He pressed the button and nothing happened.
“Shite!” he yelled. But a few seconds later there was a fantastic BOOM from high above as the giant turrets blew. He could hear one of the turrets breaking off the top level as the weight of the giant barrel sheared itself off the mount.
Barthelme had started to moan and wave the mech arm. “I got you,” said Jolo, picking him up again, heading for the top. Barth groaned with each step Jolo took. Jolo made it to level 12 and was nearly out of breath, and even with his strength and stamina, he had to pause for a second. He looked through the window and the Jaylens that were plugged in earlier were now gone.
He got to the top and set Barth down near the homing beacon. Then he checked the cannons, and all had either been blown completely off or the long barrels were hanging limply by burned shreds of metal.
Barth yelled and Jolo turned and felt a pain in his side. Two Jaylens were on him up close and he couldn’t get to his gun. Another shot of pain to his ribs as one of the Jaylens tried to get a knife in him but was thwarted by the suit. He brought his right hand down to grab the gun and one of the hot energy blades raked across his cheek and he could feel the blood dripping down his neck.
He shot one, but the other pushed him down and the damn red knife was coming for his face and he couldn’t get either hand up to protect himself. He closed his eyes, but instead of feeling the blade he heard a scream.
Barth had the Jaylen’s arm in his tri-grip. He squeezed as hard as he could and there was a popping noise as her hand fell onto the deck. The energy blade disappeared into the handle and landed near Barth. The Jaylen didn’t cry out in pain like a human, she just scrambled to grab the knife with her one good hand. Jolo kicked her and she fell back and that was all the time he needed. Soon she was laying on the deck, rain falling on her face and in her blue eyes, hissing steam rising from the small hole in her forehead.
Jolo stared up into the darkness hoping to see the Argossy, but there was nothing but the cold rain. He looked down at the ragged human clinging to life that used to be Barthelme. His breathing was erratic, his face was as white as a ghost, and his skin was clammy. If they didn’t come soon Barth would die or Jolo himself would eventually get killed. He wanted to save the girl, to save all the humans. He started to run for the stairs again. He’d grab the kid and make it back in time, but then logic set in. I’ve got to save Barth first, he thought.
Jolo put his hand on the closest Jaylen’s back. Still warm. He dragged her synthetic body over and put it right up against Barth, then moved the second one to the other side of the old man. Barth wasn’t moving, so Jolo leaned down to check his breathing. At first nothing, then a shallow, tentative breath. He sat down and watched the door. He put his hand on the old man’s chest, his heartbeat at one moment thumping steady and strong, then at the next, fluttering lightly at high speed. Jolo kept looking off to the sky, then back at the white rectangle at the other end of the roof. He concentrated and listened for the tell tale sound of the Tellesar Twin thrusters of his ship. He knew Katy would come barreling in with the guns hot, but right then there was nothing except the rain tapping on the surface of the roof.
Jolo’s gaze went back to the door and suddenly the white rectangle had turned gray and three Jaylen’s were streaming out, followed by the big, black mech Lord. Jolo remained still, but the Jaylen’s fanned out to surround him. They’d changed tactics and were now using infrared. I guess Merthon didn’t have time to add thermal masking to the suit, he thought. He took a deep breath, stepped back so the girls didn’t move beyond his peripheral vision, their wet blond hair sticking to their white suits.
He killed two before the third one tried to ram her knife into his neck. It didn’t penetrate the suit, but he was choking and fell back, and this time Barth wasn’t there to bail him out. He fell, then rolled away and shot the girl in the leg, but she wasn’t finished.
He felt the presence of the black giant before he saw it and instinctively ducked. It came down with its long energy blade just as the Jaylen jumped to escape the next volley from Jolo’s Colt and the BG Lord’s red sword cut her in half, covering poor Barth in a white, oatmealish goo.
Jolo jumped back, firing as many rounds as he could at the worm’s chestplate. The bullets pushed it back, but the mech held its ground and laughed. Jolo continued to fire but couldn’t do much more than keep it from advancing forward. The worm inside must
