Эндрю Маккей - Star Cat - War Mage

Wool kicked Jaycee’s leg under the table, “Jaycee. Don’t be disgusting.”

“Sorry. It was just a joke. Don’t lose your temper.”

Tripp stood out of his chair and collected up the dirty paper plates, “We’d better get some rest. This is truly the calm before the storm.”

“You got that right,” Jaycee cracked his knuckles.

CLICK-CRUCK-SPLATT!

Tripp looked at Jaycee’s gloves, “That’s one hell of a bad knuckle you had there, Nayall.”

“That wasn’t me.”

Everyone turned to Jelly to see her plate was missing. She stared back at them, refusing to accept any liability. Then, everyone lowered their head under the table – and saw the upturned paper plate bleeding its chicken fusion across the floor.

“Miew,” Jelly whined as the heads returned from underneath the table, “It fell.”

“Bad girl,” Wool snapped at her. “You knocked it off again .”

FIZZ-SWISH!

A book-shaped holograph appeared above the table with extreme haste, “Guys, can you hear me?”

“Manuel?” Bonnie stood up, “Yes, we’re here.”

Manuel scanned the room and flapped his pages together, “ Where are you?”

“R and R,” Tripp said. “What’s wrong?”

“They’re coming.”

“Who are?”

“The Shanta things. They’re headed for Botanix at speed.”

“ETA?”

“Thirty minutes, maybe less. If you were planning on getting rest, I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait till we’re all dead.”

Jaycee walked away from the table, “Pfft, charming. Okay, girls and boys. This is it.”

“Where are you going?” Tripp ran after him.

“Weapons and Armory, Healy. Where my specialty lies. I might suggest you do the same,” Jaycee turned to the others, “I suggest you all do the same.”

He lifted his forearm to his mouth and stepped out of the room, “Tor, this is Jaycee. Do you read me?”

“Yes, I read you.”

“Meet me at Weapons in two minutes. We’re at war,” he said, moving off down the corridor.

Tripp turned to the others. They seemed frightened – Wool, in particular.

“I guess this is it, then?”

“The sun didn’t get us first?”

“Nope,” Tripp backed up to the door, “Wool, take Jelly with you to Medix, please.”

Wool shook her head and screwed her face with anger, “No, Tripp,” she reached into her belt and pulled out her Rez-9.

“No? Are you defying a direct order—”

“—I’m defying death , Tripp. Jelly and I won’t waste away like useless mannequins in Medix. We’re fighting with you,” she said. “Am I right, Jelly?”

Gobsmacked, Tripp and Bonnie turned to Jelly for her reaction.

“Yeah, okay,” Jelly said and rose out of her chair, “I’ll help you take out the trash.”

Bonnie smiled at the remark.

Tripp exhaled and caved in. What other course of action was there, anyway? Everyone would go down in a blaze of glory – together .

Jaycee scanned the weapons in the armory store, “If we’re going to die, then we’re going down fighting.”

He unlatched three K-SPARK shotguns from the wall and slung two of them over his left shoulder. He passed the third to Tor, “Here, take this.”

“Really? You’re letting me have a weapon?” Tor thumped the side lever down and armed it.

“Don’t make me regret this decision.”

Jaycee grabbed the last six dumb bombs from the wall and tipped three of them into Tor’s hand.

“I guess we’ll need some of these. You have three, so make them count.”

Tor’s jaw dropped at the man’s generosity, “Thanks.”

“I’m not finished yet.”

Five Rez-9s and a spare D-REZ semi-automatic stared at Jaycee from the wall. He licked his lips and scooped them up in his arms, “Okay, that’s it. That’s all our inventory.”

He grabbed the D-REZ and pushed it into Tor’s chest, “This is easier for you to aim with. The magazine is full.”

“Okay,” he said, slipping the strap around his head.

SCHWUMP!

Jaycee threw the hatch shut. He kissed his fingertips and pressed them against the surface of the door, praying for good fortune, “Thanks for everything.”

He stepped away and looked over his shoulder,” You ready to go down in a blaze of glory, comrade ?”

Tor ran after him. The sheer weight of the weapons slowed him down, “I don’t want to die if that’s what you mean.”

Jaycee palmed the panel on the wall and opened the door. He clipped the five Rez-9s to his belt and snorted, “Funny how we never get a say in what happens to us, isn’t it? Viktor? ”

Tripp stood amongst the rotten plants and stared at the flat horizon. The edge of Pink Symphony loomed against a blanket of a thousand white stars.

“This is it,” he said under his breath, “This is where it all ends.”

Bonnie held her Rez-9 in both hands and saw the oncoming horde of Shanta crawling over the dunes, “I figure they’ll reach us in five minutes. I’m going to kill every last one of those bastards before they kill me.”

“Amen,” Tripp patted her on the back, “How’s your new battery holding up?”

She reached over her neck and pressed her fingers between her shoulder blades, “Yeah, it’s okay. I’m not freaking out too much.”

“Good,” Tripp turned to Wool and Jelly, who appeared ready for battle, “You guys okay?”

“We’ll do our best,” Wool said.

Jelly held her D-REZ in both hands and swished her tail around, ready for war, “I am a fighter.”

Tripp walked over to Jelly and squatted in front of her, “I’m proud of you, Anderson.”

“If Shanta doesn’t kill us, the sun will.”

Tripp ran the back of his hand over her face, “That’s right. You’re very smart, you know.”

“I know,” she licked her lips and pushed her gun into his chest.

Jaycee stormed into Botanix with a range of weapons strapped to his shoulder, “Tripp, catch.”

He flung one of his K-SPARKS at Tripp, who caught it in his arms, “Fully loaded?”

“You know it.”

Tripp looked at the D-REZ firearm in Tor’s hands as he walked in, “I see you trust the Russkie with a gun, now?”

“Yeah,” Jaycee thumped the man on the back a little too hard for comfort, “I think he knows that he’s way down the pecking order of what’s going to kill us.”

Bonnie armed her Rez-9 and rolled her shoulders. She widened her eyes at the horizon, “They’re coming. Get ready.”

Tripp ran in front of crew and addressed them for perhaps the last time. He pointed to Jelly and made sure everyone was listening.

“This is it. We need to protect Anderson as best we can. Every single one of us needs to return fire if we’re to stand a chance of surviving. On no account are you to leave Opera Beta.”

Jelly nodded and pressed her baby bump with her elbow, “Miew.”

“Setting turret, stand by,” Jaycee held his K-SPARK out at arm’s length. The grip on the gun folded out in three directions and shot downward, attaching itself to the floor, “How many of them are there?”

“We’re vastly outnumbered, let’s put it like that,” Tripp said. “When you’re down to your last clip, use it on yourself.”

“Last clip ?” Bonnie chewed back her anger at that statement, “How many bullets does it take to kill yourself?”

“You might miss,” Tripp said.