DISCLAIMERS- I do not own Rifts or any related concepts or characters (the Coalition States, Naruni Enterprises, Juicers, or any other related comments or ideas). These are the solely the property of Kevin Seimeida and Palladium Books and are used without permission for a bit of writing fun and not for profit. The characters Cenes Landford and Ichiko are property of my sister. I take it this covers everything and so on with the story.
AUTHOR's NOTES: This story is getting an overhaul due to a falling out I had with the creator of a key character. I cannot continue the story without the character there (or at least a similar one) but I believe I have come up with an even more compelling woman to take the original's place. Other than that and a few references, the story is unchanged. I eventually had this planned for six chapters, but I think I will cut it down to five or maybe even four.
Orange Juicer Part One
Suspicious Cargo
By Gabriel Bell
Dexter looked through the scope of his rifle at the point man of the Coalition recon team. They were good, at least the ranger leading them was. He and his friend Atticus, an orc woodsman from another world, had one hell of a time tracking them. It was now a week since they had started trailing these soldiers. Atticus was on the other side of the trail, ready to open up with his old C-12 assault rifle on Dexter's signal.
As the soldiers passed, Dexter looked over each one through the scope of his JA-11 assault rifle, trying to pick out the best target. As he passed by the third man in the four-man party, he did a double take and swore silently. The skeletal body armor, which was the typical issue of the new CS military machine, covered most of the man's body, except for the inside of his lower arms. Dexter focused on these and saw collars around his wrists, each with a cord that ran up his arm. That combined with the large vibro-sword on his back and the numerous vibro-knives he carried along with the heavy plasma rifle he carried brought Dexter to only one conclusion.
"Shit..." he hissed into his sub vocal microphone as he lowered his rifle. "Abort, Atticus...abort."
"Gerthag!" Atticus swore in orc. "What the hell, Dex?" His voice was low, but angry.
"One of them is a juicer." Dexter said, "You and me can't take three troopers and a juicer."
"Grr…alright…" Atticus grumbled as he sank into the foliage, his camouflage Huntsman armor blending seamlessly with the undergrowth as he continued to speak quietly. "What do we do now?"
Dexter watched as the Coalition troops passed them and thought. He was adept at setting up ambushes. He sat up from his prone position and shouldered his rifle. When his hand came back down to his side, it brushed a small pack on his belt. He looked down and saw the black bag and smiled.
"I just got an idea…we can make our way up to the rocks about a mile up the trail…" He said. "I can get there quick and scope things out. You catch up and think about what we can do with a bag full of Naruni plasma shells…" Dexter then quietly made his way up a tree and began to jump from tree to tree, passing the troopers and to the rock formation that they had seen earlier.
Dexter sighed as he began to carefully pick his way through the brush. In this terrain it would take an hour to cover that mile, plenty of time to think. He thought about the Naruni shells, large shotgun-like shells that held a chemical that, when fired, produced superheated plasma. They were normally fired from the oversized Naruni Arms line of weapons. Dexter had owned a rifle and pistol at one time, but his love for the guns was short lived. The juicer still favored his JA-11 and all of its charms, even though after selling the Naruni pistol and rifle, he kept the ammunition.
Atticus's first thought about the shells was to place them as ad-hoc mines by digging a small hole in the ground, putting a metal pin in the bottom, the shell on top of that, then some sticks and leaves so someone will step on it, activate the charge, and suffer from an incinerated foot and leg. He dismissed that though as it would take too much time. His mind began to think of other things when Dexter calling him over the radio interrupted his train of thought.
"Yo, Atti…never mind about the rocks…" The juicer radioed. "The place is being guarded by skelebots…" Atticus groaned inwardly as he sensed the juicer get a wide smirk. "…I'm gonna pop a few of them…there's only six of the 'bots."
"Dexter..." Atticus growled warningly, even though he knew the juicer was unlikely to listen to him.
The juicer did not respond and Atticus sighed as he heard a sharp crack over the radio, which was probably the heat of the juicer's laser superheating the air it traveled through.
"Boo-ya…" Dexter said quietly as the head of one of the Skelebots got a hole drilled neatly through its head from his laser. He stayed crouched and prepared to move to fire again once the two human soldiers supervising the five remaining 'bots became distracted. He had not been able to see the top half of one of the soldiers before, but when the man came into view, he smirked. The soldier was eating and had his helmet off. Too bad for him. A quick shot from his laser reduced the man's cranium to vapor and red mist. Dexter was standing and had his weapon switched over to fire ion bolts, which would allow automatic fire, and was pelting the other soldier with a burst of fire before the headless corpse of the first hit the ground. Just as he saw steam and smoke jet forth from a hole an ion bolt had made, signaling his target was dead, the skelebots now had him targeted and were firing. A loud clanging noise followed by the rocks to his left exploding from an impact got him to move quickly to his right.
"Shit, one of 'ems got a Dead-man…" He swore as he leaped from the top of one rock to the side of another on the large formation. The weapon he was referring to was a light rail gun typically issued to Skelebots. The weapon rang out again, along with four laser pulse rifles. He moved himself around to the back of the formation and took a real quick breather to study the situation. He then smirked as he switched his rifle over to laser firing again and shouldered it as he began to climb to the top of the rock. He then looked down at the skelebots, which were fanning out to search for him. They were looking up and a couple was now climbing on the rocks. He smirked as he saw one going toward a slender crevice in the rock. He took his rifle in his hands again and took aim at one on the ground. He turned his scope until he got the one with the rail gun in his sights. He fired a shot into its chest; putting a hole in the armor and making it turn toward him. He fired again and the 'bot jerked, collapsing to the ground.
Dexter then shouldered his gun again and climbed down to the crevice on the rocks that one of the skelebots had passed. He snuck into the crevice and lay down with his feet toward the 'bot. He then drew a pair of heavy ion pistols and held them ready as he whistled. The Skelebot then turned and began to come toward him again. Just when the machine was standing over him, he began firing into the body of the 'bot. In less than three seconds, the skelebot was on the ground, it's chest and internal workings vaporized and melted. He then jumped up and turned so he had his guns aimed at the other 'bot on the rocks. It met the same fate as the previous one at Dexter's feet.
The remaining two had now spotted him and began firing. Their shots passed by Dexter harmlessly as he easily ducked and rolled. The same chemicals that enhanced his strength and endurance also did the same for his speed and agility. To him, the robots seemed to move in slow motion, although their lasers were just as quick. Even Juicer augmentation couldn't slow down the speed of light noticeably. However, he could judge where they were aiming effectively and had plenty of time to move before they fired.
Dexter leaped off the rocks, dropping his pistols and grabbing a pair of grenades. He landed with his feet in the chest of one, tumbling it to the ground before pulling the pins of his grenades and tossing them at the second. A moment later, that skelebot was consumed in a pair of bluish-green explosions of energy. After seeing the plasma grenades do their work, he turned to the last one as it got up, un-shouldered his rifle, aimed it at the 'bot's chest, and fired a burst of ion bolts into its chest. The time between the first shot he fired and the final burst from his gun was just a hair over one minute.
Captain Shane Anderson was tired of walking. He had been leading a recon unit personally and was waiting for the signal that the skelebots under his command had secured the campsite so that him and the rest of the platoon to go set up camp. When the transmission didn't come, he ordered the Ranger to take them back to the site so he could see what was going on. When they were a half hour away, he got a radio signal that had whines and chirps, like a modem. It was the skelebots communicating with each other over open frequencies. That meant combat. He then ordered his unit to race foreword to the camp post and ordered his juicer ahead for recon while they waited a hundred meters away. After ten minutes of not hearing from the juicer, who should have been able to get there, look around, and be back in less than that, much less radio back, the Captain flicked on his radio to try and raise the juicer.
"O'Malley…are you there?" He hissed into the radio, not knowing why he was being quiet. "You there? What's going on?"
Silence.
"Dammit Corporal…what in the hell-" He was cut off by a soft 'clink' that signified a gun barrel being put to his head. He turns slowly to see the greenish toned skin of the porcine-faced Atticus. "Shit…"
"Right…now, all of yous take off yer helmets, unbutton all yer belts and crap and drop yer weapons." He said plainly as he looked around at the hesitating troops. "Do it or yer leader gets a face full of laser." The three soldiers then quickly complied.
By the time Dexter came back to Atticus, he had discovered a hover jeep and had packed all the weapons he salvaged onto it and drove to his position to see the three soldiers all tied to different trees. Atticus groaned as he saw his best friend leap from the driver's seat, over the hood, and landed on his feet, causing his camouflaged Juicer armor to shift and his orange Mohawk to wiggle when he landed. He tossed a new model CS rifle to Atticus and grinned.
"We're rich…" He said, smiling brightly. "There was a stock of rifles and such in the jeep here, plus what the 'bots were using. I have been waiting to get me a pair of these…"
He pulls out a pair of bulky pistols and holds them up for Atticus's inspection. CP-30s, the new Coalition laser pulse pistol. Dexter had seen one in action once and has been drooling over the thought of getting one for the last six months. Atticus just nodded as he saw the pistols, knowing that now instead of whining about not having them, it would be bragging about using them.
"So, what should we do with them?" He asked, pointing a clawed thumb over to the soldiers.
"Oh, just set one of their helmets to send a repeating S.O.S. broadcast and then let's get outta here." Dexter replied. Atticus just nodded as he set to work on one of the helmets.
"You know, the Major is just gonna either take most of the money for the company and gives us a small cut…" The orc said as he rigged the radio for a repeat loop. "…Or keep the weapons for equipment for the rest of us, but let us have our pick of it."
"Man, you really got a way of crushing a guy's dreams, are all orcs as somber as you?" Dexter said as he jumped onto the hood of the car and relaxed by leaning back against the windshield with his hands behind his head. "Anyway, who says we have to tell old Sour-Puss anyway?"
"You damn well know what he would do if he found out…" Atticus said as he twisted his needle nose pliers inside the helmet and saw a blinking light. He then tossed the helmet to the base of a tree. "Done, let's go…" He then went to the jeep to get in. Dexter hopped up and jumped back into the driver's seat. When his partner was secure, he drove off at less than safe speeds.
Two days later, the pair arrived at Domogo's Trade Yard. It was basically a town that had sprung up from a trading post, general store, and inn. Now there was a number of shops and lots, most of which traded illegal goods, anywhere from pre-rifts artifacts to books to weapons and armor and the three lots in the town had a selection of robot vehicles.
Dexter drove slowly through the throng of people, who broke like a wave to avoid being run over by the hover jeep. He was looking around for a small shop that was part of an unofficial chain of shops that dealt almost exclusively in CS weapons and equipment. The shops moved constantly to avoid shakedowns by Coalition agents. He finally saw the sign, which was nothing more than a skull and crossbones sloppily painted on a piece of wood and hung over a door.
This time however, it was hung over the gate to one of the lots and Dexter smiled. Atticus also knew what it meant. One of their teammates, Gordon Hightower, a former Coalition States SAMAS pilot, would find a lot he could use here. In this town, yards were reserved for merchants who sold vehicles and power armor. They drove up and a balding man of middle age and protruding gut hopped up and made his way to them. The severe waddle of his gait showed the lasting effects of a leg injury suffered years ago.
"Good afternoon friends!" he announced in a gravely, but cheerful voice. "What can I do for you today?"
Dexter jumped out of the vehicle and went around to the back and lowered the small tailgate on the jeep and motioned for the man to come around. He had his hand on a canvas but held it down.
"Alright…I have an offer for you…what I got under here is worth a lot…but I want a quarter-mil for it…" He said as he flipped up the canvas to reveal a few pistols and rifles, but a wealth of explosives, E-clips, and supplies. The man's eyes widened a bit. He would happily pay the money for this, but he wanted to barter with the Juicer, to lower the cost.
"A good offer, but it is mostly clips and a few grenades…" The man said, "…There's hardly any weapons at all…100K is my offer."
"Eh…how about not?" Dexter said. "We have costs to cover and whatnot…although I was adding a little padding before…how about 200K?" The merchant thought it over and looked up at him.
"Well, I only got so much cash on hand right now…How about one fifty…" He said "…and free repair of equipment and replenishment of supplies, as long as it is just E-clips and food stocks."
"Deal." Dexter said as he held out his hand to shake. The man had apparently had some bad memory of shaking hands with a juicer and refrained from it.
"Deal…now, let's see to getting this stuff unloaded, shall we?" He said. Dexter nodded and whistled to Atticus to come help with the supplies. When they were done and paid off, they got their weapons recharged and armor repaired. Dexter also got himself a couple of cans of spray paint from the man for his armor. The captain had said something about going up to northern Minnesota to counter CS special forces raids there and it was snowing this time of year and green and brown doesn't quite cut it when trying to be camouflaged in snow.
Once they had concluded all of their business, they drove off with the jeep and Dexter began to look for a good bar. Atticus looked rather grumpy. The orc did not like the idea of selling the equipment without the Major's permission.
"We should not have done that." He grumbled.
"Why not?" Dexter asked. "We got a good deal off the stuff and besides. I got the guns I wanted and you got that slick variable frequency rifle you have been wanting. I am happy with just the guns and I don't think ol' Sour-Puss Alexander will mind if we hand over the cash."
"I suppose you're right…" Atticus consented. "…But shouldn't we be getting back to the camp instead of going to a bar?"
"Oh hell no…" Dexter replied. "We are expected to be gone another two days. Hell, Even I wasn't expecting to take care of that bunch as quickly as we did. I thought it would take a lot longer to track them down. Anyway, I want to get some nice strong whiskey in me…and you could use a drink to loosen up too."
They pulled up into the dirt parking lot of a large tavern, called The Green Grouch by locals, and Dexter shut off the engine. He locked down the storage compartments and control console before stepping out and walking to the front door.
Inside the large common room was no less than four- dozen people, probably more, engaged in all sorts of vices. Most were human; the natives to this world, but there were D-Bees, the common slang in North America for an alien humanoid, of various sorts there as well. Dexter had only two things on his mind when he walked in, and the first would be accomplished by going to the bar. He sauntered over and clapped a hand down on the long wooden counter. The bartender, a short man with full red beard and broad build came over to him. Even with the elevated platform behind the bar, the dwarf still only stood a head and shoulders above the top of it.
"What can I gettcha?" He said hurriedly. Dexter leaned over to him and smiled.
"A bottle of your strongest whiskey…" He answered before tapping the wrist collar of his bio-comp drug harness, which was what constantly put the augmenting chemicals into his body. "…I need it…"
The dwarf nodded and reached under the bar for a bottle and a shot glass. The bottle was full and he set them both down before looking at Dexter.
"Twenty credits." The barkeep said. The juicer compliantly pulled out a handful of coins stamped with the likeness of King Creed, ruler of the magic nation of Tolkeen, on them. He pulled three from his hand and dropped them on the counter.
"Will these do?" He asked. The dwarf nodded and took the coins.
Dexter moved away from the bar to give Atticus a place to make his order. He looked around, scanning the room for the subject of his second objective. There were plenty of women here, mostly prostitutes. The second floor of the place doubled as a brothel it seemed. Dexter did see a few women who weren't adventurers or ladies of the night and looked over each one carefully before making his decision on which one to approach.
The one that caught his eye was a tall woman, only an inch or so shorter than his six and a quarter foot frame, with brunet hair and decent curves. He walked up o her with his bottle in hand, the cup placed over the cap. She was currently sitting by herself at a table in the corner. She didn't wear any armor or weapons that he could notice, but she did have a long travel robe draped about her body.
Dexter smiled widely, twisting his normally handsome face into an ear-to-ear goofy grin. He set down the bottle and poured himself a glass of whiskey and downed it, wincing just a little at the harsh burn as it slid down his throat.
"You don't look like a local…" He said in a charming manner. "You here with someone?"
She simply looked at him and suppressed rolling her eyes. She set an elbow down on the table and laid her chin in her palm. She simply looked at him with a look of disinterest.
"So what if I am, eh?" She had a distinct accent to her voice, probably Canadian. "You don't look like you're from 'round here either, eh?"
"I've been here a couple of times." He said, still smiling "I like it here. The market helps me relax…especially when I meet a lovely lady such as yourself." He looked back over his shoulder as Atticus approached. He nodded at him then turned back to the woman, pouring another glass.
"Hey…I forgot my manners…" He said extending a hand. "…Name's Dexter. Dexter McCarthy. This guy is my bro, Atticus." He looked back over his shoulder, where the orc was standing behind him and smirked. "He may be an orc, but I wouldn't trust my back to anyone else out there other than this guy…" He patted the chest of Atticus's armor a couple of times before turning back to her. "What's yer name?"
"Why do you care, eh?" She asked plainly, bringing her arm off the table and sitting up, leaning back in the chair a bit.
"Sorry, just being friendly…that's all." Dexter thought for a moment. This woman was a tough nut to crack, but he had been able to seduce even tougher before, although she didn't look too receptive to his conversation, as if her mind was on something else. He then leaned forward as he downed the glass he had poured and tried a different tactic.
"Hey…want some whiskey?" he asked brightly. "Or maybe another kind of drink? I'm buying, so get whatever you want." She sighed and looked at him.
"Look pal…I'll give it to you strait, eh." She said. "I don't think you are getting the hint. I am not interested in beefed-up, juiced-out supermen, got it?" Dexter blinked and briefly considered an acidy retort, but simply smiled and spoke politely, a hint of mirth showed in his voice.
"Heh, I may be a beefed-up, juiced-out superman…" He then looked up at Atticus's scowling face, the expression he usually wore, then looked back at her and leaned over the table. "But I am a good-looking beefed-up, juiced-out superman…"
She sighed and hung her head. The woman then looked back up at him and stared him strait in the eye. She had no other choice but to tell him why she was there.
"Fine, I give up…" She said. "If it'll get you off my back, I will tell you why I am here, eh." She sighed and looked at both Dexter and Atticus again. "I am looking for some merc scouts, guys who know their way in the woods. I mean really know, eh? There is a package I need to have taken to Rilloran and it needs to get there without anyone getting to it." She figured she could trust that they weren't spies of the Coalition because of the orc that was standing in front of her. That comforted her greatly. She looked them both over and waited for a response.
"Well, it may not be getting laid…" Dexter said. "…But it is the next best thing. I think you have just found your boys. Atticus here is the best wilderness scout I have ever laid eyes on…the fact that he's been doing it for ten years should say something. Plus, he has been teaching me what he knows."
She studied them for a moment. The orc did look like he was more comfortable in the wilderness, but the juicer, with his bright orange Mohawk, as well as goatee and eyebrows of the same color, did not look like he belonged in the woods for any other reason than as a soldier. Still, she had not found anyone who wanted to haul what she needed to have hauled.
"Do you two have a vehicle?" She asked.
"A brand-spanking new Coalition hover jeep." Dexter replied.
"That may be a little too conspicuous." The woman said. "I want low profile and a D-Bee riding in a CS hover jeep is not exactly low profile, eh. You will need to trade it in for something more common."
"Right…" Dexter grudgingly agreed, not liking the idea of getting rid of his 'hard won' hover jeep. "Alright…the other issue, payment. Our standard fee for an escort is a grand a day for inanimate cargo, which is anything non-living or non magical in nature. Two grand otherwise."
"Well…I really don't want to say…" She said slowly. "Are you sure it is necessary to tell you the nature of the cargo?"
"It is if ya want a low price." Dexter said. "The Major runs an honest outfit, but he also likes to know the risks involved. If you don't want to tell us, we may not be able to run the escort. Even if Atticus and I agree to this, we will have to run it by our commander first and he may not agree."
"Alright…go ask him. I really do want to keep this a secret as long as possible." She said.
Dexter and Atticus looked at each other and nodded. Dexter stood fluidly, the shots he downed not showing a bit in his movements. He handed his bottle and glass to Atticus and turned to the woman.
"Oh, one more thing. I need to know your name." He said. "The Major has a thing for names."
"My name is Zoë." She said, smiling for the first time in the meeting. "Zoë Alexander."
Dexter nodded and slipped out of the bar, digging in his battle harness for a slip of paper that held the frequency that his commander could be reached at. Once outside, he hopped into the hover jeep and began fiddling with the radio, trying to find the right scrambler codes for secured communication.
Major Ryan Alexander stood on the small hilltop that was the survey point for the strike he was coordinating on a Coalition supply convoy. He looked through the view port of his power armor, which was an illegal Naruni design made to look like a knight in armor, hence the name for the model, Mecha-Knight. He sighed as he saw the defenders begin to even out their disadvantage. He would have liked more forces there to assist, but he had his second in command, Captain Naomi Nakatomi, leading a scout squad to let him know when reinforcements were on their way. Plus he had two pairs of scouts in the field a day or so north of them.
"Call in artillery support." He said calmly to his aide. Immediately, the order was radioed and moments later, plasma missiles were streaking from a concealed position ten miles away to strike down the Spider-Skull Walker that was plaguing his light power armors.
"Good, have the tanks move in and finish the convoy, then salvage what you can." He said as he calmly walked down the hill to the command post.
As he got to the command post, which had a dozen soldiers along with a trio of commanders, who oversaw the operations and communications of the operations of Ryan's Ryders, the mercenary company the Major commanded. He had started the unit from scratch almost ten years before with only himself and Captain Nakatomi serving in any capacity they could find jobs for. Now they had nearly a full division under their command, using tanks, helicopters, some jets and infantry. However, the bulk of his forces was comprised of power armor of all types, mostly light Triax models, like the Terrain Hopper and Predator, but there were also more exotic models, like old CS SAMAS armors and a handful of Flying Titans and a couple of Naruni suits, like the one he wore. Each division of his forces, infantry, artillery, tanks and vehicle, mechanized and aircraft each had their own communications link and commander that was subordinate to him. The system worked well and his subordinate commanders did their jobs well.
As far as talent in strategy and tactics and his knowledge of how military units are run, Major Alexander would have been a general in any other army than his own private army. However, he struck out on his own when he was 20, and only a young lieutenant in his father's mercenary company. He left after devoting almost all of his pay to paying off the supplies and gear he had. The day he left, he made an agreement with his father. That agreement was to never promote himself, but to come to his father to receive a promotion. Even after his father's death five years ago, he has kept to that bargain and is stuck with the rank of Major for the rest of his career.
When he got to the command center, a sergeant who shove a radio microphone at him immediately greeted him.
"Sir…there is a call from the Domogo Trade Yard…" She said. "It's-"
"Dexter McCarthy…" Alexander grumbled as he hit a small latch on the side of his helmet and the face visor slid up to reveal his face. He then grabbed the handset communicator and spoke authoritatively.
"What is it, Sergeant?" He asked. The voice on the other end sounded a little too cheerful, as always.
"Yo, Major, I got a sweet offer on a job." Dexter answered. "There's this gal who wants an unspecified cargo escorted to a town that's a week north of here. I told her I'd like to talk it over with you before I made any descisions on it."
"What is the offering price and can you determine the general nature of the cargo?" The Major asked.
"No Sir, she's real tight lipped about it, but she seems to accept our prices." The juicer answered before continuing. "So what's the verdict judge?"
"Very well, but since you cannot determine the nature of the cargo, split the difference in our rates, but tell her that we will need hazard pay for three." Alexander said. "Before you go, I want you to link up with Ichiko and have her go along. Her abilities may be useful here. One more thing, I want you to get some intelligence on that town you're going to, alright?"
"Yes Sir…I'm all over it…" Dexter said. "Oh yeah, me and Atti slagged some Dead Boys yesterday and got good loot off of them. We got a good chunk of change, one-fifty triples." Dexter was using the merc company's code for the amount of cash they had gotten. The 'triples' referred to the number of zeros that the Major should place behind the number he mentioned.
"Right…keep it as your hazard pay for this mission and part of your regular pay for the last three months you've been in the field. Split it three ways between you, Atticus and Ichiko." The Major ordered. "I expect to hear from you in a week."
"Yes Sir…" Dexter said. "McCarthy out."
"Right…" The Major said as he handed the handset back to the Sergeant. A sudden cry came from one of the commanders.
"What is it lieutenant?" He asked as he walked over to the tank commander.
"Sir, our tanks and artillery are being over run in the rear positions!" The man said.
"Right…" The Major said as he lowered the visor back down and heard the environmental seal click into place as he ran out to a clear patch of ground.
As the wings on the back of his power armor extended, he crouched down to use the powerful servos in the legs to propel him off the ground as the rocket engines roared to life. He cursed himself for not expecting the Coalition's backup to arrive and start taking out their artillery support. It just wasn't the way the CS did things. They usually arrived right at the source of the call for help. It was a weakness he had exploited before.
Then again, it may be just a passing CS patrol looking for unregistered targets or maybe not even CS at all. As he approached, he saw four shapes swooping and diving, firing rail guns and mini-missiles at the three missile trucks on the ground. The defenses he had set up for them could not hold off the power armors and were probably already gone. As he readied the powerful particle beam rifle that was attached to his right leg, he could see that the four units were indeed CS SAMAS power armors, and they did not have the blocky outlines of the old 'Death's Head' suits for which the Coalition military was famous for using. These suits had the rounded, sleek shapes of the newer models. As he fired the beam rifle at one of the smaller suits, he took note that one of them had an incredible bulk to it. It was a Super Sam. He had never faced one down, but he had heard stories.
"Alexander to base. I am going to need back up pronto at the artillery post." He said as he fired a bluish beam at one of the smaller suits, a 'Smiling Jack'. It had turned as the beam hit it. The blast didn't kill, but knocked its engine out of commission, sending the thing spiraling down to the ground. He would have to come back for that pilot. Might be a valuable prisoner.
A launch alarm sounded and he turned to see the other two Jacks heading strait for him, one firing its rail gun and the other opening up with a load of mini missiles. Acting on instinct, he kicked his thrusters to send him up above the spray of iron shards that the rail gun was putting out at he stowed his rifle and reached to his left hip for what looked like the bladeless hilt for a sword. The mini-missiles curved their path to meet him and he turned downward to head at them strait on, firing the small laser mounted on his shoulder into the oncoming semi-guided rockets. A couple of the rockets were hit and exploded, the blast causing the rest to detonate. He flew through the explosion and in the flick of his wrist; a greenish-blue blade of concentrated plasma energy sprang from the empty hilt of the weapon he was holding. The weapon was far beyond any technology that could be produced on Earth and was a standard feature of the Mecha-Knight power armor.
Alexander raced forward, directly at the two power armors in front of him. He closed the distance quickly and right when he got into striking range, he lashed out at the head of one armor, melting the helmet and vaporizing the head inside. Before the other pilot could spin around and lock his rail gun on him, which would devastate even the heavy armor of his Mecha-Knight at such close range, Alexander turned around backwards and in one smooth motion cut the barrel of the rail gun in two before bringing the blade back around and sticking it into the torso of the armor. The resilient metal held for a couple of seconds but before the pilot knew what was happening, his torso became nothing but steam and ash, which spewed from the glowing hole in his power armor as he tumbled to the ground.
Explosions rocked around his power armor. They were small and doing minimal damage. Still, he flew out of the sudden maelstrom of fire and shrapnel to see whom the new attacker was. It was the Super Sam, bearing down on him with arms extended, firing the rapid-fire grenade launchers mounted on the forearms. The Sam stopped firing and pushed its engines to full speed, firing its shoulder cannons as it came. Alexander swung his plasma blade wildly; hoping that it would absorb some of the massive energy directed his way as he sped to his left. The firing was wild however and none of it came close to hitting him. The massive hulk of a power armor did get close however and began wildly swinging the wicked looking spikes on his forearm, which were laced with an energy field that vibrated them at such a high frequency that they became almost monomolecular edged, at the Major, who was able to parry or avoid every swing.
Alexander immediately recognized the type of fighting. It was an angry, intense kind of fighting, born out of fear, anger, or simply relying on brute force. Someone with the proper finesse could defeat this kind of opponent fairly easily. Alexander used this to his advantage and thanked the stars that this pilot wasn't an experienced one. From what he had seen of the suit's power, if it were an experienced pilot, he would not win this match.
The Major ducked to the side of a slash and brought his blade down on the elbow of the outstretched arm. His free hand gripped the hand of his opponent as he held the blade to the elbow, which took a second to burn through. Once the forearm came free, he dropped it and the pilot reeled back. Alexander thought he could almost hear the pilot screaming in pain above the roars of the engines of the two suits. He then noticed a familiar instinct take over in the pilot. Run.
The Major felt sorry for the obviously young pilot and wanted to let him or her go, but could not risk the soldier giving away the position of his group. As the pilot ran, he put his sword away and drew out his rifle again and blasted shots at the Super Sam's back, taking out the engines. This one would be in no condition to fight; hopefully the other one who would have survived wouldn't want to fight either.
"Sir, I am assuming you shot down a Jack and left the pilot alive? Over." One of the radio operators from the two surviving missile trucks radioed.
"Yes, what's their status? Over." He asked. The young man answered back.
"Surrendered. And I am seeing another unit falling. Should we check them out too? Over." The communications operator replied.
"Yes, I am coming down. The one you see falling is critically injured. See to it they get medical attention and call in a medical truck for all injured."
"Yessir, Artillery out." The young man replied.
"Alexander out." He said as he began descending to the ground.
"Alrighty then." Dexter said as he sat down at the table again with Atticus and Zoë. "You got lucky. I honestly didn't think he would go for it. He asked for 1500 a day, plus hazard pay for three, which amounts to three grand a week. He wants another of our group to meet up with us. She'll be here by the morning."
"Agreed." Zoë said simply as she got up. "I expect that a certain amount of the pay is to be up front?"
"Yup, half." Dexter answered.
"You will have it by the time we depart, eh." She said, "I need to go check on the cargo."
She left and Dexter took his bottle and shot glass from Atticus. The orc raised an eyebrow as he looked at Dexter. The juicer was grinning to himself as he poured the whiskey.
"What did the Major say?" He asked. "You only get that look on your face when two things come your way, money and women, and the Major wouldn't promise women to anyone."
"He said 'You, Atticus and Ichiko keep that 150 triples as back pay and the balance will be your pay for your extended scouting and for expenses." Dexter replied. He knew full well that the Major knew a good chunk of the money would go toward expenses for various missions. At the sound of their would-be companion's name, Atticus groaned.
"Not her…I have to put up with one super powered hyperactive freak, why two?" He said with a growl to his voice. Dexter looked at him and chuckled. He knew the statement meant no offense to him, but was simply referring to how Dexter got on the orc's nerves quite often. The two were actually best friends.
"Yeah…I don't like it much either, but it could be worse." The juicer said smiling. "We could be working with Lieutenant Fitzharold."
"Do not remind me…" Atticus said. The orc had unpleasant memories of the explosives expert and chicken corpses detonating. The prank had been used to distract the enemy, but it also proved to severely befuddle the orc as well. He could recall the look and subsequent hysterical laughter of Dexter when he returned to base, covered in chicken parts.
"Yup, at least it isn't him." Dexter replied. "I don't like him much either."
He took down another shot of whiskey and waved down an attractive waitress to order a rather large portion of food.
The raven-haired young woman got whistles and amorous jeers from the mercenaries as she walked into Domogo's Trade Yard. These jeers were caused by her mode of dress, which consisted of combat boots, a long loincloth which was looped between her legs and through a chain she wore around her waist as a belt, a couple of hips packs, and a tight-fitting fur shirt that looked more like a sports bra for a cave woman. Her asian face was exceedingly beautiful and her tanned skin showed of well-muscled limbs, although she was not muscle bound, simply well toned.
She flashed her green eyes around her and soon found herself with a following of mercs who were making obscene gestures and comments to her. She stopped dead and drew a long handled maul from her back and looked at all of them. The weapon had a large sledgehammer head, which weighed close to twenty pounds and a six-foot long handle that was two inches in diameter and wrapped in cloth. Both handle and head were made of a single piece of bluish-gray metal and etched with carved symbols and letters of an unknown language. She held the hammer near the middle of the handle and patted her left palm with the head.
"Alright, I will give you guys what you want if…" She looked around at all of them before continuing. "…And only if any of you guys can take me. I accept challenges of all of you at once or one at a time." Before she let them have time to make a decision, she turned the hammer upside down and held onto it with both hands and slammed it into the ground with restrained strength. The hard packed dirt at her feet crumbled into dust, which billowed up around her as the head was driven six or so inches into the ground. The ground noticeably shook and the dozen or so mercs backed up, looking at each other and her. She chuckled as she drew the hammer back up and held it in a ready position, still standing in the three-foot wide dust bowl she had created.
"So, any takers?" She said with a wicked smile. After a moment of hesitation, the mercs backed off and headed back to whatever business they had before choosing to harass her. She smirked and used the hammer, which exceeded her height by half a foot, as a walking stick as she turned to go toward the large inn and tavern. She then heard a clapping coming from her left and turned.
"Very good Sergeant." Dexter said as he hopped off the hood of his newly acquired Iron Heart Armaments hover jeep. "But you'd best not head to the bar. We ain't there anymore."
"I can see that Dexter." She said with an annoyed tone, walking up to him. "And why didn't you help out back there?"
"I knew you could handle it." He replied. "If you would have had any takers on your offer, I would have stepped in then, but even I wouldn't have done much good with you and yer hammer there."
"You're right, you wouldn't." She said with a smile. "So where is Atticus and this 'package' you spoke of?"
"Well, Atticus is with our contact." He answered. "She apparently hid it in the woods and wanted both of us to come along, but I told her I had to wait for you. She relented and Atticus agreed to go with her." He then hopped up into the hover jeep and pulled a small case out of the back seat and handed it to her. When she opened the cigarette-sized case, she found five slips inside, each about the thickness and length of a credit card but about half the width.
"Each has a balance of ten grand on them." He said as he started the engine. The young woman hopped in, looking in disbelief at the cards, which held electronic balances of universal credits on them. "The Major gave us this for back pay."
"Remind me to thank him when we report back to him." She said. Dexter began driving off into the wilderness, where his friend and their contact had gone.
"No need Ichiko." He said. "He knows we appreciate it. Although I don't know why he would give us such a big payday, even if it is three months of back pay, bonus pay and expense money."
Less than ten minutes later, they had arrived at the small clearing that Zoë and Atticus had arrived at earlier that morning. Dexter stopped the jeep and stood up, pointing at the cargo that Atticus was keeping clear away from.
"That's a cryogenic chamber!" He said to Zoë accusingly. "There is something alive in there and you didn't tell us."
"I'm sorry…I will pay you your fee for transport of living people." Zoë said. "I could not say what was in here because there are spies of the CS all over that town. No doubt some of them are tracking our progress right now. We must make haste to Rilloran. She will be safe there. Help me get this into the jeep."
"Atticus, Ichiko, get that into the bed and tie it down." Dexter said as he sat back down and motioned for Zoë to come sit in the front seat. Once she had gotten in, he spoke."
"Two matters of business…first the pay." Dexter said. "Seven grand and our hazard pay up front." Zoë sighed and handed over bar of orange-colored metal with an odd sigil on it.
"What the hell is this?" He asked, weighing the heavy bar in his hand.
"Orichalcum." She replied. "That chunk there is worth ten thousand, maybe twenty to the right buyer. It's a rare alloy and is used in magic. You will get another bar like it in Rilloran."
"Right…" The juicer said, tossing the bar into the back seat where he knew Atticus would take care of it. "Now, why the hell are you so scared of the CS? What in creation have you got in there?"
"I wish I could say, but I really can't." Zoë said. Dexter huffed and looked forward.
"Fine." He then turned to the back to see how far along the others were. "How much longer?"
"A couple of minutes." Ichiko said as she threw a tarp over the portable cryo-chamber, which weighed close to a ton. Her inhuman strength allowed her to easily lift the device and its contents into the bed of the truck. A couple of minutes later, everything was tied down and everyone was in the hover jeep, ready to go. Dexter was not in a good mood and Atticus was quickly reaching his state, having to sit next to Ichiko, who was already showing signs of pestering him.
The juicer sped off quickly, leaving dust behind them as he dodged through trees to reach the nearest road that went anywhere near Rilloran.
"Sir, one of our agents in Domogo has a message." The young officer said as he stepped into the tent and saluted. The middle-aged man inside returned the salute and relaxed. He forgave the breach of protocol, speaking before saluting, because he knew anything from Domogo would be important. He turned his twin cybernetic eyes up to the young corporal and spoke. His voice was fairly deep and held a calm, almost chilling quality to it.
"What is the news Davis?" He asked. The soldier shifted a little in his skeletal body armor and stood at attention.
"Sir, it is about the package our agents have been tracking. The one stolen from Lone Star." He said. "It has been sighted with one of the thieves and a trio of mercenaries. They are on a hover jeep heading north."
"North huh?" I believe we have a squad there that can intercept them." The older man said. "Tell our recon squad to expect them and to lay an ambush. We need to get that package back. Dismissed."
"Yes Colonel." The corporal saluted and headed out of the tent. He sat back and lit a thin cigar and opened a folder. Inside was a picture of a young woman of about eighteen or ninteen with short black hair and gently rounded features making her look much younger than she was. Her eyes even seemed to have a glow to them. She was smiling, as if the picture taken was one taken in pleasant surprise. For a long moment the Colonel studied it before speaking softly to himself.
"Cenes Lanford…" He said "I will find you, and then you will teach the scientists at Lone Star all about what happened before the cataclysm…as well as about magic and immortality…"
He chuckled as he closed the folder and set it down in the folding table he used as a field desk then stood up to go issue ready orders for pursuit of the cryogenic chamber.
The next day, Atticus was driving, taking directions from Zoë, who was in the passenger seat next to him. Dexter was standing up in the back seat, arms spread out to both sides, and head thrown back. He was yelling out, trying to re-enact a pre-cataclysm movie he had dragged Atticus to see a couple of months earlier.
"I'm king of the world!" He cried out loudly. Despite the juicer being his best friend, Atticus briefly considered pulling the hover jeep up just enough to knock Dexter off with a branch of a tree. He refrained from this action however, noting how Dexter would just get him back for it by whining and making a big fuss about it. The action also proved to be unnecessary, as Ichiko reached up to grab a hold of the back of the collar of Dexter's armor and pulled him easily back down into his seat. While the strength, reflexes and fortitude granted to Dexter through drugs were superhuman, his strength and toughness were no match for Ichiko, who could pound a robot or power armor into submission with just her bare fists and take several shots from energy weapons that would vaporize a human, even a juicer. The trade-off from her supernatural strength and fortitude was that she was not nearly as quick as Dexter, although she did have good reflexes, and that her knowledge was limited to speaking a couple of languages and up-front combat tactics, not the extensive intelligence and wilderness training of Dexter and Atticus.
Dexter gave her a glare as he was pulled down and scowled as he mockingly shook a finger at her. She simply smiled and patted her hammer. He shook his head and Dexter snapped his head forward, his superhuman senses alerting him to a slight shift in the course of the hover jeep just prior to Atticus making a sharp right hand turn. Dexter knew what this meant. He had long since learned to trust the orc's psychic instincts of danger. By the time the explosion from the rocket had gone off, right where they would have been, Dexter had his rifle up and was firing on full automatic into the forest, trying to keep their heads down until everyone gathered their wits.
"Christ!" The lieutenant said as he ducked one of the many ion bolts slung in his direction by the man with the orange Mohawk that was firing wildly with his rifle. "Fucking juicer…Crassus, Shannon, get your asses out there and take out the juicer. Lucia and Draven, cover him with the rockets, Syous, get your hounds ready for that supernatural presence they sensed then go get 'em."
With a number of nods, the soldiers carried out their orders. The two cyborgs, Crassus and Shannon, rushed forward, their mechanical legs carrying them far faster than any mortal flesh and blood legs could. Crassus fired his rail gun, punching holes in the hover jeep's side as he ran. Shannon, who had a lighter frame, carried the rear, using her larger companion for cover. Lucia loaded another rocket into the CR-01 rocket launcher on Draven's shoulder and the corporal fired, the plasma head impacting into the front of the jeep, knocking it dead and throwing Zoë, Atticus, and Ichiko from the vehicle. Syous, a psi-stalker, which is a psychic predator that is a human mutation, readied his four genetically engineered psi-hounds, dogs bred and genetically manipulated to humanoid form and intelligence, to go after the one he had picked out as the supernatural powerhouse, whom he now saw was the scantily clad woman with the hammer.
Lieutenant Jarred gave the order for the psi-stalker and the hounds to go ahead once he saw the jeep go down. He then ordered an advance and cover with rifle fire. Three pulse rifles spat red beams of coherent light at the jeep and the others on the ground as they were scrambling for a defense.
Dexter settled in the back seat of the jeep, firing with aimed bursts at the oncoming cyborgs. He swore to himself and tried to think of a way to survive the onslaught of two 'borgs. His question was answered for him when he heard a battle cry from behind him. He barely had time to look to see Ichiko leap clear over the jeep from behind him and land in front of the larger cyborg and slamming her hammer fully into its chest, knocking it off its feet. At that same moment he heard Zoë chanting something and the ground underneath the psi-stalker and the hounds shimmer and the five soldiers stopped dead, trying to pull their feet out of the magical adhesive that was placed on the ground by the spell. Atticus was now firing his newly acquired pulse rifle into the three troopers that were bringing up the rear, sending coherent beams of light into their midst. One of them was hit twice in the chest and stumbled.
Dexter changed his clip and stood, firing into the armor of the cyborg that Ichiko had knocked down. The ion blasts tore holes in the armor and the heavy plating on the chest and stomach. He unloaded his clip into it and dropped the rifle and pulled out his pistols and aimed them at the cyborg. He barely ducked a wild shot that came his way from Jarred and leaped from the ruined jeep to tumble onto the ground, rolling up and firing at the same trio that Atticus was firing on.
Shannon slashed at Ichiko with a vibro sword and the girl blocked with her hammer, which showed no mark from the hard hit. The blow was then returned as a jab into the 'borg's chest, knocking it back a foot or so. The cyborg then kicked high, knocking the hammer to Ichiko's side and lashing out with a powerful punch. Ichiko grabbed the cyborg's fist, stopping it cold. She squeezed and twisted and the metallic hand crumbled under the intense pressure. The cyborg was shocked and looked on in disbelief, as her hand became scrap metal. Ichiko took this opportunity to swing her hammer into Shannon's head, knocking her over. Ichiko then finished her off by raising her hammer over her head and slamming it into the chest of the lightly armored cyborg, then making a powerful stomp on its head. The girl then turned to smash the rail gun of the first cyborg, who was bringing it up to fire at Dexter.
Zoë had just leveled two of the canine soldiers with a powerful fireball and was now aiming her magical arsenal at Syous, who had managed to free himself of the magical adhesive. Out of the clear sky, a stroke of lightning came down and incinerated the psi-stalker into ashes and charred his armor into slag.
Jared was watching his unit fall apart and couldn't figure out why. He was facing down a juicer and an orc, along with a girl with a hammer and a mage, and his unit, with superior training and firepower, was losing badly. He fired his rifle at the juicer as Corporal Draven went down from a burst of gunfire from the orc. A moment earlier, the juicer took down Private Lucia. He saw the last of his psi-hounds become vaporized by some unearthly magic. That girl with the hammer was finishing off the cyborgs, pounding them into the ground with what could only be a rune weapon. He was quickly running out of options. He thought quickly and dove behind a rock, forcing the juicer to advance on him and buy him some time. He took out a pair of grenades and pulled the pins on them. He then stood quickly and threw.
Ichiko watched as a hail of laser fire from Atticus and Dexter incinerated the last soldier. She then saw two small objects tumble into the jeep, right next to the cryogenic chamber. She ducked and screamed a warning.
"Fire in the hole!" She cried out as she hit the ground. The others did the same just as he grenades went off. Two loud WHOOMPS sounded as plasma engulfed the jeep. Zoë screamed as she saw the jeep become a burned out shell. Dexter stood and ran to the jeep just as the plasma dissipated. He and Ichiko got there to hear a mechanical female voice coming from the cryogenic chamber.
"Power core breach. Power system on backup." It mono toned. "Reserve power life expectancy is 13 hours, 15 minutes, 22 seconds. Would you like me to reanimate the subject in stasis now?" Dexter thought about it and just as Zoë and Atticus got to the chamber, he spoke.
"Yes, reanimate please." He answered.
"What the hell are you doing?" Zoë cried as she rushed over. "You have no idea how dangerous that thing is!"
"Dangerous or not, I am saving us the time and trouble of having to find another vehicle where there is one." He said. "I don't know if you noticed, but this jeep is trashed and that chamber must weigh a ton, at least. I am not about to carry it to Rilloran. Even if what's inside is an infirmed old man, it will be lighter than this. Besides, in case you haven't noticed, it was gonna open anyway."
The chamber hissed as it let out the stale air of its interior and began to warm the subject encapsulated inside. It opened the door to reveal its insides with a pop and an icy mist flowed out. Everyone looked inside and saw the mist clear. When they saw what was inside, Atticus was the first to speak up.
"Well, it may be old, but it doesn't look infirmed…" He said plainly. "…And she is definitely not a man…"
Inside was a young-looking woman who appeared to be in her late teens. She was very pretty with short black hair and fair features. Her eyes were closed and her face looked peaceful, although Dexter could see a look of deep pain in the expression. Her small-framed body was dressed in a black dress that was split high up each thigh with black leggings underneath, and at her feet was a small duffle bag. He leaned back and stood fully, still peering into the opened chamber.
"No…I guess not…"
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you enjoyed the story. I do have this planned for a multi-part series. I love the world of Rifts Earth and have been playing the game for years, loving every minute of it. I decided to write a story with the setting to basically see how I could do with portraying it. Anyway, please read and review and expect part two up soon. Thanks.