Chapter 45

“What the fuck is this place?” Ben looked over the villa grounds from their observation point on top of the hill with the road.

“This has to be their ‘big dog’ house where all the alphas hang out,” Jack eyed the vehicles parked on the right side of the villa.

“Some of them fucken wheels they got there speak big riches. Deep pockets and dark connections.” Ben looked over the vehicles as well.

Jack moved his gaze to the combat equipment they had just taken out. “The ordinance now burning there on the lawn, that ain’t something easy to just buy on a market and have shipped here.”

“As you say, big dogs, big dog benefactors, bro.” Ben replied.

“Next round is gonna be a rat fuck.” Jack stated, wondering just how deep of an impact this rescue operation was going to have and what kind of things they were about to shake out of the tree.

“Doesn’t matter brother, we’re with you.” Ben punched his shoulder.

“Are you sure?” Jack asked. “There’s no telling what may come of this.”

“Does a cat piss on your clothes to spite you?” Ben made his position clear.

Jack turned around to face the former members of their infantry section, gathered just below the crest of the hill and out of sight of the villa.

“You’re all in too?” Jack asked as he and Ben joined them.

“No question here,” Eve replied and Hyone nodded as she discarded a salakane injector.

The single use injector shots allowed soldiers to continue to fight while injured, making pain manageable so they could stay operational. The tradeoff, however, was that the soldier would start to experience varying degrees of nausea within an hour, lowering combat effectiveness the longer the engagement continued.

Jack looked at Hyone’s bandaged leg wound, then gave her and Eve a nod as Caden approached.

“Ain’t none of us ever quit when the shit got thick. People would die otherwise. This is no different. Jack, we’re in this to the end.” Caden bumped Jack’s shoulder.

“You have to be completely sure.” Jack said. “This second assault is going to be far worse than the warehouse. We don’t know what we’re going into. We have little advantage and no initiative.”

“Not the first time that full screw has come around there, bud,” Ben remarked.

Jack looked at him and nodded, seeing the remainder of the team approach after they had resupplied.

“Last of our shit, is now on our person,” Sita stated. “We make do with what we have.”

Jack was about to give them the same caution he had given his former service members, but Sita anticipated his intent and spoke up first.

“We came here for her, and we won’t be leavin until we have her back with us, savvy?”

“Savvy.” Jack gave her a nod, just as a shot rang out from Kasa’s position.

They all looked to her position to see her firing on the villa, eliminating enemy snipers who were trying to set up counterfire positions.

“Right, we better get this under way. Here’s our next move.” Cardox said as he got their attention. “Our extra sharpshooter support is gone. One team is observing the warehouse and has reported Catania PD on scene. If they move up the road towards us, we will have a heads up. Their need to investigate the carnage between here and the warehouse may buy us time, but the nature of this op demands urgency for many reasons. Now, to the task at hand. Charlie, automatic weapons on the hillside. Your mission is to hammer the whole front of that villa. Keep them away from doors and windows while the other teams move to the flanks and rear.” Cardox spoke to Eve and Rhal and they both gave him a nod.

“Given overflights by our drone support, they have a sublevel hangar behind the villa. We will need to maintain vigilance that they do not receive backup from some other location via air support. We will move to secure the topside, then attempt to take the sublevel next. This will prevent them from exfiltrating the area. Now, we are assaulting with limited numbers against a building with a lot of access. With the front suppressed, Alpha will move on the building’s retire to secure the landing zone. Bravo, you have the right side, Delta and Echo will hit the left. You two teams will be the main assault. Push in, eliminate, or drive out any hostiles. As Bravo moves from the opposite side, you all link up and secure the villa as you push towards the hangar. Nyka, your drones will need to take point. Keep the eyes in the sky and maintain perimeter security, but we will need your smaller drones inside, scouting and designating hostiles, along with playing guard behind us. Once we have control of the ground floor, we can drive upstairs, or down into any sublevels. Be cautious, be careful. This is their main turf. There’s no intel on what’s inside. Stay on comms, stay frosty, communicate everything. Questions or concerns?”

“Rally points? Caden asked.

“Sumpter is rally point one. There is a small clearing behind the villa beyond the landing zone, about a hundred meters in the woods, that is rally point two. Everyone, add that to your details.”

“Case handling?” Charm asked.

“Any wounded will need to be stabilized on location, then exfilled to rally point one. Doc, you need to stay low, you can’t go in. If you become a case yourself, we can’t pick up your slack enough to be effective. We need all guns forward on this.” Cardox saw her concern.

“Understood.” Charm spoke. “Ah hate the risk. That’s a long time for some poor feller or fellie to be layin there, at possible mercy from those assholes.”

“I know.” Cardox agreed. “But this is still a combat situation. We have priorities and maintaining control of the battle is at the top. We could fold up our pressure and lose ground just to evac a wounded person. Kazlaena hasn’t the time for that. We do not know their intentions so finding her with all due haste is utterly essential.”

Charm nodded as Spurius rubbed her shoulders, all of them seeing the anxiety in her face. She cast Spurius a quick glance as if to say ‘thanks, big guy’ before wrapping her arms around her chest.

“Anything else?” Cardox asked.

“Better come outta there screwed, blued and tattooed mates!” Ben stated and Jack caught Pri’s confusion to the remark.

“He means we better see all there is to see inside,” Jack told her in a hushed tone. “We better be thorough in our search.”

“Agreed,” Cardox looked in the direction of the villa. “Our girl is in that shithole. Lost, afraid, beyond her people. We came to make this right. Unfuck the fucked. Check your kit, check each other’s kit. Be ready to move. Make sure you have sufficient beans and bullets [supplies]. We’re all in for Kazlaena.”

Jack took point as Delta and Echo team moved through the woods, approaching the fence at the perimeter of the property. Ben and Pri were just behind him, off either side, with Hyone at the back, trailing his path. She sniffed the air every so often, trying to see if any hostile scents were present. Pri kept a watch on their left flank, but also added her eyes to observing forwards to see if she could spot anything Jack might miss. Just as they approached the fence, she caught sight of a faint reflection glinting between two trees. She snorted a warning to Jack who knew to stop, but it was too late. His foot came down on a long stick, hidden in the forest ground cover. His end was flat, but the opposite end curved up to rest about two feet up the tree, sliding off said tree to trigger a trip wire. Immediately a flare shot up, illuminating the entire side of the Villa. Then the defensive fire came. All four team members took cover and got low as kinetic rounds ripped through the woods around them. The smell of burning wood alerted them to the presence of an energy weapon, slowly cutting through one of the trees. Through their eyewear, they could see it, a small direct light beam, in a third-floor window, targeting the tree right in front of Pri.

“Alpha this is Delta. Delta and Echo compromised. Watch floor for wires, over.” Jack reported.

“Alpha copies, over.” Then a moment later. “Charlie this is Alpha, hit the building, over.”

“Charlie copies, going loud, avoid building advance, out.”

Jack heard the automatic weapons on the hill open up and the energy beam targeting the tree in front of them cut sideways for a moment and disappeared. In that instant, Delta and Echo began a fire and move operation on the windows facing their direction. Ben and Hyone would take cover at a pair of trees and began firing on the windows while Jack and Pri rushed forwards, past their covering positions. Once they reached solid cover, they would take up a firing stance and give covering fire so Ben and Hyone could push past them, each team bounding forward in this manner to close the distance on the fence. Once they reached the edge of the woods, Pri hit the fence with a pair of frag grenades from her pump action launcher to try to force a hole. It was not enough however as the fence resisted much of the force of the blasts.

“Smoke the villa,” Jack called over to Ben and Hyone.

They both loaded smoke rounds and fired them against the side of the villa, sending an ever-growing billow of smoke across the grounds. Ben loaded a special illumination round in the twenty-mil launcher beneath his own rifle and fired it out into the field. The round had the effect of interfering both with their own eyewear and any hostile thermals that might be watching them and waiting for a chance to ambush. With the teams obscured behind the smoke, Pri made a run for the fence and set up her breeching charge on a damaged section. Though not designed to work properly on a fence base, the effect was positive. When she detonated it, the force cracked one bar free and made a second bar easy enough to remove. With a hole created, the two teams were able to advance to a low concrete wall beside the main road and follow it up to within a couple dozen paces of the villa. Jack could see a pair of small drones hovering low behind them, waiting for the moment access was created so they could go in and begin scouting inside.

“Bravo to all teams, be advised, heavy kinetic weapon engaged on right side, over.”

“Delta copies,” Jack said. “Delta and Echo are about to enter. Request Charlie halt suppression on building advance, over.”

Before Cardox had a chance to radio, Eve and Rhal stopped their automatic firing.

“Charlie to all teams, suppression has been halted, over.”

“Alpha copies, Charlie, stand by for further orders, break. Delta and Echo, proceed with assault, over.”

“Delta copies, out.” Jack said and moved with Pri, Ben and Hyone to the wall of the villa.

They all gave each other nods of reassurance as Jack readied a flash grenade and Ben traded his rifle for a breaching tool, holding it at the ready.

“You ready, fucko?” He asked Jack.

“Hit it,” Jack replied and a moment later, Ben swung the breaching tool down at the window.

The moment the window shattered, Jack tossed his flash grenade inside, and Ben tore out the midbar of the window as the grenade detonated. He cleared out all the broken glass as Hyone dropped in a second flash grenade. As soon as the second grenade detonated, Pri and Hyone leapt in swiftly, the latter turning to pull Ben and Jack in with haste.

“Alpha this is Delta, inhouse with Echo, housekeeping under way, over.” Jack said.

“Delta, Alpha copies, Omega, send in the drones, begin recon, Charlie, maintain overwatch, make sure no further rapid response approaches the villa, over.” Cardox said.

“Charlie copies, out.” Eve answered.

Jack waited for Nyka’s drones to enter the building and begin scouting ahead, broadcasting live feed to their eyewear. Jack could see opposition in the hall ahead via a small real-time image in his eyewear, hiding in alcoves or doorways to other rooms, thermal readouts further betraying their locations. As the drone flew down the hall, it warned him of what the Black Nova hostiles were up to. When one tried to peak out, Pri was already lined up, capping him in the head. A second hostile sprayed wildly at them, holding her rifle out and firing blindly. The shots were so wild Pri didn’t even take cover, returning fire and catching the target in the wrist, breaking it so the hostiles hand bent in an unnatural position. Her gun dropped to the floor, and she went running down the hall, followed by another hostile who seemed to have lost his nerve. Pri fired on him first, as he was still armed, then eliminated the wounded threat before she escaped.

“Ready to move?” She asked Jack.

“Ready,” Jack said as they began moving down the hall.

Ben and Hyone started down a different hall, moving across the villa while Jack and Pri moved towards the back. Nyka moved a small flight of sentry drones in, positioning them in halls and intersections to provide maximum security for the teams inside, giving them warning of any hostile movement from behind. The risk of getting boxed in was very real and having a pair of friendlies watching their backs at the window would be far more ideal. The operation, however, just didn’t have the manpower to spare.

They cleared rooms, one by one, occasionally catching hostiles inside. Some seemed addled on substances, a couple of them were even passed out. They were not just hired guns, some were middlemen in the organization, handling payroll, finances, logistics. None of it mattered to Jack. He put them all down. Some tried to defend themselves, others tried to run. Pri showed reluctance to shoot down some of them, but the reality was they were a clear threat, and her conscience was not troubled for long. One had pleaded with them for mercy to allow him to escape, even giving intel on Kazlaena’s possible location. However, when mercy was granted, he pulled out a holdout pistol and managed to strike Pri once in the chest. His shot at her was stopped by her chest armor. Their return fire ended his threat rather swiftly and eliminated any future notions of mercy thoroughly from their minds.

Outside the office, Jack saw a stairwell and they approached so he could check it out.

‘Stairs up and down.’ Jack signaled to Pri, switching to hand signals now for operational security.

‘Hold.’ She signaled back. ‘Need to communicate with others.’

Jack cleared his throat and spoke quietly into the radio. “Alpha this is Delta, at stairwell both up and down level, gathered intel suggests objective may be on sub floor. Advise on next movement, over.”

“Delta, Alpha copies. Bravo is sweeping second floor in search of precious cargo by means of recent intel. Echo continue on first floor. Delta, take sub floor one and check on your own intel. Proceed with utmost caution, how copy, over?” Cardox instructed.

“Delta copies, out.” Jack motioned to the stairs that he was going to descend first.

Pri nodded and stood with him, ducking instantly as he ducked, hearing a clamour in the stairwell.

“Fuck, hostiles in the well,” Jack spat as he pulled out a frag grenade and watched the shapes through his thermal overlay for a moment.

Jack opened the door enough to allow Nyka’s drone to fly in, giving him intel on what was in the stairwell. The hovering drone showed him armed hostiles approaching and he tossed the grenade in when they focused on Nyka’s drone. They managed to shoot it down before they saw the frag grenade clatter in their midst. Jack heard a second of frantic shouting before a dull thump silenced all the voices in the stairwell. He arose and went in while Pri stayed at the door to guard. Jack descended to the next level, seeing three hostiles laying crumpled in expanding pools of blood. He paused for a second, realizing what he was staring at after his eyes fell on the last hostile, who was breathing rapidly. As he knelt beside the dying hostile, he shook his head in disbelief.

“Why? What made you a part of this organization?”

The Praeminian looked up at him through shameful eyes.

“Fa-family. They th-threat ... they threated ... threatened ... violence on-on family. I c-could pay, if I worked. Rejected their offer ... th-they killed my sister. Ha-ad no choice, others w-would die...”

“Fuck...” Jack could not help but feel regret for the situation.

“A-am I goi-ing to d-die?”

“Yes,” Jack told him the truth.

“Please no, no ... c-can’t you d-do anything?” The Praeminian cried. “Please help, I-a-am sorry.”

“What’s your name?” Jack asked.

“S-sova C-cora-ano.” The Praeminian spoke with a weakening voice, realizing closure was the best he could hope to get.

“I’ll tell your family Sova. It’s all I can do.” Jack said.

“No please, pl-please, hel ... help ... me...” Jack watched as the Praeminian began gasping for air, reaching to take a hold of Jack’s ankle in a feeble grip, sliding his face across a pool of his own blood.

“Don’t, want, die...” He stared ahead blankly as his body fought to force air into his lungs at a fundamental level.

Jack held his hand as it lost all strength and went limp.

“Fucking Stars,” He snapped.

“What brings emotion?” Pri asked as she joined him.

“I killed him.”

“He would return favor.”

“It’s more fucked up than that,” Jack whispered. “No time to think about it now.”

They both became aware of a commotion in the stairwell above. Hostiles had entered from the upper level, likely retreating from Bravo’s advance, and now began firing blindly down at them. Jack burst through the door on their level and looked frantically up and down the hall on the other side. Pri joined him a moment later, wincing at a wound on her tail where a bullet had punched through the fleshy part, about a foot from her back. Jack saw blood at the site of her injury and checked it out, seeing the pencil sized puncture wound.

‘Pay it no mind.’ Pri signaled as she kept watch down the hall.

Jack was about to protest but the sound of hostiles descending rapidly in the stairwell drew his attention to the door. He used another frag grenade, tossing it in the stairwell as he heard frantic running back up the steps, then he followed Pri to a junction as a boom could be heard behind them. From the junction, they could see the sub level was significant and a lot less appealing than the villa decor above. Down here, it was all steel doors and concrete corridors.

‘We need backup.’ Jack signaled to Pri and she nodded.

‘Egress has been cut off. Push down corridor to next door. Hole up in room and make contact.’ She replied, and they began moving perpendicular to the first hallway.

Jack could feel disorientation as he wondered in what direction they were moving since they had no visual aides to help. He assumed they were moving eastwards but had no definitive answer. They made it to a door and cautiously entered the largely featureless room, seeing a chair equipped with restraints, situated in the middle of the space, surrounded by some stained concrete. A couple of pot lights illuminated the room and Jack saw some stains on the metal chair, making him raise a brow as he considered what this room was used for. With no other way in or out, Pri set to guarding the door as Jack pulled out his medkit and began dressing the wound on her tail. When he was done with her wound, he thumbed his radio to call Alpha, but the presence of heavy static concerned him.

“Alpha, this is Delta, message, over.” Jack tried anyway.

“Del-, this ... Alpha, you’re dis-ted, repea ... ge, ov-.” Cardox answered.

“Fuck!” Jack spat, then fell to protocol and replied to Cardox in the best way he interpreted Cardox’s request.

“Alpha, Delta is on sublevel one, hostiles have cut egress, holding for further orders...” Jack repeated the message.

“Delta, Echo is fi ... shing first -oor swee-, will as ... t when comp-, move to se- st ... ll, how copy? Over.”

“Delta does not copy, Alpha you are distorted and inaudible, over.” Jack replied.

A burst of static was all that came back in reply and Jack realized they were being actively jammed.

‘Comms block. Try to push for stairwell to regroup?’ Jack signaled to Pri.

‘Agreed.’ She signaled back, then pulled out a compass and got their directional bearing, before moving to the door.

Jack stepped out of the room and looked down one way in the hall, while Pri took up position to guard their rear. With her tail secured around him, Jack began moving back for the stairwell, but a commotion in that next hall made him pause.

“They fuckin down here, I’m telling you!” Someone said from just around the corner.

“No shit! We saw them go through the door, idiot!”

Jack patted Pri’s tail, telling her to move forward so he could cover back. They had to relocate to a defensible location fast. As they neared a door on their right, Jack caught sight of someone looking around the corner, and he opened up with his weapon.

“Fucker!” He heard them yell at him, as Pri burst through a door and scanned the room.

It was a darkened provision storage with rows of racks filled with foodstuffs and cooking equipment. Pri saw no hostiles located inside and moved to cover a door on the far side of the room, while Jack threw one of his two remaining frag grenades down the hall. There was some yelling before it detonated, and Jack figured he had to have gotten one of them at least. Pri motioned for him to come over so they could move to a better defensive location. He followed her into a kitchen next, and they surveyed the room for a moment, before a door opened on the opposite side and a grenade was thrown in. They both took cover behind steel counters as the grenade went off, then Pri responded with a grenade of her own. As her grenade detonated, two Terrans tried assaulting through the provisions room, but Jack engaged them with his weapon and riddled them with significant gunfire. Pri fired on the opposite entrance, but another grenade being thrown at them put her to ground. As soon as it detonated, she relocated and popped up to fire, catching sight of a stocky Terran and a Veltrasken taking cover behind a stone wall. Jack moved back into the provision room, making sure those hostiles were down for good, then came back into the kitchen. For a moment, everything was eerily silent, broken by the release of a safety pin on another grenade and the hushed noise of subtle movement.

The Terran behind the stone wall threw a grenade at Jack to flush him from cover. At the same time, Pri bound over a countertop and fired on the stone wall, keeping those on her side suppressed. Jack relocated, then had to take cover as the frag grenade exploded, shaking him to the bones yet again. He peeked over the counter with his weapon but had to duck fast as the Terran opponent fired at him from behind cover, striking the top of the counter and catching Jack with a grazing hit to his helmet. Jack spat out an expletive, then relocated before a commotion back in the provisions room redirected his attention to that threat. He heard more hostiles coming, and had to block the area off before he and Pri were critically boxed in. Jack reached behind him to pull out a satchel charge, pulled the safety lever and struck the fuse handle, then kicked the door open. He pitched the charge into the room before moving clear of the door.

“Fuckin big boom!” He radioed quickly to Pri, who was just before the stone wall, forcing her to take a knee behind a row of counters.

Five seconds later the room shook with a deafening blast, blowing the door off the provisions room and making it a complete mess, creating a difficult zone for hostiles to climb through. Jack then pitched his only CS grenade across the destroyed room, hoping the mess and the deployment of tear gas would stall any approach on their backs. Now they could focus front. Jack went to move to Pri but was stopped momentarily in confusion. Pri and the Veltrasken were grappling with each other before Pri used her strength to pitch the Veltrasken across a counter. As the Veltrasken hit the floor, she kicked Jack and he stumbled back, catching the corner of a counter just above his rear, sending a shot of pain up his back. He recovered and attempted to fire at her, but she was already up and brushed his gun aside, diverting it with one arm, then took hold of his vest with her other hand. Jack let go of his gun, so it rested on its sling, and grasped for her horns with the intention of twisting her head. She managed to move her head aside, and he only caught one horn, seeing Pri already at her back to grab hold of her and yank her away. Jack took hold of his gun and fired at the stocky Terran, putting him into cover just as he pitched a flash bang into their midst. It detonated between all of them, and Jack dropped to cover, seeing Pri and the Veltrasken wrestling ferociously on the ground, kicking, striking and biting in a violent brawl. Jack pulled his pistol and tried to take careful aim at the Veltrasken, but he struck that plan down as he was unable to focus and would put Pri at risk. Instead, he crawled over with his knife at the ready, and prepared to eliminate the threat that way, but a presence diving into the fight headlong spoiled his plan. The stocky Terran attempted to shoot Jack with his subgun, but a well-placed whip from Pri’s tail threw him off aim and his shots went wide as Jack made a lunge at his leg. Jack managed to strike his shin, then put his shoulder into the Terran, causing them to tumble back. Both Jack and the Terran recovered with urgency and grabbed at each other, attempting to get the advantage in leverage. The stocky Terran was more than a match for Jack and landed several punishing blows before they separated. Jack was aware of an immense pain in his left hand and saw his own knife had been driven through his palm. He reached for his pistol with his right hand and the Terran took cover, taking hold of his own weapon as he peeked at the situation with Pri and his own accomplice. Jack heard him cry out when he saw Pri had the Veltrasken in a death grip, strangling the life out of her.

“Stop! Stop enough!” Jack heard him yell.

“The fuck?” Jack winced at the pain in his left hand, feeling worn out and bruised from the fighting so far. “Are you done? What do you mean stop?”

“Stop killing her!” The Terran yelled, and Jack took a quick glance to his left, seeing Pri with the barely conscious Veltrasken up against the wall, no longer able to fight back.

Jack would care little for an agent of Black Nova in most situations, but he recognized the Veltrasken and took a couple paces over to Pri. Before he reached her, the Terran stood up and set his gun down, holding a grenade in his hand.

“You came for Kazlaena, didn’t you?” he asked them.

“Where is she?” Jack demanded.

“In serious danger. Let her down. Let her go and I will pull my crew back so you can have a shot at reaching your girl. That or we all blow up here.” He shook the grenade for emphasis.

Jack saw Pri lower the Veltrasken so her feet touched the ground, and she could stand. He saw the Veltrasken’s face contorted in pain, but also awash in guilt and sadness.

“I know you. I saw you through the drone we managed to get into that fucking warehouse.” Jack spoke to the Veltrasken.

Her eyes focused on him for a moment in surprise before she lowered her head in what Jack felt was shame.

“You looked out for her...” Jack hated to acknowledge her goodness, despite her belonging to the crew that took Kazlaena in the first place.

She managed a weak nod.

“Is she still alive?” Jack asked. “Don’t fuck with us. Fly fucking straight here.”

“Yes,” The Veltrasken managed to say in a hoarse voice.

“Where?”

“Fallen Suns took her away.” The Terran answered.

“Fuck!” Jack spat. “You’re not Fallen Suns?”

“No, we’re something else. Something that can pull away. Do we have a deal?” The Terran asked.

Pri was barely holding onto the Veltrasken at this point, and when she slumped to the floor, Pri stepped back altogether, taking up her rifle in a ready posture in case she tried anything. Jack looked at the Terran and saw he was full of concern for his accomplice and showed signs of conflicting emotion himself.

“Where are they taking her?” Jack demanded.

“I don’t know. They don’t share that info with me. Try the shuttle hangar.”

“How do we get there?”

“Hard from here. Head north until you hit the main hallway, then go west.”

“Why is it hard?” Jack demanded.

“Lots of hostiles between you and the hangar.”

“Fuck! Go! Call off your crew and get out of this place. If we see you, there will be no leniency. We cannot afford it.” Jack saw the Terran nod to him, then move to help the Veltrasken up, under watchful guard from Pri and her rifle.

They then exited the kitchen as the Terran made the call to pull his crew away. Jack gave it a moment before attempting to pass on their acquired intel on Kazlaena, but was still met with the comms block.

“Good?” Pri asked Jack, and he held up his wounded hand in response, causing her to chirp in surprise.

“Just another Tuesday,” he remarked, wincing from the pain, then saw the bruising on her face, and blood on her forearm where she had been bitten. “You?