The Trinity Sitch - Book 4: Heart of the Fury
Chapter 17: Rumble in the Jungle
The column of fifteen foot tall combat droids marched through the jungle, two abreast. Normally they would have been swathed in a temporary coating of muted shades of green and brown and they would have been spread out in the veldt, but today their target had no airborne spy-balls. There would be no artillery to welcome them. Their internal AIs had the same confidence their commanders had. They would simply encircle the village of the puny humans and open fire until there was nothing left within their ring of death. No, they had no need of any camouflage or special tactics on this day. This was not a military operation, it was a simple extermination.
If the officers that commanded them had not feeling for their victims, why should they? As if they were capable of them anyway.
The lead unit was conserving its power, just as the other ninety-nine of its brethren were doing as they marched. It only had enough sensors active to remain on the path, itself an old road worn by the animal powered vehicles used by the wretches they had been sent to eradicate. It didn't have to even engage its partially biological central processor to march like this. Smaller processors in it's roughly humanoid exoskeleton took care of mundane tasks like walking. It would 'wake up' more fully once the attack was under way.
Occasionally an obstacle would confront it that could not be simply stepped over, such as a large log blocking its path or a bog that had claimed part of the road. It took only a tiny bit of its brain power to decide what to do with the problem and it would either take care of it or the units following would simply emulate what it had done to avoid it. That was until it was presented with a more unusual situation than it would have normally expected.
Running into a lone human was a possibility. They did have to hunt to feed their families as the intelligence suggested. That would not have been a problem, just another human dealt with before they reached the main target. This was somehow different, causing confusion to register for a moment as its brain geared up to consider the problem.
There was an individual standing in the middle of the road, holding his hand up as if he could command the whole column to stop. It was not the brazen act alone that caused the hulking machine to pause, it was the whole confusing image.
Electronic eyes scanned the figure. It was wearing Torellian combat armor and holding a large officer's type sword, it's tip resting on the wet mud of the path. Only, it did not seem to be a Torellian. He was too small by a considerable margin, his head crowned with a mop of yellow fur instead a proper helmet. It's face was also covered by several days growth of fur, something that never occurred on a Torellian male.
Conclusion – its path was blocked by a lone human dressed and armed as if he were a Torellian. Once it reached that point (in the space of three seconds) its orders took over. It was no longer necessary to consider the ramifications of a human dressed as if he were a proper warrior. One arm came up, the gatling cannon already charging.
Ron stood his ground as long as he could. Sweat was beading in his hairline and it had little to do with the massive humidity of the planet. Hold them here as long as possible, that was the plan.
Kim always seemed to have a plan, and for once he did not argue about being the distraction. He had matured to the point where he no longer worried about such distinctions when they went into action. He trusted her and he would follow her direction. After all, she was Kim Possible (no matter what her legal surname was now) and she could do anything!
That didn't keep him from questioning her plan, though.
"We've taken on armies of robots before, Ron. This should be old hat for us."
"Uh, yeah, except we don't have a sentient SUV to mow them down, I don't have a super-size Slurpster to pour in their central processors, we don't have Wade to hack into their systems and we don't have and electro-something-or-other made out of a toy dart gun to scramble their control signal this time. All we've got is your battle-suit and my sword."
"Wade might not be here in person," she said, taking her Kimmunicator off her wrist, "but he's here in spirit, er, well, in technology. Besides, we don't want to scramble their control signal."
"We don't?"
"No. Like Sagan said, these units can operate independently even without the control signal. We take that out and they still march right to the colony and blast it of the face of the planet."
"So we're back to square one, without the firepower we need to take them all out."
"If this works, we won't need the firepower, we'll have all we need right at our fingertips." She twisted the top of her bracelet, causing the band to snap open even further. Twin leaves opened on the bottom, revealing two tiny batteries half the size of a dime. She carefully dropped one of them out of the unit, closing the delicate looking hatch.
Her plan was dangerous, especially for him. Especially considering he was now facing down a three-ton death machine armed with twin gatling cannons and who knew what else.
Quicker than he expected, one of the killing machines weapons rose, drawing a bead on the brazen human blocking its path. It fired a staccato burst, obliterating everything in its path. There wasn't a lot of smoke and lasers actually did not cause things to explode unless the target itself was highly combustible, but it did sent up a great deal of mud and spray.
Once that cleared, Ron gave the Torelloid a charming wave, still leaning slightly on his sword. The metallic head betrayed no sign of rage, the eyes did not glow brighter, the body did not bristle. It merely fired another, longer volley at the yellow haired thing blocking the column's progress. It had now stopped its march, holding the entire group. The droid to its left joined, firing both of its weapons at him.
Fighting an urge to scream his accustomed battle-cry Ron Stoppable leaped from the high branch he had been hiding in. The sword spun above his head like a massive helicopter rotor, the energy field of the weapon now fully operational, powered by Kim's spare tri-lithium power cell. The blade plunged deeply into the junction between the head and the body of the next bot in the column, not quite separating it, but doing considerable damage.
Ron used his momentum to carry him up and over, flipping over the handle of his weapon as it momentarily caught in the armored exoskeleton of the battle-bot. The whole thing wrenched free as he sailed at the Torelloid behind it. He landed cat-like on it's shoulders. Without room to work his weapon into another attack-spin he plunged the tip into some of the exposed inner workings, sending a shower of sparks up at him, singing his newborn beard. In the space of a heartbeat he leaped away from the damaged robot, landing in a pool of stagnant water with a tremendous splash.
It all happened in the space of time it took the lead units to blast away ineffectively at the holographic image being projected by Kim's hidden Kimmunicator. By the time the atomized mud and water cleared this time, their attacker was long gone into the heavy foliage.
The holo-Ron waved once more, then disappeared.
About a mile back from the end of the column, a bored Torellian in green and orange armor scanned his console once more before turning his attention back to the road. His craft was saucer-like save for the two curved wings that drooped from the sides. There was a double barreled cannon mounted to a circular rail set just below the gravitational repulsers that kept it in the air. Two small turbofans propelled it along the road at an altitude of about forty feet, just high enough to clear most of the vegetation.
He didn't want to be there, though that had nothing to do with his mission. He was like most of his comrades in Darkoth Den Taag's army, he had been indoctrinated in the superiority of his race over the smaller, weaker humans. Just as it was to the military governor, this was just an extermination, not even worthy of sending even the number of Torelloids he was charged with directing. In his opinion he didn't even need to be there. The pre-programmed attack would take care of the bulk of the colony. The stragglers he did not care about. They wouldn't live long in the jungle without the protection of their pitiful little village.
His attention was drawn as he heard a quick blast of laser fire in the distance. Instantly alert, he scanned his console once more. One of the lead units had fired its weapons. Seems the humans were out and about today, ranging a little further than normal from the confines of their so-called colony. Confident the combat droid had eradicated the human vermin, he slumped back into his chair. It didn't even take much effort to pilot the control-craft at this speed. Still, there was procedure to follow. He charged the twin cannon, though he didn't expect he would have to use it.
There was a second blast of gatling lasers, several of them this time. There must have been more of the pests out and about, perhaps a larger hunting party looking for greater supplements than their meager attempts at farming could provide. He might get a chance for some target practice after all. The droids were under orders to maintain formation until they reached their target, if the humans were able to get deep enough into the jungle they could circle back and warn the villagers. While an evacuation would make hunting down the bulk of the population a little more difficult, it was not a great problem. Still, it would look sloppy on his after-action report, so he started to hit the accelerators…right as an alarm went off on his console.
Two of the units had been taken off-line. How on Tor El Ka could that happen?
He was so engrossed in his readouts he did not here the sharp popping sound or see the tiny magnetic grappler attached to a slender line sail out of the canopy to strike the hull of his small craft, nor did he see the slender woman dressed in dark gray, long red hair trailing her as she rocketed up toward her, propelled by the retractor built into the arm of her battle-suit. He did, however, see the boot heel moment before it struck his helmeted head.
Unfortunately, a five foot five inch, one-hundred ten pound former cheerleader doesn't quite carry enough momentum to dislodge three hundred fifty pounds of muscular warrior and combat armor completely from his perch on the control craft. Years of training kicked in, reflexes allowing him to catch part of the small woman attacking him, deflecting the full force of her blow.
Kim sailed over the top, flipping partially as her kick changed her direction. The control craft passed beneath her and she was falling once more toward the muddy track. Her other hand came up, the second grappler cable firing, this time wrapping around the ringed track of the flyer's weapon.
This time she was moving too fast for the retractor to real her in. The cable went taught and she swung underneath, causing the craft to nearly tip over. Somehow her opponent was able to hang on. Her momentum took her up and over him once more and she released the cable at the apex of her flight.
This time her kick sent the Torellian sprawling over the side of the elliptical hull. Only a desperate grab with his gauntleted hand kept him from falling as Kim almost had just moments before. He hauled himself back up just in time to take an elbow to his face.
Kim gritted her teeth from the pain. It was one thing to throw an elbow into some goon's jaw, but these guys were wearing armor from head to toe and they were every bit as muscular as Jack Hench's best! If she hadn't been wearing her Kevlar-reinforced suit…
The warrior jumped at her, landing partially on top of her, trying to land a punch on her exposed head. Not having to hang on for dear life any longer, his free hand went for the short, broad sword grappled to his back. He never got the chance to free it. Blue light flared all around him and he felt himself forced instantly back, thrown off of her by a sphere of translucent blue energy.
Kim couldn't risk a look at the suit's power meter. The defense screens drained the cells built into her heels very quickly, but the short burst shouldn't have done too much damage. Despite the beating the suit had taken when she was in the Silver Knight form, it was still fully functional and she had gone into the fight with a full charge. It had been a snap decision to use one of its more active defensive capabilities as an offensive weapon. Apparently it worked. The warrior was sprawled out on the ground in a pool of mud, moaning.
She jumped into the seat, desperately trying to figure out the controls. After a couple false starts she managed to get the craft to land. Freeing the discarded cable, she tied the unconscious Torellian to a nearby tree, hoping he wasn't too badly injured by the fall.
Now for the fun part. She jumped back into the control-flyer and said a silent prayer that Wade was there in spirit after all. Grimly she pulled a control cable from her equipment belt and looked for something to plug into on the console.
Ron's luck was holding, at least so far. He was still in shock at the amount of damage he was able to do against the two Torelloids he had attacked but he couldn't let that distract him. As soon as he was out of sight he turned and watched as the weapons on the next pair of robots retracted, replaced with utilitarian clawed hands. The shoved the two damaged units aside and the column formed back up, less two members.
He sure hoped Kim was doing okay. Even if he was able to take every one of the mechanical killers out, it would take longer than they had before they reached the village. By his estimation it would only take a dozen or so to level the place, considering the amount of firepower he had seen displayed.
Mild shock set in as the column started forward once more, as if his attack had never taken place. He had been expecting at least one or two of the metal terrors to come after him, especially after what he had accomplished with only an energy sword.
Carefully, he made his way back to the stand of trees where the Kimmunicator was hidden. It took a few minutes to find it, as it had been covered by the last spray of mud. He felt fortunate the emitter hadn't been covered too quickly, or the ruse wouldn't have lasted long enough for him to make his attack.
Something was wrong. The column should have halted by now if Kim was successful. They were only a few miles from the colony now. Perhaps that is why they didn't send pursuit. He didn't matter. Even if they didn't get lucky and tag him with their weapons, he could only take out maybe one or two more. Still, it may just be up to him to do it. He started swinging the massive sword once more, his finger ready on the energy field control. Maybe he could damage the legs of the lead units enough they would be forced to stop again.
He was just about to burst from cover when the first two robots suddenly went face down in the muck! At the same moment there was a shrill whistling sound followed by a horrible crunching sound further back in the column. Ron pulled up short, his curiosity overriding his growing battle skills.
A pair of massive tree trunks had swung out of the forest, smashing into a pair of the mechanized beasts. They stood a few moments more, then collapsed in a heap of burning, sparking metal.
He couldn't believe his eyes. At that point he was certain the jungle would be filled with three foot tall furry creatures, howling and blowing horns.
What he saw instead was a few dozen humans bursting from cover, darting between the clumsy Torelloids. He couldn't see any weapons, but from what he had been told, these people didn't have any. That didn't matter, the Torellians had terribly underestimated these people. They weren't cowering in their homes waiting for the end, they were defending them!
"BOOYAH!" he screamed, waving his sword as he charged the front line once more.
Built in survival instincts were starting to override programming. They may have been slow to react, but once a real and demonstrated danger became apparent, the orders went out the window. The battle-bots were switching to independent mode. Moments later multi barreled lasers started roaring to life. Chaos reigned as the column broke ranks, the droids making like oversized commandos, crouching as they ran on skeletonized metal legs, firing as they went whenever they could get a bead on the defending Vershaltians.
Howling partly like a banshee, mostly because of the terror he somehow had the strength to overcome, Ron plowed back into the fray, his sword flashing, trailing yellow plasma and bits of battle-bot. He was expecting the red haze to descend upon his vision at any moment. Somehow it didn't seem to be coming. Despite the frenzy, despite his heart racing like a champion horse, he could feel a sort of calm detachment, as if he were watching the battle through other eyes.
The Vershaltians were not as poorly armed as he first suspected. Several more Torelloids fell to the ground, thin but strong cables wrapped around their legs. Some of the cords broke, but enough held to trip them up. That didn't completely disable the beasts, as they were still able to fire at least one of their arm-mounted cannons from a prone position.
To his dismay, Ron could see the first of the human casualties. He gritted his teeth and ran back into the fray, slashing at one of the bots, cutting it off at the knee. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled and he cart-wheeled away from the blast from another droid that had gotten the drop on him.
How did he do that? That's what KP would have done!
Another droid fell to his sword. He came up short as he spotted two of the villagers cornered by one of the robots. It raised its weapon. They had nowhere to run.
Ron ran three steps and hurled his sword with all his might. It turned over in the air three times before embedding up to its hilt in the chest of the Torelloid. Despite the frozen features of the head, he thought he could detect surprise in its face as it tumbled to the ground. The villagers didn't even have a chance to acknowledge their savior as they scrambled away, looking for more chances to damage their attackers.
Breathing from exertion, Ron looked around him, his heart almost stopping.
He was surrounded. Three of the Torelloids had their weapons trained directly on him and this time he was unarmed, with no place to flee. He closed his eyes, waiting for the blast to come.
Nothing. Suddenly all he could hear were the shouts of the Vershaltians. The humming servos that propelled the robots fell silent. He could hear the crackling fires where some of them burned. Cautiously he opened one eye, then the other.
He was still surrounded by the three robots, but they had stopped, straightening up like soldiers at attention, their weapon laden arms now held at their sides with the barrels of their canons pointed at the ground.
Ron found he couldn't even shout his victory cry. He had once again come within a hair's breadth of dying. He dropped to his knees, the battle high rushing out of his body. Words escaped his lips that were not English or Arkonian. He had never been a very devout man when it came to his religion but down at his core he knew he believed. The prayers came, both in thanks that both these people and himself had been spared this day and a heartfelt prayer for the safety of his Soulmate.
He looked up at the sky, hearing the craft as it approached. He could feel hands clapping him on the shoulder. He could see a young man bringing his sword to him after freeing it from the wreckage of the robot. He could see all of that but he did not care.
All he cared for at that moment was the fire-haired beauty piloting the open-air flyer toward the village.
Thank you, he said first in Hebrew, then in English.
Tyrian Vershalt, descendant of the founders of his colony, could not believe his eyes. In desperation he had sent the strongest of his people to make a last ditch effort to stop the Torellian attack. He knew in his heart it was utterly futile to do so, but all agreed it was better to die fighting than cowering in their homes. It was clear the governor never intended for them to leave. It would have taken a single transport to take his people from this place.
That didn't matter. This world was their home. They were no longer welcome in the place they had fled some two centuries earlier. They would either live here or die here. In the end they had chosen a path that true Torellians would honor.
Yet, in his wildest dreams, Tyrian did not expect to see what he was seeing today. A tall, blonde-haired warrior, dressed in golden armor, bearing only a sword had appeared in their midst, as if by magic. Softly he spoke the words he had been taught as a child.
Ben corba den tenve noh yetnu, Tredo del Kiresmek ban Effurien de'l tengye ert Podondrin.
Kiresmek ban Effurien.
He knew in his heart the man he saw, accepting his sword back from young Tyden, was indeed a Knight of the Effurien. Who else would come to save them in such a dark hour. He started toward the golden warrior as fast as his damaged leg would carry him. Before he could reach him, a lithe young woman dressed in strange, skin hugging clothing rushed up to him and embraced him, almost knocking him down. She noticed Tyrian as he approached, turning her companion toward him.
Despite the pain in his leg, he dropped to one knee, putting his head down as he greeted the strangers. "Friends, we are forever in your debt."
Ron looked at the man kneeling before them. He looked like he was in his early sixties, his thick brown hair and beard full of gray. The man was bulky, thickly built, not fat. He greeted them in Arkonian, though the dialect sounded different than they were used to hearing. It almost reminded them of the way the Blessed Mother would chant.
"It's not over yet." Kim said. "We've befriended a Torellian general who is friendly to your people. He warned us that even if we were able to stop this attack, more will come."
"I know. Yet today you have given us hope. Please, come with me." He rose to his feet, obviously in pain despite there being no evidence of a fresh injury. "My name is Tyrian Vershalt. I am the regent of Vershaltia and leader of these people."
"I'm Kim, and this is my husband Ron. Really, we don't have much time. We need to get your people together so we can get out of here once Sagan returns with a transport."
"I'm sorry, but that is not going to happen."
"What? I'm afraid you don't understand. They're going to come looking for their robots, and this time it's going to be ground troops armed with modern weapons. You won't stand a chance against that and there won't be an easy way to stop them this time."
"No, there won't be, but we will not leave our homes."
Ron and Kim looked at each other, horrified that the battle they had won just might have been in vain.
A/N
If you're looking for a nice break from the action here, I've just completed a nice, fluffy mini-prequel to this story titled A Few Days of Peace chronicling Kim and Ron's honeymoon.