Terra Dawning (2 page)

“He's completely off his rock! You can't just kill a Ranger Team! We'd lose half our people in the attempt, and then there is no guarantee we could do it. Those folks are damn hard to kill!” she replied, looking at him in desperation.

“I know. There is no way in hell we can do this, but there is also no way in hell that fat fucking lizard will believe it. The problem is, we're still stuck between a rock and a hard place. We can't run for help, and even if we could, we have no proof,” he commiserated. ““I have no idea what to do here.”

It was a little frightening for Arivan to see her friend like this. For as long as she'd known him, he was always decisive, he always knew what to do and where he was going. All the insane orders from the Duke, all the murders they'd had to perform in his name were killing Elrond's soul. This was the time he needed her the most. She just hoped he would accept it.

Standing up and facing him, she slowly took off her clothes. He had watched her with a confused expression on her face. When she bent down and kissed him tenderly on the lips. He pulled back.

“Ari! Now is not the time! How can you even think about being intimate at a time like this?”

“Hush now! This is exactly the time for it. Just relax, and let me do this. It's late and you need this. Trust me, you'll feel better in the morning,” Arivan replied and pushed him back onto his bed.

––––––––

“Listen-up kids, the soundings we took earlier indicate that we are sitting real close to the pirate base,” Gail said. “The recon boys also found the airlock we will be using as our entry point. We are not here to take the base, yet. This is a snatch and grab. We sneak in, grab a few people, and get the fuck out before anyone knows we're there.

“Mother tells us that this corridor has what appears to be sleeping quarters or small apartments. This area is also one of the least traveled. It's the middle of the night on the surface, so we should be able to find some of the folk in their bunks. Remember to use the remotes that each team was given to open the locks. Ideally, we go in and get back out without any casualties on either side.

“Team One, you hit the first apartment on the left side of the hallway. Team Two, you hit the second. Enter, secure any and all individuals you find, and get them back to the ship. Team Three, you go to the third apartment and warn us if anyone's coming. Questions?”

They had all been over this three times before, so there were no questions. There were a few anxious faces, but none that were really nervous. Gail closed the visor on her battle suit, and gave her pilot the thumbs up.

The lock that the teams were using had actually been slightly covered with silt and sand. However, the pilot had used the ship's thrusters to clean off the area, and sealed her lock to the door before any of the mess could resettle. At Gail's signal, she'd opened the door on the ship, giving Gail access to the pirate base's door.

Gail grinned in her suit as three members of Team Three raised their weapons and trained them at the door. She stepped forward, and placed the special remote against the lock controls, and pressed the activate button. She wasn't surprised when Mother's voice was heard in her helmet.

“General, it is as I thought. This is a simple airlock with a sonic locking mechanism. I should have it open quickly.”

“Thank you, Mother. That'd be great,” Gail replied.

There was a moment or two of silence, and then a sudden burst of muffled tones. The lock groaned slightly, but slid open.

Team Three was the first in and slowly worked their way down the corridor to their guard spot. They had barely cleared the lock when Team Two entered and followed them. Lastly, Gail led her team in, and slowly moved up to the first door on the left. Once again, she set the remote against the door controls and pressed 'activate'.

The lock light on the door turned green and she slid it open just a crack to see inside. What she saw almost made her laugh.

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A
ri was very good at taking his mind off of problems. She just had a way about her that made you forget everything in the world except her when you made love. That was why Elrond didn't see the lock plate on his door change, or noticed that it moved.

That was why it was such a surprise when he felt the barrel of the strange weapon gently tap his thigh. He froze and looked behind Ari, who had yet to notice they were no longer alone. The being in the obviously armored suit motioned for him to be silent, as Ari finally came out of her spell to ask him what was wrong.

When he motioned to the intruders, she jumped off him in surprise. The suited being held up a hand and took a step back. From a device in one gloved hand, a voice issued.

“I'm really sorry to interrupt you folks. But I'm afraid you'll need to get dressed and come with me. Please be quiet, and please hurry.”

“Who are you?” Elrond asked. “What do you want with us?”

It took a moment for the reply, and Elrond suddenly realized the device was a translator.

Through the translator, Gail replied. “This isn't the place for this discussion. We will answer your questions, but you have to come with us.”

“I don't suppose refusing is really an option is it?” Ari asked.

The closest suited figure slowly shook its head. “I'm afraid not, however, we are on a tight schedule, so if you would like to have your clothes, I suggest you both start putting them on.”

“Well, you're way too nice to be Hyclarion Rangers, and too small to be lizards. Of course, if you did work for the Duke, you would have simply shot us,” Ari said, as she scrambled into her clothes.

Once both 'prisoners' were dressed, Gail and her team hurried them down the corridor and back into their small ship. Team Three had followed her, since Team Two had already gotten they're quarry into the ship.

Gail and her team quickly closed and sealed the lock, and were back underway for their base within ten minutes of docking. As far as they knew, no one had noticed that they'd been in the base at all.

“By the gods! Elrond! They're taking us deeper!” the other young man captured by Team Two said. “Who are these people?””

“I don't know, Jaric. But, I don't think they mean to hurt us either. So just relax, and do what you're told, okay?” Elrond replied.

Gail had been removing her helmet while the two men had been speaking. The atmosphere in the ship had been altered to accommodate the prisoners. However, it wasn't fully ideal for them. There was still enough oxygen in it for Gail and her people to breathe, although it was still pretty thin.

Gail smiled at Elrond. “Thank you. You are correct; we do not intend to harm you. We simply want information at this point.”

Elrond looked confused. “What kind of information could you want from us? We're simple prospectors, and everything we know is available at any terminal.”

Gail lost her smile. “Elrond, I would really appreciate it if that would be the last time you lie to us. We know who you are, as well as what you've done. As far as the information you have being available to us... well, let's just say we're connected to a different network.”

“So if you know who we are, why are we still breathing?” Ari asked, a little miffed.

Gail turned to the cute redhead. “Because, like you, I follow orders from someone else.”

Elrond looked floored. “How did... How could you possibly... Do you have any proof we can use in a tribunal?”

The older man had asked that almost in a panic. So Gail decided to become a bit more wary about what she told them. “No, we don't. Which is why we need more information.”

“Can I ask where you're taking us and when you'll be bringing us back?” Ari asked.

“The name of our destination wouldn't mean anything to you. As far as going back, that depends on how cooperative you all are. I should warn you that we breathe a different atmosphere than you do. Ours is much richer in ohto and has a lower concentration of dioxin than what you are used to. So if you try to escape, there is a good chance you will suffocate,”” Gail explained.

“What are you talking about? You're breathing this air the same as we are,” Jaric said.

“The air in here has been modified so we can both breathe it. If I were to get up and walk around, I would quickly become light headed, and most likely faint. As you will notice, the rest of my people have chosen to remain in their suits.

“If you exerted yourselves, you would begin to feel drunk and disoriented until you too collapsed. Once we get to where we are going, the atmosphere will be normal for us, but it will make you folks kinda sick.

“We have these special breathers we will give to you, so you can breathe safely while we ask all of you questions. Do you each understand this?” Gail finished. She noticed that all four people nodded their heads. Jaric's lady had yet to say anything, but from the way they treated Elrond, they were subordinate to him.

Gail was tempted to ask him if he was the leader of Rivendell, but didn't think anyone else would see the humor, so she kept quiet the rest of the trip. No one else spoke either, each of them thinking through their own decisions and questions.

However, once the ship had sat down on the floor of the huge bay, the prisoners seemed to be more compliant. Four Marines left the craft first, while Gail guided the captives down the ramp and made sure they each had a respirator on.

When she followed them down the ramp she saw Ben standing between two armed Marines, watching them disembark. Without preamble, Elrond, with a guard beside him, walked up to Ben and held out his hand.

“Hello, I am Captain Elrond Coir; Captain and Master of the privateer Bittertree. I am the over-all leader of the group known as the Pirates. On behalf of my fellows, I claim sanctuary, Sir.”

––––––––

“
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.
”

T
erran Marine Base Alpha

23 Apr. 10266 CE (AD)

Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

Earth, Sol system

––––––––

B
en did have one of the translators with him, but when he heard what the man said, he had to check to see if it was working correctly. “Excuse me?”

Elrond fought the urge to chuckle. From the way he was protected, it was obvious this was the person in charge, even though he looked really young. “I said, I claim Sanctuary, Sir. You are the leader here, aren't you?”

Ben nodded. “Yes I am, but I'm a little confused. Are you not the group who shot down a young prospector, and later destroyed the Great Falls Aerie?”

“Damn!” Elrond said. “I had hoped, since you are not part of the Duchy, you might not know about those, and we could get away.””

Ben looked at the man. He wasn't being misleading, or trying to pull a fast one, he was scared; scared and desperate.

“Why would you need to claim Sanctuary with us? No one's figured out where you are yet except for us, and as you said, we're not part of the Duchy. What are you afraid of?” Ben asked.

Elrond waited for the translation. Who were these people? “The Rangers are here now. The Duke has put us in a position to take the fall for all the attacks he's ordered. I have over two hundred people under my command; women and children that had nothing to do with this, but who will be executed simply by association.”

This was getting more complicated by the minute. “Follow me, let's find a place to sit. It sounds like this is going to be a very involved story.”

Just then a disturbance by the doors to the cavernous bay got the small group's attention.

“Let me through! I want to kill that son of a bitch! They're nothing but fucking murderers!” Ben saw a very pissed off Addson Dee fighting the marine guards to be let into the bay.

Elrond blushed and looked at the floor. “She's right, we are murderers now.”

Ben shut off the translator and leaned over to one of his guards. “Make sure she's not armed and let her though. It might be good if she sat in on this.” The Marine nodded and keyed his tactical mic to relay the order.

Ben turned the translator back on. “Let’s head over to the pilot's briefing room. It's not ideal, but it'll save a trip back to the Pod.”

“What's a Pod?” Elrond asked.

“That's part of our long story,” Ben said, cryptically.

––––––––

They had made it to the briefing room before Addson caught up to them. However, when she did, she immediately launched herself at Elrond.

“You fucking Animal! You murdered friends of mine! People I loved!” She screamed.

Elrond held up his hands in defense against the slapping attack, until Ben and one of the guards could restrain her.

“Addson! Get control of yourself! I had them let you in because I thought it might be good for you to understand what's behind all of this! Now, please! Calm Down!” Ben said in as commanding a voice as he could.

“They need to be executed for their crimes, Ben! Not talked to!” Addson pleaded.

“Would you just kill them out of hand, without finding out if there is more to this picture? What if this man isn't the one who planned it? Wouldn't you feel better knowing we killed the right person instead of just blasting away at everyone you think might be involved?” Ben reasoned. Amazingly, his words were having an affect. Addson was calming down. She was clearly still pissed, but she was no longer ready to kill. “We are in the middle of a military base filled with Marines, they're not going anywhere.”

She stared at Elrond and the others with murderous intent, but nodded to Ben and slowly took a chair.

“Excuse me, Sir, but you called her Addson. She isn't the poor girl we had to shoot down, is she?” Elrond asked.

Addson opened her mouth to reply, saw Ben's face and closed it.

“As a matter of fact she is. When she crashed we detected it and dispatched a ship to recover her. She was pretty banged up, but she's doing better now,” Ben replied and turned to see the man's reaction to the news.

He was surprised, but seemed very happy about it. The woman that had been holding on to his arm smiled excitedly and hugged him.