Chapter 3: Troubles on the Ring
The room began to empty out as every squadron but one began to file into the ship. Lt. Jr. Grade Justice and his squadron remained. Overall, Larry thought things were moving too fast. He had just gotten here and already he was going on an operation to scout out a new base for this clan. If we don't do it though, he thought, someone else will. And where will that leave us?
Lt. Commanders Tex and Recon, and Commander Fate led their squadrons out of the small hanger, through several corridors, down the hall, and into a much larger hanger. Tex stalked in front of her column, apparently expecting attack at any moment, despite the Pride of Clan Hunters being under control of CH now and not of the Gou'ld…whatever they were.
Inside the larger hanger, several shuttles similar to the one that they had left in the other room littered around, along with a few of the CH shuttles. Larry recognized the Pillar of Discovery, Whitestar's ship, but Whitestar was not around; so there was no telling how it got there. After leading over to next to one of the larger cargo ships that littered the floor, Tex turned around.
"Alright, we are going to go down to the surface in this cargo ship. I already know how to pilot it, so if everyone could get inside, please? We will be searching out a section of the Ring world that has a large number of instillations and facilities scattered around it. We are going to investigate every single one of them and see if we can find anything in there. Also, about two standard hours ago, Captain Assim was sent down to the surface of the Ring using the Gou'ld transport system…we have been unable to reestablish contact ever since. So, we are going to attempt to locate him."
Shooing the CH members into the transport ship like a goodwife shooing geese, she continued to move inward and through the door. The main cockpit spoke more of the gaudy taste of the Gou'ld — more gilt and hieroglyphs. Two chairs were seated at the front of the cone-like nose. There was a considerable amount of space behind the two pilots' chairs into which crowded Spacer, Larry, Biffy, Fox, and a short, pudgy 17-year-old named Dabby, who was cradling a laptop and had a small pistol in a belt at his side.
There was a second room in the back that was spacious enough to accommodate a UH-60 Blackhawk transport helicopter that Larry recognized as the one Biffy and Spacer had rescued him with. Larry opened his mouth to ask how it got there, but was caught off guard as Spacer toppled over. Dabby swore as he bent down around the laptop he had strapped to his side to check Spacer's pockets for his PDA.
"He ran out of time," Dabby said in a tight, slightly accented voice, as he pulled out Spacer's PDA.
"How long until he can re-enter?" Tex asked.
"About five hours of regular sleep at minimum," came the reply from Biffy.
"Do ya think we should continue with the scoutin' mission, Ma'am?" asked Fox.
Tex shrugged, "We all have lives. I doubt we will always be able to move around at whim with everyone we would like to. I have two hours left on my time, so I think we should proceed. See if Fate's squadron can spare anyone, will you, Harrod? And someone take Spacer outside, he'll be safer on the Pride than on some nameless cargo ship."
So, Larry moved over to where the Commander with the pale-blue eyes was loading a large, tank-like vehicle onto another of the Gou'ld cargo ships. Coming to attention, just like he had seen several other CH members do, he saluted. "Sir, Lt. Commander Tex is wondering if you can spare her a man, Spacer just logged out. Too much time."
The Commander looked determinedly over his shoulder, and motioned to the men to stop pushing the tank into the Gou'ld cargo ship. "I can give you Turkey. He's a Petty Officer First Class; but, more importantly, he follows the black magic." Commander Fate's voice came out in a rasp, which reminded Larry of gravel being crunched under the tires of a large SUV. It began to bother Larry after listening to it a short time.
Commander Fate called out to the dark-haired boy who looked to be in his mid teens, and had an extremely pale face. When he glided closer to Larry, he looked remarkably older than Larry had first expected. Noticing the look of puzzlement on his face, Turkey noted, "It is because I use magic. It is both difficult to control and extremely straining on one's body…I live longer here, but the magic drains my features…hence the pale look and gauntness."
"Petty Officer First Class Turkey, despite your unfavorable name, you will accompany Lt. Commander Tex and her squad and assist them in their scouting expedition."
"What about you, Sir? Won't you need some extra firepower to watch your back?" Turkey extended his hand and a small ball of fire balanced in the air over his skin.
Commander Fate waved toward the tank that was still sitting halfway up the ramp. "I got a T-55 watching my back, thanks. Their heavy weapons man Spacer fell out. You know how he likes that grenade launcher of his. Now get going. We don't have a lot of time here! I only have one hour left on my time!"
The ship flew low over the surface of the Ring, and the area inside of the ship was very snug as Biffy and Tex sat at the pilot and co-pilot seats and Larry, Turkey, Fox, and Dabby all stood behind them. Dabby had his laptop out and was typing away, the computer screen filling up his eyes and reflecting onto the surface of a pair of reading glasses he had produced.
"You know you don't really need to have those, right?" Fox mentioned to Dabby when he brought them out.
"Yeah, I know, but I have always worn them…it would seem unnatural to not be wearing them."
So there he stood, receiving information from the Pride of Clan Hunters. "The area is mostly one very large valley, with one extremely large lake in the center. Also, scanners suggest some sort of structure in the middle of the lake."
As the cargo ship flew over the next rise, the ground seemed to fall out from underneath the craft and then transformed into a beautiful lake, which reflected this system's single star on the water.
"Short-range scanners are picking up several structures constructed of stone and some unknown materials both on the edges of the lake and in the center of it," Biffy reported, as he flipped a switch. "I say we check out the structure in the middle of the lake first, Ma'am. It could be our base, as it is easily defendable."
Tex nodded, "Do you detect any life forms or defenses?"
"No," Biffy and Dabby replied at the same time.
"Then we go in and check it out."
The craft lurched as she pushed the control yoke down, and Turkey, Fox, and Larry had to shift to stop from sliding forward. While Dabby managed to catch his laptop, he flew into the back of Biffy's chair, who grunted as he was pushed painfully into the dashboard. Tex grimaced.
"My bad," she said.
The structure came into view, and it reminded Larry of one very large A-frame house. It was positioned in the center of a lake, just as Biffy and Dabby had said it would be. A pair of massive doors stood behind a large patio area that included stairs up to the door. As scanners had indicated, it was completely deserted, although some birds flew around the lake. The cargo ship skidded to a halt on the large stone patio area, sending everyone lurching for handholds to keep from flying around the cockpit. Tex did not miss a beat though. She had unbuckled herself and was moving toward the door, issuing instructions.
"Larry, you're with me, up front. Dabby, get in the center and take that laptop of yours along with you. Fox and Biffy, cover our rear. Turkey, you're in the center next to Dabby. Watch all sides."
"I hardly think this is necessary," replied Dabby, skeptically. "There are no life forms reading on…"
Tex cut him off, "That's an order, Dabby!"
Dabby shut his mouth.
Larry moved to the front, next to the black-haired female, who already had the long sword that she carried out of its scabbard and pointing in front of her. Larry noted that the blade carried several lengthy runes sketched on both the hilt and blade, and that the mass of metal must be heavy to carry.
Everyone filed out of the doors in the exact order that Tex had given. They moved up the stairs which were also made of stone. As they approached the doors that provided entry into the instillation, Dabby balanced his laptop on his arm and frowned. "The doors here are made of something labeled 'Unknown' by DreamLand's network. I don't know if it's possible to…"
Larry activated his lightsaber and was surprised to see it glow in a bright purple color. He moved forward to the door and threw his gleaming blade into door, which began to part for him. As the door began to melt away, Larry forced the saber around in a circle to cut it open. Waiting for the molten substance to cool, he turned to Dabby, who scowled.
"I could have opened that, you know," he grumbled, as Tex led the way into the building.
Inside, a small entry area followed by a large hall that had large stone blocks all over the floor, and a dais awaited them. As Dabby had reported, the area was empty. The group fanned out and surrounded the room, so as to locate something of use.
"I don't think we could use this as our base," Turkey commented. "It is too small, and it has no hardware or anything we could find useful. On top of that, this structure has no natural cover, so any ship in orbit could erase us from existence."
"I agree, but let's see if we can't find anything of use around here before we go," Tex said. She gave an order to Dabby, "Communicate with the Pride and inform Admiral Ben of our progress."
Dabby nodded and began typing into his laptop, "It seems that High Command has just arrived in the system. Nikita is inspecting the Pride now."
Fox called out from where he was on top of the balcony that ran around the room, "Hey, ya'll better take a look-see over here."
Everyone moved up to where Fox was standing, his rifle propped up against the entrance to a hallway. Only thing was, the rifle was propped up against were the hallway was supposed to be. That is, where there should not be anything to prop a rifle up against.
Dabby knocked on the entrance, and then next to the entrance on the wall. Two different sounds resonated. "It is sealed up, by something that resembles glass, but clearly…"
Larry pulled the saber out from his belt and activated the blade. He plunged it down into the clear opening. The blade sputtered and went out, causing everyone to gawk.
"Well, ain't that somethin'," barked Fox.
"You will not get that open," a voice came from behind them. "Believe me, I've tried."
With a whoosh, everyone had their weapons out and cocked and pointed at the speaker. The man who stood there clearly caused the people there to relax as they took him in. Then, everyone began to snap to attention, but he quickly waved them to stop.
"Assim, Sir, how did you get in here?" asked Biffy. "There were no life forms detected here."
Assim grimaced, "Ah, yes, about that…"
He made a gesture with his hand, and a red laser beam appeared on his shoulder right where his heart was.
Everyone tensed again as a voice said loudly, "I'd like all of you to please put your weapons down, or else this one will die!" He cut off with homicidal laughter.
Tex ground her teeth, "I thought you said there were 'NO life forms' in here!"
"There weren't!" Dabby protested.
Tex threw down her sword, and everyone else threw down their respective weapons, except for Turkey, who had none.
"That's more like it." A man suddenly appeared behind Assim and threw him toward the others with the butt of a small sub-machine gun, then focused it on Turkey. "I recognize a black mage when I see one."
The man had long, black, greasy hair that did not seem to have been washed in some time and a long, black goatee that was oiled to a point. Under the black trench coat he wore, Larry saw two other bulges that reminded him of what Recon was wearing. Though Recon had an air of calm; this man was obviously crazy.
"Now, what exactly are you doing here?" he asked, keeping the weapon locked on Turkey.
"Exploring. Trying to locate a new base for our clan," Tex said, eyeing her sword on the ground, clearly thinking about diving for it.
"Well, you can't stay here. I'm here already and this place has been claimed for another clan. They are on their way. I've just been paid to find it."
Tex grinned, "We are already here, though, every single one of us."
The man's face went tight. "There is little I can do then, although this whole Ring will be impossible to retain by one clan alone."
"If I may ask," Capt. Assim spoke up, "what is your name?"
"Me? I am Outlaw! ...the great mercenary who always gets stuff done!"
Larry realized that Outlaw was toying with them, and he had no intention of letting them leave alive…since profit drove him. In DreamLand, if you killed a person, you could take their PDA and transfer all their funds to your own. And, he clearly had them at the disadvantage.
Larry began to become aware of his lightsaber — not just seeing it, but actually sensing it below him. He began to concentrate on it, forming a picture in his mind of the saber jumping up into his hands as he lunged for Outlaw's gun.
The saber quaked and rolled around on the ground, but Outlaw did not seem to notice. It began to inch up into the air. It took all of Larry's concentration as it suddenly activated and sliced upward. Everyone jumped backward. The gun that Outlaw was holding was severed and he reacted instantly.
Flipping backwards, his trench coat pushed up to reveal two Desert Eagles. These .50 caliber automatic pistols were only used by the most expert of shots. By the time he had finished his flip, he landed with both weapons in his hands.
"Ooohh…and a Jedi, too! Well, I'll fetch a nice prize for this!" and he opened fire.
Everyone scattered as they scooped up their weapons. Larry grasped the saber and began moving forward, deflecting the bullets. Before he could get in striking range though, Outlaw jumped over the balcony onto the main floor. Fox lined up the Springfield and triggered off a shot as Outlaw landed — which pegged him in the back, but clearly did not injure the mercenary.
"RUN! This place is wired to blow!" Assim cried, as he helped up an injured Dabby to his feet. Dabby was bleeding in the shoulder.
Larry could see Outlaw weaving amongst the pillars. Laughing, he pulled a detonator out from under his coat. Larry wasted no time, running down the room away from the direction that Outlaw was taking.
"He shot my laptop!" Dabby complained, as he was helped along by Assim.
Tex and Turkey were still running as Fox turned to join them after his last shot had merely nicked Outlaw's shoulder. The man was clearly equipped with body armor.
The group jumped inside the cargo ship that was outside of the building and quickly began to take off. Tex got the ship about 300 meters away when the whole building went up in flames, and a massive fireball raced to catch up with the fleeing ship.
Tex began screaming as the ship pitched out of control and into a steep dive. The last thing that Larry remembered was a tremendous CRUNCH!, then slipped into darkness.
