Different Paths (38 page)

Officer Buchanan had the misfortune of being
within five feet of the anti-personnel land mines when they went off. The
resulting explosions had blown off both legs and his left arm at the elbow. If
he hadn’t been wearing the SWAT TacArmor he would’ve been dead. As it was, the
suit immediately administered clotting agents, pain killers and a coma inducing
drug that slowed the heart rate to a bare minimum.

Kristopher had been the first to reach the injured
officer, or what was left of him, when three unknown tangos popped up from behind
some crates and began firing. Acting out of instinct, the NAPD lieutenant
grabbed the wounded officer and dragged him behind the closest obstruction, the
metal filing cabinet.

The problem was that they were pinned down and
couldn’t advance into the room without exposing themselves. Since they didn’t
know if the tangos had any barrels of the Mars virus, the SWAT officers were
being very selective in their return fire. The only positive was that there
only seemed to be three bad guys but unless they did something, that didn’t
matter.

Lt. Kristopher keyed his mic to transmit on the
team tac-net. “Anyone have an idea?”

Ernspiker answered, “Just one but it’s a long
shot.”

You could hear the pain in Sgt. Hamilton’s voice
when he answered, “Whatever it is, do it. I’ll have to take some sort of pain
killer soon and after that, I won’t be good to anyone.”

Lt. Kristopher used his command authority to
access more data on the sergeant’s condition and it was worse than he first
thought. One of the blaster bolts had overloaded the armor plating in his gut
region, enough so that he must’ve received second degree burns from the blast.
However it was worse than that. Scans showed that a railgun round had
penetrated through the armor and pierced his side. Due to the scorching, the
TacArmor hadn’t been able to administer the clotting agents and he was losing
blood.

Seeing that his vitals were already erratic, Lt.
Kristopher sent an override command to the sergeant’s suit. “It’s okay Hammy.
We’ve got this. Take the painkillers.”

Sgt. Hamilton tried to object but his speech was
already slurred due to the drugs coursing through his system. “But…but, I
wanna…” and he was unconscious.

Lt. Kristopher quickly accessed the complete stats
on the rest of the team. Muncy was injured but since it was just a leg wound he
was still able to shoot but not scoot, a military term for moving. That left it
up to Ernspiker and Spurgeon. “Alright Spike, whacha got planned?”

Officer Ernspiker highlighted his plan on the map
on his HUD and shunted it to his two partners before explaining, “You and
Sponge Bob will hold this position and keep them busy, while I will go around
and flank them.”

Lt. Kristopher quickly looked over the plan. It
seemed reasonably solid. Of course, they didn’t have many options at the
moment. “Alright but if we live through this, you two will have to explain the
Spike and Sponge Bob thing to me.”

Ernspiker nodded. “You got it El-tee.”

Spurgeon peeked over their barricade and fired off
a few dozen rounds. “Well brother, if you are gonna to do something, do it
fast.”

“Roger that. It will take me a few minutes to get
behind them. Cover me.”

The three remaining SWAT officers popped up or
around their makeshift barricades and started blasting. Even though their
assailants were well protected, they paused in their firing giving Spike enough
time to duck out the doorway.

Kristopher dropped back down as blaster fire raked
the front side of the filing cabinet. “This is going to be a long few minutes.”

Spurgeon chuckled. “You ain’t kidding.”

Chapter 34

Iaido and Aeneas paused in their fighting when a
shadowy figure that was vaguely human-sized landed in the center of the Grand
Rotunda. They didn’t lower their weapons but turned slightly to study the newest
adversary. Neither of them could make out anything of the newcomer since wisps
of black smoke seemed to cling to him obscuring any features.

“Hello brothers.”

Iaido nearly dropped his swords when he heard the
shadow’s voice. It was as if he was hearing a voice from beyond the grave. “It
can’t be.”

“Yes brother, I have returned.” The black smoke
surrounding him slowly dissipated to reveal the grinning face of his podmate
and brother Hector. “I survived…no thanks to you or the General.” 

Iaido knew that it could still be a trick but after
the resurrection of Aeneas, he was doubtful but open to the impossible. “How?
You fell into a lava pit.”

“I made a new friend. One that saved me and has
opened my eyes to many things, including the fact that the Coalition has become
nothing more than a puppet of the Sylvan Empire.” The ringing of steel filled
the room as the Blade of the Void cleared its scabbard. “Today, I rectify that
account.”

Aeneas pointed one of his swords at the newcomer
and said, “I don’t know who you think you are but the General’s blood will
stain my blade not yours.”

Hector shook his head. “Aeneas…Aeneas…Aeneas, you
couldn’t beat me back in our Omega days. What makes you think you could stop me
now?”

While Aeneas talked, Iaido shifted to his left;
his two adversaries responded in kind until the three Myrmidons were circling
each other.

Iaido thought about it for a moment and shook his
head. That wasn’t right; Aeneas was no longer a Myrmidon. He was a clone and if
anything, that made him a Praetorian; talented, skilled and deadly but not a
true SPARTAN. Shifting his attention to his brother Hector, he really didn’t
know what he was. There was no way anyone normal could’ve survived that plunge
into the lava pit, therefore this either wasn’t truly his brother or it was
Hector with that Nosferatu symbiosis thingy inside him which made him something
completely different.

Iaido noticed the slightest fluctuation in Aeneas’
gait and realized that he was about to attack. Shifting the grip on his swords,
he prepared to leap into action. One way or the other, this was going to be the
fight of his life.

*   *   *   *   *

News Anchor Jennifer Moody couldn’t believe her
eyes at the dazzling display of swordsmanship that she was witnessing. The
three warriors obviously knew each other but were actively trying to kill each
other. Well, technically two were trying to kill the President and one was
preventing the assassination.

She had been able to piece parts of the story
together from the overheard conversation.

Achilles was the Presidential defender and the
warrior personally responsible for the deaths of at least a dozen Galactic
Marshals. Now, he was the only thing stopping either of the other two swordsmen
from killing the elected leader of the Coalition.

Jennifer knew that she should say something; after
all, she was on the air and it was her job to narrate. But she just couldn’t
find the words to describe the amazing aerial and acrobatic display of martial
skills that she was watching. She was mesmerized…hell, even her producer had
stopped talking.

*   *   *   *   *

Iaido was gone.

Achilles was gone.

At this very moment, there was no conscious
thought. The individual known as Iaido to his friends and Achilles to his
enemies was nothing more than the living embodiment of his swords. He leaped
and rolled, blocked and countered, attacked and defended all without thought.

Each of the three warriors had their own
advantages and disadvantages in this battle. The point was to capitalize on
their strengths while minimizing their weakness. In this he had several
advantages over his brothers since he was wielding two katanas which gave him
plenty of flexibility in his attacks. Granted, Aeneas was also using two
weapons but a gladius was best used up close. Hector was using a single katana
but seemed to be able to manipulate the surrounding shadows into a shield.

Iaido’s foremost weakness had nothing to do with
himself, it had to do with the General. That was their main target and that was
something he had to protect at all cost. His one major advantage was that
Aeneas and Hector were also enemies to each other. Yes, they were both against
him but neither one could press their attack for fear of retribution.

Then, it happened.

Iaido had been forced to leap into the air to
avoid an attack by Hector. Using the momentum from his back flip, he rebounded
off the nearby wall landing in a forward roll and slashed at Aeneas’ leg. His
brother’s clone had dodged the attack but tripped on some loose rocks and fell,
giving the bounty hunter some much needed time.

Iaido whirled to face his other brother only to see
Hector stabbing downward with the ancient blade of Mushasi at the prone form of
the General.

*   *   *   *   *

Talia and Xerxes dropped through a hole and found
themselves on the balcony of the Grand Rotunda.

Looking around, they spied the bleeding form of
the Master Chief a few steps away. Without hesitation, Talia rushed to his side
and immediately forced her talent through her hands and into his body. He was
alive, barely but alive. Keeping her eyes closed, she sought out his injuries.
They were numerous but the most immediate injury was the wound in his gut
region. The Blade of the Void had sliced right through his armor, skin and
ruptured the intestines. This was allowing the bacteria and waste products that
were a function of the organ to poison him.

Using her mystic abilities, Talia manipulated the
damaged blood vessels and tissues to expel the toxins and repair themselves.
Basically, she was just forcing the body to speed up its own natural healing
process and preventing sepsis from setting in.

Talia wondered for a moment about the parallels in
that single term. Both the native Terran language and Sylvan tongue used the
same word for ‘to make rotten or to poison by natural means’.

When she felt that the Master Chief was out of
jeopardy from imminent death she opened her eyes and looked at her companion.
However, Xerxes wasn’t paying attention to her administrations. He was busy
watching whatever was unfolding below them. Before she could ask anything, the
overly large black mantis jumped off the balcony.

*   *   *   *   *

DJ was in trouble.

There were bodies and body parts all over the
foyer. As far as he could tell, none belonged to civilians since they had all
fled at the onset of the conflict. The good part was that no more Galactic
Marshals had stormed onto the floor in the last ten minutes. The bad part was
that the final four Marshals were within twenty feet of him and he was on his
last magazine of ammunition.

Glancing at the ammo counter, he realized that it
was worse than he thought. He had just over two thousand rounds, which meant he
had less than fifteen seconds at full auto or about five controlled bursts. One
thing he’d learned about the Typhoon during his stint in Strike, they were ammo
hogs.

Knowing he had to do something drastic, DJ decided
to try a tactic from Omega’s playbook. Aiming at the marble floor several feet
in front of the mobile barricade of the Marshals, he squeezed the trigger.

As DJ panned the Typhoon S10 Gatling Gun back and
forth, the 5mm railgun rounds chewed up the floor.

The Marshals hadn’t been expecting this and pushed
their barricade right into the newly formed trench. Two of the Praetorians fell
flat on their face and were easy targets for the Marine. DJ lifted the barrel
of his railgun and pointed it at the last two Galactic Marshals.

With a grin, he pulled the trigger…and nothing
happened.

*   *   *   *   *

The Nemesis rocked underneath a hailstorm of enemy
fire.

The warship was taking fire from all sides, not
just the Galactic Marshal skimmers but several NAPD police skimmers had joined
in the assault. Not many but enough that Pax and Athena had to hesitate to
double check their targets before returning fire. The Captain had been adamant
about not shooting at the police.

As the Nemesis bounced hard to port from the
concussion of two missiles Pax said, “Forward shields are down to fifty
percent; aft shields at seventy. I suggest we engage engines and evade further
damage.”

Athena shook her head. “Negative. The Captain said
to remain in an overwatch pattern, then we will remain here.”

“That action is not logical.”

“Logical or not, we are not leaving.”

The Nemesis bucked again from several missile
strikes.

Pax shunted current and projected damage
information to her sister. “Front shields at forty-five percent; aft shields
holding at seventy. We cannot stay here. Our destruction is imminent. If all
conditions remain as current, shields will fail in three point four minutes.”

“We are not leaving.”

Pax continued. “Additionally, the IFF signature of
the bogies from the south-southwest show that a flight of Coalition Dragons
will be in weapons range in one point five minutes.”

Athena was still obstinate about not leaving but
saw the logic in her sister’s plea. A moment of clarity entered her android
mind as she remembered an old mission from her time as Diana. It was a mission
that she had helped Iaido on. She still couldn’t remember all the facts of the
case but one memory was solid. Iaido had needed to get to a mark but was
prevented from going straight at him due to his defenses. So, he had blended
into the crowd and moved along with his enemies until the moment to strike had
presented itself.

 Shunting her plan to Pax, she hopped out of the
gunnery pod and scrambled back to the bridge. “What do you think?”

Pax responded. “Forward shields at forty percent.
Firing engines. Engaging plan Athena.”

If Athena had been human, she would’ve held her
breath as the large warship charged the line of Galactic Marshal skimmers. The
smaller ships gave way to the Nemesis, breaking their tight knit formation.
Once through, Pax shifted course until she was darting in and out of their line
all the while circling the Hall of Justice building.