“Skinny hit on the wrong local and now they’re all trying to kill us.”
Zero’s eyebrow shot up. Skinny would not have been his pick for dangerous flirting. Sparky… it was practically expected, but not the strong, silent type heavy-worlder. Then they all ducked as the air around them became a deadly net of shrapnel and laser beams.
“You wankers!” a voice bellowed from the other side of the road, and Beauty ducked out of cover to fire back the way they’d come. His face was a mask of rage, one arm curled protectively around the books he carried. One of them had a hole and scorch-mark from a blaster on the back. “That was a fucking first edition!”
Three bodies hit the ground.
“It was signed!”
Two more bodies hit the ground.
“I’d say we leave Beauty to deal with the rest, but there are more on the way,” Zero yelled in warning. Seriously, he’d never seen the tactical specialist so pissed off. Ever.
“Moving!” T’Raal yelled and half the Warborne broke from cover as the remainder laid down covering fire. Zero’s world narrowed down to firing arcs and making sure Eris was okay. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about his own skin, as long as she was okay. Despite the implants that laced her system, making her more like him than any of the others, she was still organic. Soft. Vulnerable.
He wasn’t. His body was built for combat, his skeleton more a chassis than a biological construct, and his sub-dermal mesh was rated for ballistics. At least, it was now after Red had fired a full clip into his gut to test her theory. He still thought she’d enjoyed that a little too much.
“Keep it together,” T’Raal ordered as they reached the edge of the outpost.
Crammed in beside Eris behind a small tumble-down wall, Zero scanned their surroundings. This was where it got interesting. They’d parked the Sprite out of town, a couple of sand dunes away. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now though, it meant they had at least a couple of hundred meters of blasting sand and tumbleweeds between them and the nearest rise. And absolutely nothing to stop their pursuers from filling them all full of holes.
“Defensive line!” T’Raal ordered from his cover behind a waste canister. It was amazing how such a big guy could fold himself into such a small space, but needs must when the bullets were flying. He motioned toward the sand behind them. “Zero and Red. We’ll cover, you make it to the rise.”
It made sense. Of them all, he and Red were the fastest on their feet.
“No can do, boss.” It was the first time he’d ever argued with a direct order. “I’m not leaving Eris.”
She looked at him like he’d grown another head. “What the fuck?” she hissed. “Do it and get us some covering fire, you idiot!”
Red barked a laugh. “I like her already. Okay, lurve machine… bet I can beat you to that top rise.”
“The fuck you can!”
He caught Eris’s chin and made her look at him. Her gaze was steady and unwavering. “Don’t get shot,” he told her. “Because if you do, I will be pissed with you. Okay?”
Then he kissed her. Quick. Hard. Barely more than an impression of lips on lips before he broke away.
“Okay, Scales… you’re on,” he called out to Red, getting an outraged hiss in reply. She hated to be reminded of her Krynassis heritage. Even though it was written in the scales that appeared under her skin when she was stressed and this hiss sometimes in her voice.
“You lot had better put down covering fire,” the female mercenary yelled a warning. “Because if this lot kill me, I will fucking haunt you all. Zero, moving in three… two… one… go!”
They both broke from cover at the same time, sprinting toward the top of the rise as the Warborne opened fire. Zero kept his head down, changing direction often as bullets and laser beams cut the air around him and slammed into the sand. About twenty feet away Red was going through the same song and dance, bellowing a wordless war cry.
They both made it to the top at the same time, throwing themselves into cover. But there was no time to rest and recuperate. Instantly, they clawed their way back up to the top of the rise, yanking weapons from holsters. Together, they opened fire on the outposters trying to ease from cover and overwhelm their friends still hidden on the edge of town.
Zero aimed, one of the townsfolk in his sights, and pulled the trigger. Bullets tore into the buildings, punching holes through walls and sending bodies flying. Blood sprayed scarlet to be soaked up by the ever-thirsty sand. The wind howled in triumph…
He frowned and pulled his finger off the trigger. His personal weapons were heavy-duty, sure, but they didn’t pack that kind of punch… He and Red looked up as the wind whipped sand up around them, the ventral hull of the Sprite blotting out the sun.
“Anyone call for a ride?” Fin’s voice boomed from the speakers as the Sprite’s forward guns cut down anyone trying to follow the team as they broke from cover and raced up the rise toward the ship. Zero grinned, waiting for Eris as she ran toward him and then bundling her up the boarding ramp ahead of him.
“So…” he yelled over the sound of the engine and the Sprite’s guns. “What did you think of your first action with the Warborne?”
Eris watched the boarding ramp shut behind them, the massive metal jaws swallowing them like a mama crocodile keeping her babies safe. Her ears still rang from the gunfire and her own heartbeat. She slumped against the wall next to Zero as the ship lurched, g-forces making her unsteady on her feet for a moment as they took off.
“Hold on,” Fin’s voice came
