“What?” Kivda sighed. “That… doesn’t make sense. We were under the impression this was a different threat. Not them. What are they doing here?”
“Daring to tamper with our culture,” Niesh replied. “I’m in pursuit of the direction they went. It’s fairly obvious we’ll catch up shortly. It’s just a matter of…” An explosion cut him off. A bright flash lit the passage but his helmet dimmed to prevent him from being dazzled. One of the men ahead began screaming.
“What was that?” Kivda asked. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.” Niesh shoved his way to the front. One of his men writhed on the ground, clinging to the stump where his leg had been blown off just below the knee. That’s… unexpected. The boobytrap must’ve gone off within inches of him to cause so much harm. “Our quarry knew we were chasing them.”
“Did you lose a man?”
“Leg blown off.” Niesh motioned at one of his soldiers. “Get him out of here and apply aid when you reach the surface. The rest of you, continue the pursuit but take care. They may have more such tricks. We’re proceeding, Kivda.”
“Alright. I still do not have these criminals on scan, but I’ll let the general know what you discovered.”
If this isn’t our own people, then why do they have such old technology? Niesh let the others go ahead, grateful he hadn’t been leading the way. He’d been too distracted, enough so that it would’ve been his leg torn from his body. They’re survivors but aren’t willing to face us. Kivda was right about their numbers. The cowards are up to their normal ways.
Guerrilla fighting had always been how the Prytins approached situations if they could help it. They rarely had the courage to stand toe to toe against Kahl might. He wondered if they expected a response. If so, why not bring additional soldiers? No, this stunk of opportunists hoping for some kind of reward.
Common criminals. I think the general won’t be pleased when we capture them. They aren’t going to contribute to whatever objective he hoped for. Fact of the matter is we’ll be lucky if they allow themselves to be taken. Prytin saboteurs and guerrillas had a surprisingly easy time committing suicide when faced with capture.
Niesh didn’t necessarily blame them. Considering what we will do to them, it may be a coward’s way out but at least they’re loyal to their cause. Some suggested it made them dangerous. To him, it simply meant they took care of his problems for him.
***
Kyle grabbed Lysa’s arm as the floor vibrated. A distant boom echoed through the hall, a sound that resonated through the walls. Half a second passed where he thought he might’ve been hearing things. He leaned close to his partner, whispering “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah, the grenade?” Lysa shivered. “Christ. They’re getting closer.”
“We’d better pick up the pace. How far have we gone?”
“Half a mile,” Lysa replied, “a little more than.”
“And how far do you think we are from… whatever? Anything at all?”
“Can’t say.” Lysa started moving again. She gestured to the tablet. “Energy readings are increasing. We have to be getting closer to the reactor. Or at least something like it. A relay station maybe. I don’t know. Power junction boxes… generators. Whatever it is, I hope we can blow it up. That’ll cover our tracks in a major way.”
Kyle kept pace. “Don’t you think we need a way out of here before we destroy things?”
Lysa didn’t respond. That wasn’t a good sign. She generally had some retort whenever he questioned her ideas. The fact she didn’t bothered him on several levels, not the least of which came down to a sense that the people pursuing them didn’t seem like they had interest in prisoners.
Meaning we might die in a horrible explosion or at the hands of these weirdos. The difference between those two might involve torture. I’m speculating though out here in the middle of nowhere, it’s impossible to know how deranged someone might be. After all, they shot at our ship before even trying to talk.
In his military days, none of their opponents had acted in such an overtly psychotic manner. Terrorists had demands or at least a cause they wanted to broadcast. These guys… wait a minute. A thought struck him suddenly. Why hadn’t they reached out to the enemy? Tried to hail them.
“What if this is an insane misunderstanding?”
“You mean that they accidentally blew up our ship? Something like that?”
“I mean what if they’re under the impression we’re some kind of trespassers? That we’re pillagers? There might be custodians of this planet. What if we could talk to them? Work this out like civilized beings?”
“Okay,” Lysa held up her hand as she moved, “just to clarify, you’re thinking that we might be able to talk to the people who blew up our ship without warning? Adding to that the fact we set a boobytrap they set off which may have maimed or killed one of their members. Oh, and the cube in your backpack was pillaged so there’s that too.”
“What’re you thinking? That we shouldn’t try?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking they made their intentions clear and I have no desire to mess with these maniacs. We’re going to blow this reactor, get our asses back to the surface, and use every ounce of our hide and evade training until someone comes to help. Whoever that might be.”
I’m feeling pessimistic.
Footsteps echoed behind them, heavy steps as if the people pursuing them didn’t particularly care about whether they’d run into another boobytrap. It meant they might well be gaining ground, but Kyle and Lysa couldn’t move any faster without taking serious chances in the dark.
“We’re approaching a different kind of glow,” Lysa said, “orange-red. And it’s getting hotter!”
As she said, the temperature rose dramatically,
