Page 14 of Protected By the Alien Warmachine

His focus locked on the massive, rubble-strewn chamber beyond, he was even more surprised than I was. Unfortunately, he was also far better trained. The impact of our collision sent us both tumbling out onto the black flagstones of the chamber, and he ended up on top of me, vibro-knife in hand.

Around us, the battle raged. Six soldiers, all in cover, firing at a whirlwind of sand. Kal’va stood at the storm’s heart, directing it, and using it as shelter, but how long could he hold out while surrounded? I had to get free and help him.

I shoved my stunner at the mercenary and pulled the trigger, but his reflexes were too good. He knocked the muzzle aside, sending the blast toward the ceiling as his blade swung down. Ceramsteel vibrating fast enough to slice through bone stabbed toward my neck.

There wasn’t even time to resign myself to death. I watched, eyes wide, as the blade blurred toward me.

The next moment is seared into my memory forever. A wall of sand smacked into the mercenary like the fist of an angry god, lifting him and slamming him into the wall with a crunch. The sand dropped to the floor along with his corpse, and I looked around, stunned.

Kal’va ducked back into cover, a half-dozen laser beams blazing at him. Sand still blew around him, eddies and swirlsmaking him hard to see, but he’d depleted his shield forming the blast that saved me. He sacrificed his own safety to protect mine, which was wonderful but stupid.

“You idiot, I’m here to save you.” I shouted, rolling into the cover of a fallen piece of masonry. A couple of soldiers fired at me as I moved, but most of them kept shooting at Kal’va. Fair enough, he was the bigger threat, but I took advantage of the opening to fire the stunner at one who was trying to flank my mate.

His hardsuit absorbed most of the shot, but it staggered him. If that was all I contributed to the battle, at least it would be something. I ducked back behind my block of stone, barely avoiding return fire. Our enemies were better shots, and they outnumbered us. How long could I keep them busy before I took a hit? Unarmored, that would put me out of the fight for sure.

Not risking showing my head, I pushed the stunner around the block and fired wildly. That wasn’t likely to hit anyone, but it would keep a few of them focused my way, and that would do.

The snap of laser fire from behind me nearly gave me a heart attack until I realized it was Jules joining the fight. Paulo’s stunner fire joined her, a ragged barrage of zaps that wasn’t likely to hit anything but added to the chaos. That was the tipping point, and the mercenaries decided this battle wasn’t going their way. I don’t think even one of our shots hit, and if they did, the hardsuits absorbed it, but we kept the pressure on them as they withdrew.

Kal’va pursued them to the doorway, flinging miniature storms after his prey. He didn’t chase them further, snarling and slumping against the wall instead. The swirling sand dropped from the air, and I gasped, heart threatening to burst in my chest.

He’d given worse than he’d gotten, but Rush’s men hadn’t wasted their time. Laser burns and bleeding wounds markedKal’va’s arms and torso, though I couldn’t tell how much of the blood was his.

Golden eyes gazed down at me as he shifted back from his warform. “I told you to stay in the crypt.”

My blood boiled at that. “Hey, you fucker, we just saved your?—”

He cut me off with a kiss that knocked the irritation right out of me. Jules applauded loudly, Paulo made a shocked noise, and I gave them both the finger before being swept away completely.

An hour later,we’d all washed off the traces of battle, and Paulo had gathered the packs of explosives the attackers left behind. I kept shooting them uncomfortable looks—we’d disarmed them, of course, but they didn’t feel safe.

Better than leaving them where our enemies might recover them, of course. Paulo was right about that much.

Paulo sat by the radio, searching for gaps in the jamming signal. Jules sorted through our new armory of lasers and stunners. And me? I sat on Kal’va’s lap, snuggling and dressing his wounds. He indulged me, though he didn’t feel the need for medical attention.

When the radio squawked, it shocked Paulo as much as anyone. He yelped and almost fell off his chair.

“I didn’t do anything,” he said in response to our questions. “They’re narrowcasting through the jammer.”

“Well, put them on speaker,” I told him, trying to keep my nerves under control.

Paulo clicked a couple of buttons, the speaker roared static at us, and then the two systems linked up. The quick, efficient voice of a corporate underling greeted us. “Please hold for Ms. Mallory Taverner.”

The sheer gall of that shocked me enough that I stared, speechless, at the radio for the few seconds while hold music played.

“Good evening.” Taverner’s cold, clear, emotionless voice put a veneer of politeness on the situation. I hated it. “I have a deal to offer you, Ms. MacKenzie. A win-win solution to the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in.”

“What the fuck could you offer us, and why the fuck would we trust you?” I preferred honest hostility to her fake manners and wasn’t about to play along. “You’re trying to kill us.”

“I was,” she agreed, winning a few points for not pretending otherwise. “But the situation has changed, and you have something to offer me. In return, I will stop trying to kill you.”

I exchanged a look with Kal’va, who growled but nodded his head. Given the laser marks scoring his body, I understood his reluctance. Personally, I wanted to tell Taverner to go fuck herself. Tempting, but my life wasn’t the only one on the line. I owed it to the others to listen to her proposal.

“Let’s hear it.”

“You have disturbed an Ancient site, going far enough to awaken a killing machine. We all know how that story ends, except this time you’ve defied the odds. Not only are you alive, you appear to have tamed the thing.”

I gritted my teeth at her calling Kal’va a ‘thing,’ and almost killed the call right there. Kal’va scowled but took my hand and squeezed. My rage drained away at his gentle touch and I focused on Taverner’s words again.

---