Chapter 38
Story by T Hodge
Edited by Steve
The fight
Tim sat in the Library with The King, Queen Purrless, Tabitha, Tammy, and Shanae. "Today is the fifth day," the King stated. "What are they waiting for?"
Tim told the King that he knew where the thirty mercenaries were and that he and the others would handle them later that night. If any others showed up, they would be handled similarly.
Tim told the King and his family. They were to stay in the castle tonight and for the daughters to protect their parents. Tim got up to meet with Commander Anden-Aipas. She would be the one in charge of the Katteena soldiers
Tim asked Tabitha if he and the Commander could use her bedroom to check out the plans for that evening.
Tabitha smiled and said, "If that's all you will be doing in my bedroom, Ok."
Tim frowned at Tabitha, "Thanks. Your balcony looks out onto the castle's south side, right?"
"Yes, you can see for a mile in that direction. It's all flat land."
Tim got up and headed to Tabitha's bedroom, meeting the Commander in the hallway.
"Tim, how many soldiers do you want and where should I position them?" the Commander asked.
They walked through Tabitha's rooms and onto the balcony. Tim looked around and pointed to a spot just inside the south wall. "Could you place two squads there in case they get by us? Have them form a semi-circle facing the doorway. But only fire if the mercenaries step inside the doorway."
Tim looked around more and thought about how he would enter this castle. He checked the wall closely and pointed to another spot at the top of the wall. He said, "At that bend, place some people there, but they are to stay out of sight below the wall."
Still observing the wall, he said, "There, next to the tower, and you need a squad along that catwalk."
"Commander, please remind your soldiers to keep out of sight and not to fire unless a mercenary comes through that doorway. The units from the ship will be out there taking on the mercenaries, and we would not like to be shot by our own soldiers."
"The other thing, I need soldiers walking the hallway, starting in ten minutes. I don't want a set pattern or the patrols to be at a certain time."
"Tim, I will start having my troops in place. That way, we will be ready for anything."
"No, wait until it gets dark. They may have someone inside who would report on the patrols."
"The soldiers will be where you indicated and follow your instructions."
Tim and the Commander said their goodbyes, and each headed off. They were now getting everything ready. Tim returned to the ship and headed to the TOC room.
Walking into the TOC room and saw Pauline at her desk. He walked over to her and sat next to her.
Pauline turned to Tim and asked, "How are you feeling? Is everything sit-up inside the castle?" She gestured at the monitors.
"I feel the same way I felt in my old unit before a battle, nervous." Tim looked around for the java machine, wanting a cup. "Yes, everything is set-up inside the castle. Hopefully, nothing will happen inside."
One volunteer saw Tim look for the java machine and brought him a cup, and Tim thanked her before taking a sip.
"Tim, I have three new probe sets, cloaked and in place right now. The mercenaries will be X on your helmet's faceplate, and the O will be friendly soldiers. If needed, the + will be medical personnel."
"I will have probes with lasers behind you and the shuttle, and they are there to guard that area. We will also have two probes equipped with flares to illuminate the site if you need them."
"I think that will cover it. Let me know when they start forming." Tim got up and left, headed to his office. Four hours later, Pauline notified Tim that the mercenaries were on the move.
****
Tim planned to take the fight to them, the shuttle was cloaked, and the weather was overcast. They were approaching the mercenaries from their rear.
The shuttle hovered just a few feet off the ground, allowing Tim's teams to exit through the front ramp, one going to the right and the other to the left; Shanae ran down the ramp one step behind Tim. They made their way twenty feet away from the shuttle and then lay down while the other team members began covering fire.
The mercenaries had no idea that anyone knew they were there. But someone was firing at them from their rear. No images were showing on their face plates, but some of their fellows were being killed. Even though they did not hear weapons fire, just irregular pulses, regardless of what it was, it was destructive to anyone hit.
Shanae started to raise her head to see better, and Tim slapped her head flat an instant before a burst of bullets tore through the weeds around her. Tim snapped his weapon up, fired, and heard a scream.
'
I can't see a thing
,' Shanae said to herself as bullets rattled overhead. She tried to settle her nerves as more rounds tore over her head. Not far away, she heard the distinctive sound of the heat weapons and, shortly, a scream. There came automatic weapons firing in return.
One of Tim's team members launched an illumination probe, blinding the mercenary's night vision gear. Tim's team wore the new cloaked suits, so they could not be seen anyway. The probe confused the mercenaries but didn't interfere with their new helmets.
The screams from the mercenaries from the sudden bright light hurting their eyes, gave Tim's team the location of some of them.
Tim fired, came to a crouched position, and dashed ahead, diving to the ground, Shanae right behind. Shanae crawled next to Tim and saw an X on her helmet's faceplate marking a mercenary, so she fired a short burst into that area.
The X was a mercenary that had risen to shoot the probe. Before he got the chance, Shanae's bullets struck his head. It only took a half-second, but his life was over.
Shanae thought,
'I finally got one
.'
The mercenaries worried now and laid down a near-constant barrage of automatic fire in Tim's team's direction.
Shanae kept firing in the direction the TOC pinpointed. Every time Tim moved, she was right behind him.
Tim told Mona, Tawni, and Sherald to flank the mercenaries on the right and for the Purrless's soldiers to fill their spots. Shanae heard one of the Purrless soldiers curse and call for a medic, the soldier obviously having been hit. She said it was only a graze but was bleeding and hurt like hell.
A few minutes later, the TOC showed she was still firing. Also, her helmet delivered a cross next to the soldier's circle. So the medic was working on her at the same time.
Tim moved again, with Shanae scrambling right after him. She watched to see if she could see anything in front of them. The TOC provided her helmet with X's to locate the mercenary's locations. But the hail of bullets coming from the mercenaries forced her to keep her head down.
Tim's helmet visor showed two mercenaries off the ground to his left. Tim needed to see better. I wish I could see a lot better. Tim's eyes started to enhance, and he saw two shooters in the building.
He told TOC, he wanted the second story, right side windows two and four to be lit up. He turned to look to his front, and his eyes returned to normal vision.
TOC sent over a cloaked probe. Once in position, it fired a flare into each window where the snipers were and as they rose to see who was behind them. The team fired, killing them both.
Mona, Tawni, and Sherald had moved to the right flank of the mercenary and waited for Tim to have a probe light up the whole area. Once the sky was lit, the three could see their targets. The rest of Tim's group poured fire into the mercenary line to keep them pinned down.
Now the three of them started taking out the remaining mercenaries.
Tim told Shanae to stay where she was until the team checked for survivors. One could still be alive and waiting to take someone with him.
Tim heard a single shot, then more as the team ensured everyone was dead with a shot to the head. A couple of minutes later, "All clear, Tim," Mona said.
Tim had everyone report to the shuttlecraft and then to the Gladiator 1.
Tim, with Shanae, walked over to the medic and wounded soldier. "How is she doing, Doc?"
"She took one in the right upper thigh or the Rectus Femoris." The medic said. The medic had the trooper's camouflage turned off and her pants pulled down. One medic was pressing down on the wound while two others were bringing a Diagnostics Bed. They placed the soldier in it and headed to the ship.
Mona approached Tim and started her report, "Three took glancing rounds to their helmets, and one took a hit to the vest. No other casualties, Tim."
****
Tim and Shanae walked into the castle after the shuttle dropped them off in the courtyard. They moved through the long hallways to the Library. At this time of the night, there were few people awake.
Walking into the Library, Tim saw that the King and his family were waiting. They all looked toward the door as it opened, and when they saw it was Tim and Shanae, there was relief on their faces.
Tim walked toward the King with a smile. Tabitha and Tammy ran to him and hugged and kissed him; they were thankful that he was still alive and unhurt. Grabbing both girls around their waist and lifting them, he moved toward the King and Queen.
"Sire, I believe the outside is secured. The soldiers are doing the clean-up and will be finished by morning." He now lowered the girls back to the floor.
Shanae moved to stand beside Tim. She was feeling pride in doing a good job.
The door to the Library opened, and one of the servants stepped in. "Sire, I have a message from the Big Boss." He said as he walked toward the King.
Tim's enhanced sense of smell kicked in, and he smelled three or four different odors on the servant, one he recognized immediately as explosive powder. One of the other odors was body perspiration like the guy was nervous.
He turned to check the guy out. Saw that he had his right hand in his pocket. Tim enhanced hearing; it detected a faster than normal heartbeat.
Tim thought, '
smells of explosive powder, nervous, fast heartbeat, and hand in pocket. This guy is a suicide bomber
.
If that is what he is, he will try to get as close to the King as possible.'
