Chapter 1: Attack on Station
Bullets flew past Lance as he dove over the metal table they sat at. He kicked it over to
provide concealment. Patrons rushed into the restaurant, several getting hit along the way with
one dropping straight to the ground, a hole in the side of his head.
“VAL!” Lance shouted as he examined her armor for blood.
“I’m good!” she replied. “Just got my bell rung!”
Holes exploded in the table behind him. A bullet missed him narrowly enough to tear his
uniform without hitting him.
“I’m going to get you to cover; you stay down!”
“I can help!”
“No!” Lance ordered.
Grabbing Valdivia’s armor, Lance broke his cover as they spun, and with all his might,
threw the Jarog into the restaurant with the others. She hit the ground just behind the wall as bits
of it chipped away from incoming fire.
The captain dashed for the cover of the eatery as well. As he did, he glanced toward the
gunman; there was a second right behind the first. His heart sank in disbelief. He’d recognize
that black armor anywhere. A fire erupted in his belly as rage boiled inside of him. Looking at
the waiter, he grabbed a serving towel and started to wrap his right hand with it.
“Do you have anything that could be used as a weapon?” Lance asked.
“We have knives!” the waiter replied with a wheeze.
“Get me one; everyone else get to the back room and stay down!” he ordered before
trying to activate his multi-tool’s communicator. It was scrambled. “Crap!”
Val was on her feet, one hand on her visor while the other assisted in getting people up
and moving as the sound of gunfire echoed through the station. The Halthron waddled from the
back but stopped as the gunfire got closer.
“Bring me the knife!” Lance shouted.
The waiter threw it toward the soldier. It landed halfway between the two.
“By the goddess!” Valdivia muttered with a shake of her head.
She marched over to the cooking utensil and picked it up before marching over toward
Lance and handing it to him. Judging by the sounds of the rifle fire, their attacker was close
enough to start pieing the corner. Grabbing Val, he pressed her against the wall before doing the
same, keeping himself between the outside world and the Jarog.
Lance held the knife tightly in his left hand. His heart slammed in his chest, fueled by
adrenaline and the rage he hadn’t felt in some time. A smirk spread across his lips as the barrel of
an HRG poked around the corner a few inches from the wall. He switched the knife to his
wrapped hand.
Once enough of the barrel protruded from behind the wall, Lance rushed out. He grabbed
the weapon, raised it above his head, and pointed away from himself before throwing the knife at
the second fireman. He didn’t see where it hit, just that it made the armored man stagger.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you to pie your corners?!?” Lance roared
He drove his wrapped fist into the attacker’s helmet as hard as he could in between each
word. As the black-armored man’s head snapped back with each blow, the screen of his helmet
cracked before fully surrendering, revealing a human inside.
The first gunman fell to the ground, likely dead from the coup-contrecoup trauma of
being punched by a boxer. In a flash, Lance shouldered the HRG and pointed it toward the
second gunman, who was already on his knees.
Blood spurted from his throat, soaking his gear and staining the ground around him.
Lance approached the attacker, eyeing their surroundings. There weren’t any other soldiers in the
near vicinity, but their gunshots could still be heard.
“Where’s your commander?” Lance asked as he crouched down and grabbed the downed
enemy’s weapon. “You tell me where she is, and I’ll make your passing swift and easy.”
A gurgling cackle left the dying man as his hand clenched closed.
“Target acquired, northern edge of Tindis,” the soldier said before he fell forward.
Sparks flew from both sets of armor. Lance stood up and held the HRG out to Valdivia.
“I’m sorry to ask you to do this, but I need you to protect these people!” he said as he
walked back to cover. She took the rifle and nodded before he looked at the waiter. “You, can
this close up?”
“It has metal doors that seal it at night,” the alien replied.
“Good. Close it, lock it up, and if I come across any medical personnel, I’ll send them
here,” Lance said. “If anyone comes here and tells you to open the door, say ‘One-eyed god.’ If
they don’t reply with ‘Great Odin’s Raven,’ don’t let them in. If they try to get in, shoot them.”
Valdivia nodded as she placed a hand on his side.
“Be careful,” she said.
“As much as I can be,” Lance replied before exiting the restaurant.
Lance hugged the wall and poked his head around the corner. He saw movement in the
distance, too far to take an accurate shot. Turning, he backed away to the far side of the eatery
and glanced around the corner to see several embassy guards taking cover at the top of the
stairwell.
As the barrier of the diner closed, they turned to see the source of the noise before aiming
their weapons at Lance.
“HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!” they roared.
He was surprised they didn’t open fire on him. Grabbing the weapon by the barrel, he
held both his hands up as he stepped into plain view of the guards before stepping up on the
stairwell to maintain cover.
“I’m Captain Lance Warder of the S4. I’m no threat to you!” he called back.
One of the guards lowered his weapon and whispered to the other. As they deliberated,
the soldier caught the glimpse of a black helmet behind them. Quickly, he shouldered his weapon
and fired a single round. The bullet traveled between both guards, striking the visor of the
inbound attacker.
As the helmet whipped back, the mercenary’s weapon discharged, missing both guards.
In the blink of an eye, they both turned around and opened fire, killing their would-be assailant.
“They are!” Lance called back. “May I approach?”
“Get up here!” the first guard called out.
Lance sprinted up the steps, reaching their side in seconds. He scanned around the second
level for the dead man’s backup. Sparks flew from his armor as well. Raising his rifle, the
captain caught movement behind a bush. He trained his weapon on the movement until it stood
up, revealing it as the squamate.
Just before Lance squeezed the trigger, Rath barreled out of a nearby alleyway, his
weapon stowed. Bullets bounced off his armor as he picked the armored being off the ground, an
arm in one hand, leg in the other. With a mighty roar and a wet splash, the Tardig ripped his
attacker in half in a shower of crimson.
“Rath, it’s good to see you, my friend!” Lance called out, drawing the Tardig’s attention.
Lifting his rifle, Lance traversed the opening in a quick crouch-walk as both the guards
followed closely behind. Reaching the Tardig, he leaned against the planter, rolling some
intestines out of the way so as to not slip on them.
“You doing okay, big guy?” Lance asked.
“Why are humans attacking us?” Rath snarled as he pulled his shotgun and pointed it at
Lance.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Kolar called out as he emerged from behind a planter a little
further down. “Put your weapon away; he’s not going to hurt you!”
“You don’t tell me what to do, prisoner!” Rath barked.
“He’s right; I’m not going to hurt you because it’s not us!” Lance explained. “It’s an
offshoot of humanity called the Veles, and they’re... just real big jerks!”
“Prove it!” the Tardig ordered.
“All Veles that I’ve come across are marked on their neck, an upside-down triangle with
a blocky ‘U’ shape above it that is visible under UV light,” Lance explained as he activated the
UV setting of his multi-tool and waved it over his neck. “No brand.”
Rath reached down to the upper half of the dead and pulled his helmet off. Lance swiped
over his neck. The symbol flared, even through the thick layer of blood. The Tardig lowered his
weapon.
“Where’s Chadavia and the other SOATs?” Lance asked.
“Some are assisting evacuation of civilians. Most were out on a training exercise and the
hangar doors are sealed shut, so they can’t dock,” Rath replied.
“Okay, does this station have any external weaponry?” Lance asked.
“It’s illegal for space stations to have mounted weapons,” one of the guards behind Lance
replied.
The captain looked up at Rath with a raised eyebrow. He nodded after a moment’s pause.
“That’s what I thought. If you can get a message out, tell everyone to get as far away
from the station as they can and do not engage with any crafts that leave until after they’re out of
range,” Lance suggested.
“Why?” Kolar probed while keeping an eye out.
Lance picked up the dead Veles’ HRG and handed it to the Galio before waving them to
follow him as he started down a part of the Tindis he’d never been before, making sure to hug
the wall as he did.
“Because if I were planning an attack like this, the first thing I’d do, even before
executing my plan, would be to hijack the ship’s weapons systems to open fire and cover my
escape,” Lance explained as he stopped at the edge of a shop. “And I went through OCS with
their leader, so I know how she thinks.”
Lance peered around the edge. Rath craned above him to peek as well. Several civilians
were on their knees, hands on the backs of their heads with a handful of Veles operatives circling
them.
“We go out there, those civilians are dead,” Rath muttered with a shake of his head.
Biting the inside of his cheek, Lance glanced around to find something they could use.
He looked back at the guards.
“If we distract them, can you get those civilians to safety?” Lance asked, they nodded.
“Okay, you get as close to them as you can without being seen. In forty-five seconds, we’ll
distract them, and you’ll get their prisoners to safety.”
Both guards nodded and disappeared around the side edge of the shop. Lance checked his
weapon as he counted; it was operational. He looked at Kolar’s. It was good too.
“This is very similar to your regular rifle,” Lance whispered as he put his hand on the
cooling system. “If this starts beeping, though, press this button. It’ll eject the cooling system
and throw it as far away as you can, because it’s about to explode.”
Kolar nodded, and Lance checked the safety switch as well and flipped the weapon from
fully automatic to burst fire.
“You’ll get three shots per trigger squeeze,” he added before looking up at the Tardig.
“How accurate is your weapon?”
Rath holstered the shotgun on his lower back before pulling his pistol out and doing a
quick weapon check.
“As accurate as your human rifles,” the Tardig replied. “How do you plan to create a
distraction that won’t get the civilians killed?”
Lance took his position once again and eyed the Veles once more, memorizing their
patterns and studying what they could use for cover or concealment. He reached thirty in his
head. His thumb ran over the safety switch of his rifle. He flipped it to single round shots.
Turning back to the Tardig, he cracked a smile before nodding at Kolar. Rath’s head
tilted to one side in confusion.
“Hey, Kolar,” Lance whispered. “You remember how I told you that it was a faction of
humanity that was responsible for your mother’s death? This is them.” ...
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