I caught a shot on Ebon from my left. Four more guards had joined the fray and were kneeling and taking shots at my team as the huge doors to the place slid closed with a resounding gong.
Of the two original guards, one was sparring with Beatrix, who seemed to be toying with the poor creature. Sparks were pouring out of his rifle, which he had begun using as a club. The other, the captain, was barking orders at the four who’d joined the others outside the gate. He was pointing at me, and I knew it was time to move.
Two guards ran toward me as the other three, including the captain, fired their weapons. The shots were wild and poorly aimed. They were panicking. Good.
I noticed Timo-Ran and Tila charging toward me just as Beatrix finished playing with her toy, charged her hammer, and vaporized the guard’s gun. She reversed the swing and hit him with an uppercut hard enough to flip the creature backward twice before he hit the ground.
One guard peeled away from me to take on the scary, bearded human. The guard probably thought he was going to have an easy time of it. After all, what could one fuzzy human with an ax do? Timo-Ran showed him exactly what he could do when he threw the ax and it stuck in the creature’s leg.
I’d never heard a rushada scream before. It was a hollow, wet sound, like the scream of a rabbit through a megaphone filled with pudding. It was horrible, and I almost felt bad for the thing.
The creature stopped, and so did Timo-Ran, who took a knee and placed both palms on the hard ground. I wasn't sure what he was doing at first, until I saw Tila use him as a springboard. She curled into a ball and flipped head over heels. When she was close to the kneeling guard, she drew her small axes and cut deeply into both of his upper arms. He wailed again. The Ish-Nul weren’t as strong or as armored as their opponent, but what they lacked they made up for in athleticism and brutality.
When he tried to stand, Timo-Ran kicked the still-embedded ax and dropped the creature back to his knees. A moment later, he fell forward, one of Tila’s axes protruding from the back of its skull.
“I don’t have a clean shot!” Reaver said over the comm.
“Help Skrew!” I ordered as I dove to the side, then blocked an energy bolt with Ebon.
A moment later, angry, red energy bolts began peppering Skrew’s opponent. Reaver was methodically striking the mech, looking for weak points. Failing that, she’d try to focus on one important-looking part. By repeatedly blasting it with energy, she’d either overheat it or burn through. If nothing else, the mech pilot would be distracted, which would help Skrew, who was rolling to one side and firing, trying to keep his dead opponent in front of him as a shield.
Skrew reached around his makeshift shield and spun his minigun up. I saw where he was pointing and knew that if he missed, he’d likely vaporize an ally, either Beatrix or one of the Ish-Nul. I inhaled, ready to warn everyone to get out of the way, but he lowered his gun and powered it down. He’d seen it too.
“Ugly, poopy-headed butt-licker!” Skrew roared. He lowered himself like a bull, raised his dead mech-shield, and rushed in, knocking his opponent to the ground.
The enemy mech windmilled its arms. When it hit the ground, it accidently fired its minigun, turning two of the remaining guards into pink mist. Skrew began beating his downed opponent with the dead one he’d been using as a shield, a string of curses accompanying every blow.
Beatrix rushed in, a snarl on her lips. “Save the captain for me!” I ordered, hot on her heels. Both guards opened up on her. She blocked every blast of their energy weapons with her hammer until it was a beacon of death, bright as a welding spark.
Her opponents stopped firing. They were probably blinded by the light, just like me. A moment later, I heard a small snap followed by a sizzling scream. Then, there was silence. When I looked again, the captain was alone, except for Beatrix, who was holding him in place with the threat of her dimly glowing hammer.
I approached at a brisk pace. I could’ve run, but I needed him to see me—to understand that death was approaching. When I neared, he turned his head toward me.
“Open the gate,” I ordered him.
If the creature understood me, he didn’t act like it, so I pointed emphatically.
“Open the gate!” I repeated.
Still no response. Fine, I thought. I’ll do it the hard way.
“End him,” I ordered. Beatrix was more than happy to oblige.
Meanwhile, one of Skrew’s smaller arms was buried deep inside his opponent. He mumbled as he fished around inside. Then, he hesitated a second before pulling half the pilot out through the hole he’d made.
“Eww,” Skrew said as he dropped the guard’s bleeding upper half on the ground, then proceeded to wipe his mech’s hand on the downed mech’s frame.
“Status!” I said over the comm.
“Well—” Skrew started.
“We’re whole,” Reaver said as she jumped from her perch and landed next to me. “Bruises and minor cuts and scrapes, but no casualties. Lots of dead baddies. Want me to count them?”
On a normal mission, I would want a body count. But here, it didn’t matter.
“Negative,” I replied. “Set a guard. Cover us while we figure this out.”
I turned to the doors and jammed Ebon into the seams. I pulled hard to one side, but
