted as he wobbled out a bit further, grabbing onto one of the power cables, nearly slipping and plummeting to his death. "What's the matter? Don't want to fight a human on his own terms?"

He sagged, his fingers tingling feeling a powerful rush of vertigo, his knees growing unsteady beneath him. Not now... not now...

Ra watched him, clanking forward to grip the railing, watching Darien sink to a knee, clutching his head as he pitched dangerously forward, his death grip on the cable the only thing saving him from an impossibly high fall. His other hand flew out behind his as he lost his grip on the PKD, the weapon spinning from his hands as it clattered past him free falling into the basin below him.

Ra considered the situation, his helm angling so that he looked across the girders and up at the suspension wires that held the bridge aloft. Testing their weight as he stepped over the side, the claws of his feet tightened over the bars providing purchase on the slippery metal.

The black figure slipping from the shadows of the girders above swung forward with his full force, green woolen coat billowing as he collided into Ra, sending the Polian crashing back over the rail and sprawling to the catwalk.

Darien looked up weakly as James leapt away from Ra, bounding back up onto the rail and over Ra's clumsy attempts to catch him, nimbly sweeping under the back swinging blades as he dived aside, up onto a support guide wire and around into the girders again vanishing into the shadows.

Ra came up, studying the darkness above him, his attention firmly fixed there, abandoning Darien, the Highlord no longer a threat to the Polian Inquisitor as it stalked its new prey. There was plenty of time to finish Darien after the assassin was dead.

Darien swayed again, his legs giving out completely as he sank to the girder, his eyes closing as he lay there, fluttering open as he watched James strike again. The Fida'i swang down from the darkness and landed easily on a parallel girder to the walkway, cocking his head to one side and bouncing on his toes as Ra swung for him. Without looking he hopped back to another girder just out of the sweeping reach of the wicked barbs, bouncing again as he ran lightly, leading Ra further out onto the catwalk.

Ra marched along, his hand dropping to his side as he drew a Polian shard weapon, the crystal shard discharging as he attempted to incinerate the rapidly moving man before he could close again. James ducked and weaved, dodging the shots as he closed the distance with Ra, sweeping low again his black blades dropping into his hands as he came up slicing with them in an intricate dance, slipping back and away from Ra's clutches.

Ra raised his arm to fire the shard weapon again, a flicker of surprise as the tertiary hand was sliced neatly by the sharp Fida'i knives, sliding from the useless limb, falling away, the weapon dropping to the catwalk floor.

Ra ignored the injury, the wound closing as he began to regenerate, abandoning the weapon as he brought his gauntlets in a sharp series of punches, the spinning and weaving Fida'i parrying the thrusts with his twin blades, giving ground as Ra drove him with his powerful strokes back inch by inch, attempting to corner the dextrous assailant in a place where there was nowhere left to run.

Darien swallowed, shaking openly as he tried to haul himself along the girder, feeling his hands refusing to co-operate as he nearly slipped again, both arms wrapping around the metal as he clung on for dear life, inching his way back towards the catwalk. Finally, feeling his hand clutch onto the rail, breathing easier, he pulled himself over it and collapsed panting to the walkway.

James had run out of places to run, he dived low, rolling under Ra as the Polian drove his blades down through the metal of the catwalk, the metal shrieking as they punctured through the tails of James's woolen coat, pinning him to the ground. Ra turning, breaking his blades as he left them in place, his heavy foot driving James back down to the metal catwalk floor.

"Enough!" Darien yelled above the wind, rising to his feet holding the Polian shard weapon in his hand, remembering the warning Pointer had given him back on Ararat, about the only weapon capable of punching through a Polian shield.

His hair stirred by the wind, gave him a countenance of death as he sighted down the length of the weapon, his hand shaking openly despite his best efforts to keep it still. It didn't matter; the shard weapon's blast radius would ensure it hit something as big as Ra.

The armored form gauged the unsteady hand, his visor lifting to look into Darien's dark, confident eyes. Reading the determination there, he lifted his foot off of the fallen Fida'i, advancing slowly towards Darien.

"Stop!" Darien commanded, hefting the weapon and squeezing it tightly.

Ra stopped obediently.

Darien nodded, his eyes closing as he sank to a knee, shaking his head to fight off the blackness seeping into his vision. He had to stay upright, he had to...

Ra took another few steps forward, moving cautiously, watching the weapon in Taine's hand as it rose and fell, the Highlord trying to keep it leveled on him. The weapon sank again as Darien tried to get back to his feet.

Darien backed up a few steps, falling backwards as he sat heavily, the weapon lying in his hands as he tilted his head up towards Ra, shaking his head. He didn't have the strength, he couldn't stop it...

Ra came forward again, advancing more confidently, his gaze centred solely on Taine, the weary human having surrendered to his will.

There was a sharp snap, and both of them felt the catwalk shift beneath their feet. Ra turned as James, free of his coat, bounded up to the other side, his sharp knife cutting through a second guide wire. He looked back at Ra and shrugged as that wire gave way with a loud crack, the catwalk swinging wildly.

Darien got to his feet, the catwalk pitching and lurching as it tilted. Ra's feet slipped out from under him as he tangled on a pair of the remaining guide wires. His blades tried to cut himself free as he struggled to find purchase on the teetering grated metal. Finding none, he lunged with his arm to grab for the far rail, bending the metal as he hauled himself upright.

Darien slammed into the rail, feeling the whole catwalk tilt precariously as more wires gave way. Stuffing the rod weapon into the pocket of his coat, he used both hands to hold on for dear life.

The bridge bucked, rolling as it swung. Ra reaching out to grab for the Highlord, intent that if he was to fall then he would drag the damnable human down with him, bringing his last bladed arm to grab for Darien's jacket. There was a glittering of satisfaction from the eyes behind the cracked visor, delight in bringing death to his enemy.

It was short-lived.

The entire catwalk gave out beneath them. Ra's grab turned into a desperate clutch as he fell, the blades cutting as he plunged downwards towards the darkened rooftops of the factories below.

Darien clung to the wreckage, feeling the pain from his left cheek where the blades had bitten deep. He fought to keep his balance as more of the catwalk fell out from beneath him, swinging as he held onto one of the guide wires. He reached out a hand as he worked his way towards the door; a few more feet and he could pull himself up... he looked up as he felt his hand slipping.

He had enough time to look up at Shale in the doorway, the battered Taïrian reaching out a paw for him. There was a look of regret on Darien's face as he mouthed, "Oh shit!" before he plummeted downwards.

He jerked sharply from his backpack straps as Shale's paw closed upon them. The dark muzzle smiled as he hauled Darien up and into the open door, the two battered warriors panting and looking at each other gratefully.

Across the gaping gap, James bounded up and back into the darkened rafters, vanishing again.

* * *

Sephradon's hands glided over controls, repositioning the Propylons to summon more of her personal guard. She had no doubts in Ra's capabilities; she was simply one who preferred caution. She reached for the actuator when she felt the cold metal touching the back of her head.

"Don't!" Riley said, reaching up to adjust the settings on the Inquisitor rod.

"How?" She demanded, stunned at the fact he had been able to get past Ra to sneak up on her.

"I spent twenty-six hours jerking one of your troopers off into a cup," Riley murmured, "I guess it's going to take more than soap to get rid of the stink..."

"I could kill you with a thought..." Sephradon threatened.

"Yeah?" Riley said, pressing the rod into the back of her head more firmly, "I could kill you with the twitch of a finger."

She raised her hands. "You won't keep me for long," she warned.

"You know, you sound like one of my ex-wives," Riley replied, "Now, step away from the controls..."

She complied, Riley keeping his weapon trained on her as he leaned forward to the console. Sephradon smiled at his momentary lapse; she reached out mentally to bind him, forcing his arms tight against his sides as she picked him up from the ground.

"I did warn you..." she murmured, as she reached for the switch that would summon her reinforcements.

"I wouldn't," Darien responded from the doorway, his face bloody, resting on the large Taïrian beside him, the Polian shard trained on her.

The odds were against her. Trying to hold the man dressed as an Inquisitor took all of her efforts, and if she released him to deal with the newcomer, he'd shoot her; however, she couldn't prevent the newcomer from shooting without releasing him.

She released Riley, dropping him to the ground as she triggered her Propylon recall, shimmering out in a bright flash of light, appearing a few feet away in the midst of the ring. The two humans swung their weapons around to fire on her as her mind worked the Propylon controls; she couldn't summon while she was on the platform, but she could send. She smiled haughtily at their failure as she vanished again in a flash...

"Unplug the com relay!" Darien yelled, as Riley stared across the console for something that looked remotely like what he was talking about. He shrugged and began to unplug all of the leads, hoping to god one of them wouldn't trigger an explosion, or worse, send him across the universe and deposit him in his mother-in-law's living room...

Shale helped the injured Highlord over to the console, Riley pausing in his study of the device to look him up and down. "Those are nasty," he murmured, looking at the three gashes that ran down Darien's cheek.

Darien shook his head. "Could have been worse."

He gave a grateful look up at Shale as he pulled Commander Durnham free from the backpack, setting him up on the edge of the console, looking about him at the Amsus secret weapon they had fought so hard to reach.

It appeared so benign, an array of five stones arranged in a circle upon a freestanding platform. Ancient Peligian devices that were capable of so much potential, the black, half-meter high stones were carved with an long forgotten spiral glyph pattern that glowed and changed as the inner light shimmered and danced upon their mirror smooth surface. Black like the coldest heart of obsidian, they were identical in design to the ancient monolith where VonGrippen's body lay enshrined.

The Commander came online, looking up and hesitating at Darien's bloody visage. "Highlord?"

Darien smiled as he rested against the console, sinking into one of the chairs as he blew out a tired sigh, "Later, Commander," he murmured, plugging the memory core into the standardized socket jacks, flipping through the jack adapter till he found the right one. "I need you to get this system working."

Riley shook his head. "It's not that difficult, three dimensional co-ordinates," he gestured to the first set of numbers, "Time and well I don't think I know what the fifth one is... probably a physicist's wet dream..." he looked at Darien staring at him in shock, "I watched the ice queen..." he gestured with his rod.

"He's correct Highlord," Kit reported, "I am switching it to acknowledge our transponder signals, on your command, sir..."

"How long will it take to get all our people out?" Darien asked, lifting his watch. At any moment, the fleet battle would begin.

Kit looked up and removed his glasses. "I'll work as fast as I can."

Darien nodded, reattaching the comm. relay and looking up at the ring of stones that flared as the first group of Imperial soldiers materialized and vanished a moment later.

He slipped off the jacket he was wearing, and opened the warm woollen shirt, wiping his bloody hands on his undershirt as he leaned back into his chair, trying to stop his head from spinning. What was wrong with him?

He opened his eyes again as the Propylons flared, whisking another batch of troops off to Karin, and he prayed they would have enough time.