Gods Dogs, Book 3

Embrace the fear and go for it. That’s what I do. I don’t run from it - I embrace the fear.

Jamie Brewer

The camo-stealth feature worked best in low or dappled light and when the user moved slowly. It was full morning sunlight on the plateau when Jian used the power-assist in her armor to reach 40 mph.

It was 800 meters to the nearest bunker. So it would take twenty seconds or so, given the uneven terrain. She would be an indistinct, blurry target, but a viable target nonetheless. Her personal shield would be the difference. It was the next evolution of Tulku Raina’s shield technology, which used a dimensional tap to deflect projectiles and energy bolts. No longer did the shield gulp everything it came into contact with to the dimension of a dying universe. Now the dying universe repelled anything it came into contact with. At least it did so as long as the battery and capacitors held up.

Jian paid attention to the broken ground as she sprinted, and Tammy studied the enemy emplacements.

[Jian,] the A.I. said, [I count five hostiles in each bunker, one laser cannon, and two crew-served rail-guns. There may be mortars, but I doubt it.]

Then a mortar round streaked into the air.

[Move right and dive into a front roll in three seconds,] Tammy amended. [They do have mortars.]

Laser bolts also lanced out at her. The recharge time was a little over half-a-second. She rolled through two consecutive front shoulder rolls when the mortar round detonated twenty feet above ground level. Shrapnel punched out in all directions, but few hit her shield.

The marshals spread out and were providing cover fire from prone positions, and they moved frequently to avoid the rail-gun return fire.

[Why didn’t you think there were mortars?] Jian asked.

[One guy for the laser cannon. Two guys on rail-guns. Two guys for the mortar, but they also service the weapons. It’s inefficient.]

[True.]

[Move left. The cannon is firing.]

She continued to dodge and sprint until she was fifty meters away. Then she pulled her rifle from her back and pumped two rifle grenade rounds into the bunker. They exploded with the concurrent screams from the five-man team.

[Shield at 52%,] Tammy reported. [The other two bunkers are now targeting you.]

[They are too late,] she said and jumped high. One somersault and a half-twist, and she landed in the bunker firing on the wounded enemy with the upper barrel of her rifle.

The enemy was also in armor, and she aimed her rail-gun rounds for the soft spots – the joints and faceplate. They were stunned and wounded by the grenades and unable to defend themselves against Jian's assault. They dropped one after another.

[Is this cannon operational?] she asked Tammy as she turned from the dead soldiers.

[It appears so. Your grenades hit the back of the bunker. The cannon operator’s body shielded the cannon.]

She swiveled the cannon to blast at one flanking bunker. It flared and bodies flew out of the pit. Then spun it 180 degrees and shot the other one.

“Nolan, Jian. Bunkers secure. They’ve got tunnels connecting them, and there is a tunnel that goes to the cabin. I’m going down that one.”

“Roger that,” was Nolan’s terse reply.

Jian headed into the tunnel. It was about six feet high and four feet wide. It was also dimly lit.

[What’s Nolan’s problem?] she wondered as she hurried the dirt path.

Tammy answered, [From a review of his file, I suspect he doesn’t like the spontaneous quality of your assault.]

Jian chuckled at the answer to her rhetorical question.

[Explosives ahead. I think it’s to collapse the tunnel.]

She spent a moment disarming the explosives and continued on.

[Shield at 65%. The tunnel ends in twenty meters.]

[You’re using meters now?]

[The pilot started it.]

[So you just go with the flow.]

[It’s a good strategy when dealing with humans.]

She snorted as the tunnel ended in a spacious basement. Now she began to move slowly to let the stealth-camo of her armor work as it was intended.

Ahead and upstairs she heard, “What’s happening out there?”

“I don’t know. They aren’t responding.”

Jian noted there were eight tunnel entrances radiating out from the basement. Tammy was studying the entrances as well and said, [The far one is in use. It may be the escape route as that direction is toward the plateau face. They may have a camouflaged hangar door there.]

[Agreed. Let me pop a few grenades up the ladder, and we’ll go see.]

She did so and headed down the far tunnel. It was a more heavily traveled tunnel with a pressed gravel path, and she moved slowly to check for traps.

The tunnel went for half-a-mile before it opened into a cavern the size of a large warehouse. The space was filled with pallets of goods against two walls. Lights illuminated the space from overhead trusses that supported a metal roof. On the floor, twenty feet below, a group of ten was prepping a corvette. Two of them entered the ship, while the others threw bags into the external storage bays. The ship would hold the group of about thirty insurgents.

Three of them were in armor, but the rest wore civilian clothes, and two carried suitcases. Tammy reported, [The cases emit energy – probably battery power for storage devices or communication gear.]

[Thanks. Do we have comms with Nolan?]

[No. We lost contact when we entered the tunnel. He hasn’t caught up to us yet.]

[Did they stop for lunch?]

[Perhaps. He was looking a bit peckish.]

She snorted again and slowly moved closer to the ship.

[I need to stun the guys with the cases, drop the guys in armor, and you need to hack the ship so it can’t take off.]

[I stand in wonder about how you will accomplish this.]

[Flash-bangs – the new, improved version.]

She tossed two flash-bang grenades to either side of the group. They detonated with the added benefit of freezing the implants the men might have.

She uncovered in the lingering flash and stunned the two carrying cases, shot the two in armor, and stunned the others. Those that were left were in the ship, prepping for take-off.

[Got it,] Tammy said as the A.I. completed its task of hacking the ship.

Jian turned on her exterior speaker. “It’s over. Your ship won’t fly. Your buddies are dead or stunned. Exit the ship, hands on your head. If I see a gun, or if you move too fast, I’ll shoot you.”

Tammy told her, [I’m into the ship’s system. The only ones in there are the pilot and co-pilot. They are plotting at the moment.]

Jian spoke again, “If I have to come in after you, I come in shooting.”

“Marshals can’t do that,” one shouted back.

“Yeah. I’m a contractor. After I shoot you, I’ll plant a gun on your body and claim self-defense.”

“Okay. We’re coming out.”

[I’ve got Nolan,] Tammy informed her.

“Nolan, Jian. We’re at the end of the well-used tunnel.”

“Oscar Mike,” was the response.

[I’m really not liking this guy,] Jian complained. [Oscar Mike? He hasn’t been On Mission or On the Move since we got here.]

[Is your perfectionism rearing its ugly head, Coyote Jian?]

[Probably.]

The two pilots came out, hands on their heads. Jian canceled her stealth and triggered the program to show the 4th Legionnaire uniform.

“Sit down. The marshals are on their way.”

A few minutes later, four marshals made a tactical entrance into the warehouse. Then they began securing the prisoners. One took the suitcases and headed back.

Nolan approached Jian and said, “It looks like ‘mission accomplished,’ Coyote Jian. Thanks for your assistance.”

“You’re welcome, sir. I’ll go back to observing now.”

“Carry on.”

Jian smirked as she headed up to the cabin. When she reached it, she headed outside.

[Tammy, send our report to Satya.]

[Sent. Helmet-cam footage, some, but not all, of our dialogue, mission objectives achieved, and our speculation on objectives yet to be realized.]

[What would that be?]

[Whatever is in those cases.]

[Right. When do we leave?]

[Not for some time. The marshals need to process this site as if it was a crime scene.]

[Remind me to punch Eli when we get back.]

[As you wish.]

The next day they were all back aboard the station, including Senior Marshal McIntire. The Coyotes were at breakfast in the cafeteria. Jian found out the other teams blocked the escape routes for the fleeing felons as the marshals scooped them up. Jian was the only one that saw any action.

She recounted her adventure. After that, Moss asked Eli, “Did you figure it would be a goat rope? That’s why you volunteered Jian.”

“Pretty much,” Eli admitted, and Jian got to punch him in the shoulder.

Then she accused, “He hung around here because of Cheryl.”

Eli grinned and shook his head, “She is one needy woman. Emotional tentacles uncoiled and she tried to wrap them around me. When they attach, it’s like suction hoses that drain you dry. I ran as fast as I could the other way.”

Jian chortled. “I saw that the first day.”

Eli turned to River for help. She said, “Women can see needy women a mile away. Men can see needy men just as easily. We have trouble catching it across genders.”

“Well, I missed it until her energy changed when the tentacles uncoiled.”

“How did you escape,” Moss asked.

“She can’t get into the restricted section.”

McIntire showed up about then and sat with them.

“Well, we’re done here,” he said as he sipped his coffee. “We had a little problem with Nolan’s report. That got straightened out.”

He raised an eyebrow at Jian and continued, “The geeks should be done going through the files Jian captured yesterday. Then we head for the last planet on our itinerary.”

He pulled out three data cubes. “Here’s what we know about it.”

Then he left.

Quinn, Jolene, and Rob took a cube, and each team returned to their ships to study the data.

Once they were in Satya’s training room, River said, “Looks like Jian is doing okay.”

Moss replied, “Master Lu said she still needed to be broken so she could put herself back together.”

Quinn offered, “That probably happened in empath training. She is more at peace with herself.”

“Yeah. That makes sense,” Moss said. “She wasn’t cowed by that Nolan character.”

“No,” River agreed. “She just did what Coyotes do, and damn the consequences.”

The next planet, Rhodlast, was a technological center: computers, hardware, software, fiber optics, quantum processors, and the like. Numerous space stations in high orbit toiled in those hi-tech fields.

The asteroids were rich in the exotics necessary for manufacturing advance components, and the mining industry and manufacturing operations followed an efficient business model.

The planet was a bit of a disappointment as it was arid compared to the other two planets they visited so far. There were three small oceans, more like inland seas, and most of the water was stored in large ice caps at the poles. The habitable areas were around the oceans and along the lengthy and wide rivers that connected them. The rest was wind-swept steppes and mountains.

Three billion called Rhodlast home, but well over half worked in space on month-on, month-off rotations. Consequently, the standard of living was high, and the level of education within the population was above average.

The insurgency was not as strong on Rhodlast, but the reports were that it was more violent. So far, the marshals hadn’t been able to identify any headquarters. The cell structure the insurgents used was effective. Even so, they knew who the leaders were, just not where to find them.

After they finished their review of the data, Quinn opened it up, “How do we approach this one?”

“Logistics,” River answered. “We track down their supply chain. They are using lots of ammunition and explosives to intimidate the people. And they have to eat.”

Moss sighed and agreed, “That’s the surest way to get results. It’s also the most tedious.”

“I’m pretty sure the marshals are pursuing that line of inquiry,” Quinn said. “Maybe our hacking expertise can help them out.”

Satya, the ship’s A.I., entered the conversation through the speakers in the training room, “The marshals have cracked the organization’s communication code. We can scan for it in orbit.”

“That would speed things up,” Moss said with a smile. “Do you think you can map out their entire network?”

“Given enough time, yes. However, the busy information intersections should be hubs for their command and control bases.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Moss beamed.

“And Pax will be out of the tank by the time we get there,” River added.

“Ugh,” Moss responded. “We’ll have to help him get back in shape.”