The Search for Gram (26 page)

Caliph’s Retreat, Wendar, Day 10 of the Second Akhet, 15th Dynasty, Year 14

“I only need 10 of your troops,” said K-Mart.

“That is impossible,” said Vizier Bulah, who was in charge of the caliphate’s armed forces. “Our men are already being overwhelmed. We don’t have
any
men to spare, much less 10. And armed with heavy slug-throwers? We need these for your Jotunn! I don’t know what you did to make them attack us, but the heavy slug-throwers are the only things which will bring them down.”

“We did nothing to involve the Jotunn,” replied K-Mart; “you have your own traitors to blame for that.”

“Even if that is true,” replied Vizier Bulah, “the fact remains; we don’t have enough men to give you any.”

“You’re pulling out, right?” asked Chomper. “It seems to me that some of the men and weapons from the caliph’s retreat ought to be extra. If you are abandoning it, its defenders are no longer needed to man it.”

“But, but, but they are the caliph’s own guards!” sputtered the vizier. “If you take them, who will guard the caliph?”

“How many of our men did these Terrans bring back from the space station?” asked the caliph.

“I believe it was eight, my caliph,” replied Vizier Bulah.

“Then you shall find them eight soldiers for their mission,” replied the caliph. “Those were eight men whose lives were returned to us, at great risk to the Terrans’ own lives. I will risk my own life to give them those eight.” He looked over to where his personal servants stood by the door, shifting from taloned foot to taloned foot. “No more discussion; it is done,” he added. “It is time for all of us to go.”

“Thank you, Caliph,” said K-Mart as the caliph began to leave.

“You are welcome,” replied the caliph. He stopped and turned back to meet K-Mart’s eyes. “Those men have sworn their lives to me. Do not spend them lightly.”

“
We’ve got the bridge,
” commed Master Chief.

“
And I’ve got the queen’s quarters,
” added Night, “
but we’ve got a bit of a problem.
”

“
I don’t have a lot of time for problems,
” replied Calvin. “
We’re on the run with a big group of Efreet chasing us. What’s the problem?
”

“
I’ve secured the queen’s quarters,
” repeated Night.
“
The problem is, she’s not here.
”

“
Are you sure?
” asked Calvin.

“
That she’s not here? Absolutely. There’s no place for her to hide. She’s gone.
”

“
Where do you suppose she’s gone?
” asked Master Chief.

“
The hell if I know,
” replied Calvin. “
Where would you go?
”

“Sir, you’re looking at it wrong,” said Mongo, who was alongside Calvin. “Take our leaders back home. They don’t decide where they’re going in the event of an emergency; the head of their security detachment does. You have to figure out where
you
would take your queen if you were in charge and under assault by a group you knew nothing about.”

“On a spaceship?” asked Calvin. “I’d want to put all of my forces between her and the invading force. Failing that, I’d try to get her off the ship.”

“Well, it sounds like the Space Force got through or around the security force. What does that leave?”

“The other shuttle we followed up here,” said Calvin. “
They’re going for the other shuttle,
” he commed. “
We’ve got to cut them off!
”

“Sir, we need to move,” said Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick. “Any time we stop, they start shooting at our rear guard.”

“We’ve got to get to the other docking port,” said Calvin. “I think they’re going to try to take the queen off the ship with the other shuttle.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so before?” asked Hendrick. He had committed the ship’s layout to memory, and he traced out a path on his in-head tactical display to the other shuttle docking port. “Yokaze, you’ve got point. Head out and take the first right. Let’s move, people! We’ve got a queen to catch.”

Yokaze stayed to the right of the passageway as he hurried down the corridor with Staff Sergeant Zoromski close behind him. He reached the turn at the same time as a group of five Efreet, coming from the opposite direction.

Time seemed to slow as his senses went into overdrive. Firing from the hip, he shot the closest Efreet through the throat. Dropping the rifle, he whirled to his left, drawing his katana as he turned. Yokaze completed the spin, and the katana sliced through the neck of a second Efreeti. Yokaze saw his enemies bringing their flechette throwers up, and his katana flowed gracefully back in the opposite direction, removing a third Efreeti’s left arm at the joint. He continued the spin to the left, disemboweling a fourth Efreeti, and turned back to find the fifth Efreeti already falling with a laser hole in its temple.

“Your mom never taught you how to share, did she?” asked Zoromski, finishing off the Efreeti with one arm.

“Hai!” replied Yokaze. “She did; I was just trying to be quiet.”

“
We’re in a hurry, gentlemen,
” commed Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick. “
Let’s move! Take the second cross corridor to the left, then there should be a set of stairs to the right. We need to go up one level to get to the docking port.
”

“
On my way,
” replied Yokaze. Picking up his rifle, he led the group forward and found the passage and the stairs. He paused to listen for a few seconds before flowing quietly up the stairs.

“
I hear Efreet coming from the right!
” he commed after reaching the next deck. “
It doesn’t sound like many. Which way is the docking port?
”

“
To the left,
” replied Hendrick. “
Take them if you can. Quietly!
”

Two Efreet hurried past from right to left. Unlike the Efreet they had seen earlier, these were dressed in some sort of spacesuit, and were carrying helmets. Yokaze and Mongo burst from the side passage. Yokaze slammed his tekkan down on the head of the closest Efreeti. Nearly the same size as his wakizashi, it had a blunt iron blade, which was used as a club. As the other Efreeti started to turn toward the sound, Mongo slammed the butt of his rifle down onto its head like a club.

Both Efreet went down.

“Nice job,” said Calvin. “Put the bodies in the stairwell, and let’s keep going. We’re almost there. It’s just around the corner.”

Yokaze started down the passageway, but turned back when he got to the corner. “The queen’s forces have already made it to the docking port and have set up a perimeter,” he said. “They will be very difficult to get past.”

“Did it look like the shuttle was leaving?” asked Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick.

“They did not appear to be loading it,” the Japanese man replied. “They were stationary, as if they were waiting for something.”

“Like what?” asked Hendrick.

“I do not know,” replied Yokaze.

“I do,” said Calvin. “The two Efreet we killed must be the shuttle’s flight crew. The shuttle isn’t going anywhere without pilots.”

“So what’s your plan, sir?” asked Hendrick.

“I intend to give them some.”

Wendar, Day 13 of the Second Akhet, 15th Dynasty, Year 14

“Wait for us here,” said K-Mart. “We will be back shortly.”

“We will wait,” said the sergeant, “but do not make us wait too long, or you will come back to find us overrun. The enemy is not far off; they will shortly be upon us.”

“Understood,” said K-Mart; “I just need to set up a couple of things first.” He looked at the other Terrans and asked, “Ready to go?”

Both aviators nodded and reached out to make contact. K-Mart pressed the button and, with a flash, the Terrans appeared in their former cell.

“This is your plan?” asked Chomper. “Put us in jail?”

“No, this is just a defensible position to bring folks,” said K-Mart. “Since we were the only ones on this wing, I’m hoping the guards won’t come by here often. If they do, you can shoot them while they are unlocking the door.”

The other two Terrans readied their laser rifles and K-Mart nodded. “Be right back,” he said.

He vanished and returned with two of the soldiers. Both promptly threw up.

“Lovely,” said Chomper. “That’s going to make staying here even more sucky. Want to trade jobs?”

“No thanks,” said K-Mart. He brought the rest of the troopers in, and they began assembling their crew-serviced weapons…after they stopped throwing up. K-Mart disappeared again and reappeared a few minutes later with a woman and two children. He disappeared again and came back with a second woman and a child.

“That’s all of them,” said K-Mart.

“I thought you said there were about 20,” said Rock.

“There were,” said K-Mart. “They must have moved them.” He shrugged. “I can’t do anything about it now. On to Stage Two, where things get tough.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Wish me luck.” He vanished.

Jotunn Jail, 14 Herculis ‘a,’ Unknown Date/Time

“I don’t know why K-Mart thinks he has it so tough,” Rock said after a few minutes of waiting. “He’s out running around while we’re here stuck here.”

“No kidding,” agreed Chomper. “He’
d—
”

“Fee, fie, foe, fum,” rumbled a deep voice from down the cell block.

“I didn’t really just hear that, did I?” asked Rock as two Jotunn came into view.

“Yeah, you did,” said Chomper. “Don’t let them say it again,” he added as he sighted down his rifle. “
Fire!
” He fired his laser rifle, hitting the lead giant twice in the chest. He might as well have been shooting an avalanche; the giant kept coming.

That changed when both Sila slug-throwers opened up. The weapons fired rounds slightly larger than .50-caliber bullets, but that’s where the comparison to a Terran machine gun ended. The bullets were fed into the weapon from the top by a loader in 40-round clips; the gunner then charged the weapon and fired off the entire clip. As the metal piece the bullets were attached to popped out of the bottom with a ‘ping,’ a second loader on the opposite side of the slug-thrower dropped in the next clip.

It wasn’t the most efficient machine gun Chomper had ever seen, but with two loaders feeding it, the weapon put a respectable amount of ordnance downrange. It had a fairly rapid firing rate, and the oversize bullets were effective against the Jotunn. Mounted on a tripod, the gunners were able to direct most of their fire into their targets, blasting huge chunks out of the giants with accompanying geysers of green blood.

Combat veterans, the crew manning the slug-thrower on the right focused on the Jotunn on the right, while the other crew fired at the Jotunn on the left. Hit by over 50 rounds each, as well as a couple of laser bolts, both giants were quickly dispatched.

As the sounds of gunfire died away, a metallic voice could be heard coming from the vicinity of the felled giants. It kept saying, “Report,” over and over in the Jotunn language.

“
K-Mart, you’d better hurry,”
commed Chomper. “
I think they know we’re here!
”

“Really? You can’t tell?” asked Mongo. His voice was muffled coming through the faceplate of the helmet. Mongo and the squad’s medic, Sergeant Burt Yankiver, were wearing the two Efreet spacesuits, as they were the two biggest men in the squad, and the two best able to simulate the size of an Efreeti.

“No,” said Calvin. “I can’t see your face. Not very well, anyway. The anti-glare coating on the facemask makes it difficult to see through unless you are up close and really looking.” He turned to look at the medic. “You look good too, Doc. All you guys have to do is hold them for a couple of seconds. We’ll be right behind you.”

Mongo looked at the medic. He hadn’t said anything since he put on the suit, but then he didn’t say much at the best of times, either. He just got the job done. He slapped Sergeant Yankiver on the shoulder. “In that case,” Mongo said, “we shouldn’t have any problems. Let’s go; the queen is waiting for her pilots.”

Yankiver nodded once, signaling his agreement. It was more of a bend at the waist, as the Efreet suits didn’t have flexible neck joints.

Mongo started walking. “Hey, you’re going the wrong way,” said Calvin. “The Efreet are this way.” He pointed in the opposite direction.

“I know,” said Mongo. “I wanted to get a running start. They will probably be expecting us to be hurrying, and it will cut down on the time they have to shoot at us. All we need is a moment’s indecision, and we’ll be on them.”

“Good plan,” said Calvin.

“
Ready?
” Mongo commed.

“
Yep,
” replied Sergeant Yankiver.

“
Here we go then,
” said Mongo. He started forward and then picked up his pace. He hoped a casual Terran jog was the same as an Efreet jog, but whether they even jogged at all was unknown. Yankiver caught up to him in a couple of steps, and they rounded the corner together, right into the line of sight of three Efreet standing shoulder to shoulder across the passageway with drawn weapons. Mongo could see more Efreet behind them, looking the other way.

One of the Efreet yelled something, and the two Terrans slowed, coming to a walk. They naturally put their hands up in the Terran display of surrender. Although it seemed to work at first, and the Efreet began to lower their weapons as they recognized the spacesuits as being of Efreet origin, Mongo watched as their eyes went toward the rifles they were holding. Terran laser rifles, they were neither the same shape nor color as the ones the Efreet were holding. He was close enough to see their eyes blink several times, and their weapons begin to come back up.

“
We’re blown!
” Mongo commed as his rifle tracked back down.

The Terrans fired at the same time the Efreet did, while diving to the sides of the passageway. Mongo hit the wall on the left and continued firing. Two of the Efreet were already down, and he shot the third twice in the chest.

A volley of laser bolts passed over his head to kill the other Efreet in the passageway as the rest of the Terran forces arrived, several with flechette wounds. Mongo rose and went to assist Sergeant Yankiver to his feet, but the medic waved away the offer of help. Blood covered his chest and midsection. “
Didn’t dive fast enough,
” Yankiver commed. “
I caught…most of a flechette blast…it’s not…good.
” His hand dropped to the deck.

“
Medic!
” commed Mongo automatically. Realizing his error, Mongo knelt down next to him. “
Talk to me, Burt,
” he commed. “
What do I need to do?
”

“
Leave him,
” commed Calvin, looking at his monitor; “
he’s gone.
” Firing could be heard from the interior of the shuttle as the remaining members of the squad assaulted into it. “
I need you and Zoromski, along with Corporals Dunn and Lopez, to set up a perimeter,
” continued Calvin when the firing had slowed. “
No one gets through.
”

“
Got it sir,
” said Mongo, standing up. “
No one through.
”

“
Sir, you better get in here,
” Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick commed. “
We’ve got the queen, I think, but…well, you’re going to need to see this.
”

Calvin nodded to Mongo and turned toward the shuttle. He immediately noticed the shuttle was different as he strode into the interior. It was the most opulent spacecraft he had ever been in. Come to think of it, there wasn’t any ornamentation on
any
of the spacecraft he had ever flown on; they were warships. They barely could have been considered “comfortable,” much less anything along the lines of “showy.” Comparing the queen’s shuttle to the shuttle they had flown up in was like comparing the Ritz Carlton to a fleabag motel somewhere on the wrong side of town.

There was no bare metal showing anywhere; the deck and the bulkheads (and the ceiling, too!) were covered in some kind of felt-like material in a variety of blues and oranges. It was beyond compare and almost beyond description; it was so garish that it was hard to look at.

He made his way to the passenger compartment to find…something… on the deck. Larger than the males he had seen, the eight-foot long creature looked vaguely like an obese Efreet, but out-massed the males by at least several hundred pounds. It was nearly round, with arms and legs only sticking out from the mass of flesh from the elbow joints down. While the males had some vestigial webbing between their claws, the creature’s hands and feet were fully webbed, and it had a fin on the top and bottom of its over-sized tail. The queen’s eyes were closed, and gallon after gallon of murky fluid spewed from underneath its tail, coating the felt of the floor and puddling behind the creature. A dead Efreeti lay nearby, and the creature on the floor pulled a strip of meat from the corpse’s leg and popped the flesh into its mouth.

It was the most disgusting thing Calvin had ever seen in his life.

“I think it’s laying eggs,” said Master Gunnery Sergeant Hendrick, “…or something. I’ve seen a lot of sick shit in my 27 years in the Corps, but this is the most disturbing. It’s even worse than when the company captured the sheep and…uh, never mind. This is just damn gross.”

Calvin was at a loss for what to do with the creature. Before he could decide, an incoming call arrived.

“
Hey sir,
” said Master Chief O’Leary, “
Have you guys captured the queen yet?
”

“
Yeah, I think we just caught it…or her…or whatever it is,
” replied Calvin. “
Why?
”

“
Because you need to get up to the bridge ASAP,
” commed Master Chief. “
It looks like we’re going to have company.
”