Futuristic The Relentless: Journey To Old Earth (Chapter One)

[Equusheart]

Another round of gunfire caused Kyra to duck down behind another crate for cover. When there was a pause in the shooting, she took the chance to peer around the corner of the crate. A few feet away Kyra spotted the woman that had dressed as a dock worker crouched behind a large piece of machinery holding a pistol at the ready. The woman spotted Kyra and stepped out from her cover to take a shot at her.

Taking the opportunity, Kyra stepped out from behind the crate and aimed for the other woman's right shoulder. Kyra was quicker on the draw and had fired her gun before the other woman could hers. Kyra's aim held true and the woman recoiled in pain as the bullet slammed into her shoulder. Kyra's aim lowered and she took another shot, hitting the woman in the thigh.

As the woman dropped her gun and went to the ground, Kyra moved from her hiding place to stand over the woman.

"You're not the only one with a gun, bitch," she growled out as she picked up the woman's gun. Kyra then crouched over her and reached into her coveralls to retrieve the rolex she'd taken off of John. "I will be taking that back."

As Kyra tucked the watch safely into her pocket, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Kyra swore when she realized that she'd forgotten about the other man. She went to react and duck out of the way as he pointed his gun at her, but was too slow. There was the sound of a gunshot followed by a sharp pain in her left arm. Other gunshots followed, but Kyra had managed to duck down behind another crate. With a hiss, she looked down at her arm. Luckily, the bullet had just grazed her, but it still hurt like hell.

 

[Squee]

Keller continued to fire down on the hostiles as they scattered for cover. He had managed to catch them by surprise and take down one, but the rest were quick on their feet and weren’t about to just stand around and get mowed down. From his high position, Keller could see most of the area that had become a battle ground, and he had good cover, but that didn’t stop him from ducking now and then when a bullet whizzed by.

This is just great, he thought to himself, caught in a fire fight with no coms and no tactical gear.

Othic had handed him a loaded rifle, but he had no spare mags, which meant he had to make every bullet count. Keeping the rifle on semi-auto to help control his fire, he focused on the enemies that were between them and Kyra and the captain. One in particular caught Blake’s eye as he stepped out and opened fire on Kyra. Keller was happy to return the favor, pelting him with bullets until he dropped.

 

[Epiphany]

Talia nodded once at Myn's swift instruction, then scooted under cover to a spot she could better support Keller's fixed position. Again, the soldier had the rifle and the only real hope of getting through that much armor so she lined up shots and concentrated on splitting the attacker's focus. Making them flinch with spec fire whenever it looked like they were in danger of getting a good line of sight on Keller.

At this point, the best she could do was hold her position and wait for the XO to try rescuing their commanding officer and the pilot from this ugly situation. Talia shifts her left hand and drops a knife from her sleeve into a waiting palm. If she can get close enough, even that armor will yield to carbonsteel at the right angle...

 

[Shannon Trevor]

"Kyra! Get down!" Othic's warning was a fraction too late. The hostile fired as Kyra flung herself toward cover. Othic raised his gun to return the favour but before he could fire, the man jerked violently, Keller's bullets tearing into him.

As he fell, Othic moved forward once again. He found John behind a low stack of crates. The Colonel had been laid out on his back, one muscular arm draped over his broad chest with his eyes closed.

Crouching next to his friend, Othic was relieved to see the slow rise and fall of his chest. He pressed a finger to John's wrist and found his pulse to be strong but was unable to get any response when he shook the older man by his shoulder. "Colonel? Colonel, wake up!" Any attempts to rouse John were fruitless, whatever they had used to render the Colonel unconscious had been potent stuff.

"Kyra, pull back to me!" There was no sense continuing the fight. They were outnumbered, outgunned and had no reason to stay now that John was safe. As he waited for their pilot, Othic called back to Talia and Keller. "The Colonel's down! Alive but unconscious! I'm bringing him back and we're pulling back to the ship!"

 

[Epiphany]

Talia exchanged looks with Keller and then crept further along cover, widening the arc of fire the two could put on the pinned down guards. With any luck, having to look in two directions would make it more likely they'd miss Othic and the pilot bringing the Colonel back. Hopefully alive. The possibility was very real that the attackers would switch from capture to kill, now that they were losing their quarry.

With swift aim, Talia put a round into one of the mercenary soldier's visor, the hyperkinetic sliver grazing the armorplastic surface and cracking it. She fired again but of course the man had already ducked down to cover his now-vulnerable face. Unfortunate that she hadn't finished him but at least that was one less soldier likely to stick his head up and take a chance.

 

[Equusheart]

Despite the chaos happening around her and the pain in her arm, Kyra breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Othic call out to her. Kyra touched the barrel of her pistol to her forehead in a salute to whoever had dropped the guy shooting at her before hurrying over to where Othic crouched next to John.

"Took you guys long enough," she said with playful sarcasm. She eyed the pathway back to the ship before moving to help Othic with John. "Let's get out of here."

 

[Shannon Trevor]

"I'll get the Colonel," Othic said to Kyra, impressed by the young woman's calmness in the situation. "I need you to keep us covered." He handed the pilot his machine gun to keep safe before turning back to John. He noticed his attackers had taken the time to steal the Colonel's watch after they had knocked him unconscious. Bastards, Othic thought to himself, his anger building further. John would have to take the loss, there was no chance they could afford to look for it.

Othic grabbed both of John's wrists, pulling the older man into a sitting position before ducking under his left arm and manouvering his unconscious form to his back. "Fuck me!" Othic huffed through gritted teeth as he slowly stood with John's limp body draped over his shoulders. The Colonel was a large man, easily two hundred and ten pounds. At a dead weight, he felt even heavier.

"Alright. Let's move."

 

[Equusheart]

Kyra nodded as she tucked her pistol back into its holster before taking the machine gun from Othic. She checked the gun over before tucking the stock against her.

"Right," she said. "Let's go."

Kyra stayed close to Othic as he carried John towards the ship. Every so often she'd have to raise the gun to fire off a couple rounds. Kyra grimaced in pain as the kick jarred her hurt arm, but Kyra continued to stay focused on the task at hand. Once they reached the ramp she let out a shrill whistle to get the attention of Keller and Talia as well as the rest of their crew.

"We're leaving people!" Kyra shouted. "Get your asses on the ship or we're leaving you behind!"

 

[Epiphany]

Well, she didn't need to be told twice.

Talia peeled off from her defensive crouch, still firing rounds at the assault team. This was the truly risky part; she had to expose herself to fire and be in a poor position to see it coming. It was better than being overrun, though, especially since all she had was a pistol. She timed her move with Keller, though, because it was good tactical sense and it'd build team camaraderie. Unlike her enforcer days, these people were less likely to rotate in and out due to the whim of a boss. Playing the role of a dutiful soldier now would improve trust later.

Trust she might need, depending on the orders from her real employers.

Still firing as she retreated, Talia spotted Kyra and broke into a final sprint as she charged up the ship's ramp.

 

[Squee]

Bullets. More bullets. By the time Keller dropped his third hostile, he was becoming increasingly aware of how low his mag was getting. Every time he pulled the trigger, he did it with care and intent. The priority was buying the others time.

It felt like an eternity before he saw them emerge. Othic had Haverson, and Kyra was moving back as well. He provided them as much cover as he could until they cleared the hot zone, then looked down to Talia. She was already on the same page: cover each other or risk getting shot. He timed his retreat. Safety on, rifle over his shoulder and jumped his way back down the crates to get to the ground. Once there, he pulled his rifle back up and fired back at the enemy to let the women get a head start, before he too turned and hauled ass as fast as he could.

Bullets whizzed past him, but soon enough the ship was in sight, and he was quite confident their attackers would back off. No foot soldier in their right mind would fire on an armed vessel. Still, that didn’t keep Keller from running as fast as his feet would take him up the ramp.

 

[Shannon Trevor]

It wasn't far from where Othic found John and Kyra to the ship but each step he took felt as if was somehow losing ground. Weighed down by the unconscious man draped over his shoulders and without the reassurance of a weapon in his hand, the gunfire seemed to pick up as they moved from their cover. At any second, Othic was sure he would feel bullets tear into his back as he lumbered to safety.

Slowly, the ship drew closer as his breath became ragged and his steps heavy. His legs cried out in protest but somehow he kept them pumping, just about avoiding a stumble as he reached the ramp. With a final shout to will himself up, Othic carried John into the relative safety of the cargo hold. Kyra was immediately behind, followed in short order by Talia and then Keller.

Othic lay John's limp form on the ground and hurried back to the ramp. He couldn't see any other of their crew and he knew they couldn't wait. He pressed the button to raise the ramp, bullets pinging off the hull as it closed.

"Kyra," he said, breathing heavily. "Get up to the cockpit and get us out off here. Don't wait for a schedule departure slot, we need out of the way now. Keller, take a look around the ship. I seen Coste hightail it out of here but I haven't seen the Doc or our weird little engineer. Talia, help me carry the Colonel to the infirmary."

 

[Epiphany]

Once the door to the ship closed, Talia breathed a sigh of relief. That had been a dicey fight. There was a good chance those bullets wouldn't punch through ship's hull. Still, there was no point in sticking around, and she was glad to hear the XO agree.

"I have him," she said, taking the colonel and draping him in a fireman's carry. "Your place is on the bridge, sir. The colonel's in good hands."

Hopefully, Othic released John into her care. At which point Talia takes him straight to the infirmary. She's not a medic, not exactly, But she's been around so many injuries over the years, some of them her own, some of them she's had to treat herself, that she knows her way around a first hand kit. At the very least, she can apply medical monitors and at least see blood oxygen, pulse, respiration and the other basic indicators of his condition.

It was tempting to head right to the bridge, now, but the reality was that she'd never served on a ship before. She wouldn't be any more good up there than she was down here. And the last thing a bridge needs more than a disruption of the chain of command is an amateur in the way. So Talia stuck it out with the Colonel. Who would hopefully revive quickly, now that he was safe and no longer being drugged.

 

[Equusheart]

"On it," Kyra said, giving Othic a nod as she set down the machine gun he'd handed her earlier. She eyed Talia as she stepped in to help with John before turning to hurry up to the bridge.

"Alright baby," Kyra muttered to herself as she slid into the pilot's seat. "Let's see what you can do."

Kyra had wanted to savor this moment, but now it looked like she would never get the chance. Still, Kyra felt a rush of excitement as she felt the engines roar to life. Oh yes, this was WAY better than anything she'd ever flown before. Her hands moved over the controls, instinctively knowing where to go. A flip of a switch to raise the landing gear and a tug on the control stick and Kyra had the Relentless in the air.

"Smooth as a baby's tush," Kyra said with a smile as the ship rose steadily upward. Kyra wanted until the ship had just barely cleared the docks before she steered the nose of the ship up and away from port. Once her path was just clear enough Kyra's hand went to the throttle.

"Hold onto your butts!" she shouted before shoving the throttle forward as far as it would go. Kyra let out a bark of laughter as the ship suddenly shot forward, pressing her back into the seat.

Completely in her element now, Kyra flew the Relentless as if she had done it a million times before. She didn't flinch as she weaved in and out and around the other ships as they ambled through the port. Finally, her path cleared and Kyra steered the ship out towards space, only then letting the Relentless slow to a cruising speed.