Chapter 21
Giichi thrashed around in his chains, trying to make his way to where Nail was, but the bindings held fast. The only thing he accomplished was tiring himself out. Leon and Tadao walked over to Nail, untying him from the post. They dragged him across the floor to the open docking bay. Giichi shouted and screamed with all his might, and he was so focused on Nail he didn't even hear his own voice. At last, Leon and the chameleon finished their trip, hoisting Nail onto his feet.
The canine gave one last look at Giichi, his face blank again. But despite blank being Nail's default look, the sand cat sensed it was different this time. Nail had a blank face because despite everything Sentinel had done, despite all of their careful planning, despite all of their sacrifices, despite everything they'd put behind this mission, they had failed, and all of it was for nothing.
Leon gave Nail a gentle push, sending him tumbling backwards out of sight. Nail didn't make a sound as he fell, Giichi hearing nothing but the rainfall outside as the canine tumbled away with it.
~X~
As Giichi ran for his life, he remembered that moment on Fortuna again. It had been on replay in his head the entire past week he'd been confined within the Onyx, stuck in a cell and with nothing to occupy him but his thoughts. The first two days, he'd done little but curl up on the bed, as he wrapped his tail around himself and cried. By the third day, his tears had run out, although he didn't feel any better.
It's all my fault.
He had told Nail to spare Ooveh. His decision led to Ooveh damaging their fighter before they could escape, leading Star Wolf straight to their secret base of operations. He trusted Wolf and attempted to trade the case for Nail's life. Ergo, he was the reason Nail was dead, along with so many other Sentinel operatives, and he was the reason the Royalists received the case.
Now though… Giichi looked at the case in his hands. I can fix this. Nail and the others will not die in vain!
Sliding to a stop, he set the case on the floor, undoing the clamps with his handcuffed hands. Thaal-Ja's Calling—the reason for war for the past eight years, the reason so many people had died—laid before him in the case's black foam cutout. It promised untold amounts of power, allowing them to raise Thaal-Ja from the slumber of over a thousand years. Yet Giichi wished the item before him would simply vanish into nothing, and everyone would forget about it. Thaljista is not ready for this power. The war proves we are nothing but children, too immature to wield it. We still act like children even over a millennium later.
Giichi slung the collapsible bronze staff over his back. It would be much easier to run like this, without needing to lug around the heavy case. Still, he shouldn't need to run much further. A little bit further and he should be back with the separatists who'd broken through the ceiling before. Maybe they hadn't wandered too far yet and—
"Shit! It's Jima! Shoot her!" Gunfire sounded from the direction he was running towards. "Shoot—AAAAAH!"
Something smacked to the ground around the next bend, the noise wet and meaty. One of the rifles was silenced, the rest still shooting, but with every scream another one went quiet.
Giichi slid to a stop, hiding behind one of the lion statues lining the corridor. They would all be dead within the next few moments.
I have to get out of here while I still can! Gotta find somewhere to hide!
Giichi took off running, back the way he'd come. Were there any rooms along the way he could dive into? Oh, he couldn't remember! He wasn't paying attention! He kept looking behind him, expecting Jima and her blood-soaked uniform to appear there, all while glancing around and trying to spot another door. At last, he found one, jumping inside.
The room was dark, although the glowstones in the ceiling gave him a modicum of vision. There was another door at the other side of the room, possibly another exit, but the room's contents got Giichi's attention. Rusting shelves of equally rusted metal tools filled the space. Several kilns lined the back wall, with circular holes in front of them. Dozens of rusting metal poles were stacked on racks nearby or laid on the floor. Of course, a glassblowing shop. The monks here would have done glasswork as a supplemental income to their religious work. Thaljista had an extensive glass-making tradition, given it had so much sand to use for making it.
He took a step into the room.
Crack.
Giichi winced, looking at the ground. The floor sparkled underneath the glowstones, with shattered glass scattered all over it. He looked back at the door. No one was there, although Jima could appear at any moment. Retinue suits were designed to minimize the sound of footsteps as much as possible, on top of the already quiet footsteps felines had.
Looking back at the room, he took a deep breath. This would have to do as a hiding place. As much as he wanted to hurry, he took his time crossing through, careful to not step on any of the shards. At long last, he made it to a cabinet under a counter, big enough for him to hide inside. He crouched, crawling inside the dusty space, wincing every time he made too much noise, and slid inside, closing the door behind him. There he waited, his heart pounding. The gunfire and screams in this part of the temple had stopped, leaving him in silence.
An indeterminate amount of time passed. Where was Jima right now? Where were Rihat, Panther, and Sable?
Crack. Someone else was in the room.
He curled his tail around his body, trying to make himself as small as possible.
Crack. The sound was closer.
Giichi listened for a minute more, but heard nothing else. His heart pounded. Did Jima leave? Was she still in the room? Was she waiting out there? His breathing increased in pace, the fur on his back and tail standing up on end. How long was it since the last crack? His heart felt like it was about to burst from his chest.
Something brushed against the outside of the cabinet, almost inaudible. Someone's clothing rustled, like the person outside was leaning over. What the hell was she looking at?
Wait…dust! Everything in the room is covered with dust! When he opened the cabinet before, it would have disturbed the dust around the handle. He was so stupid! Anyone paying attention would easily notice it!
The cabinet's door creaked, opening up.
Giichi's ears curled back. All he had left was the advantage of surprise! Shoving the cabinet door as hard as he could, he burst out, running for his life.
Someone grabbed him around his wrist, pulling him back and forcefully spinning him around.
Except instead of Jima, it was Panther. His black fur almost made him invisible in the darkness, aside from his yellow slit eyes. Something like that would normally be unnerving, yet there was no other person Giichi would rather see right now. Panther himself looked scared too, unsure of what to do now.
But was Panther his friend or enemy right now? Before he was conflicted about helping Sable, and even now he still had a look of uncertainty on his face.
"Giichi…" Panther said. "What you said back on Fortuna…about Sable. You were right."
For the first time in a week, a smile crossed Giichi's face. "Do you want to come with me? Join the separatists?"
Panther remained silent, his face blank, as if he were having a hard time weighing his options. Giichi waited with bated breath.
"Okay…" Panther smiled, releasing his grip on Giichi's wrist. "I'll go with you."
Giichi grinned back. "Could you get these off?" He held up his cuffs, placing them across a stone counter. "Use your glove?"
"Wait, what?!"
The chain was only about three inches between the two cuffs. Panther stared at his glove, and then back at the tiny target he had to hit. The guy seemed scared as all hell about this idea.
"Panther…I trust you," Giichi said, although that was a lie. He wasn't fully confident in the jungle cat's accuracy, but they didn't have time to consider other options right now.
Panther gulped, but nodded. He molded the glove into a sword, and placed the blade right in the center of the chain. As Panther pulled his arm back, Giichi shut his eyes. There was a loud clang, and then Giichi fell backwards to the floor. His eyes whirled back open, and he saw he still had both hands. The sand cat breathed out a long sigh of relief, Panther helping him back up.
After Giichi was back on his feet, Panther examined the staff on his back. "So, the staff. That's what everyone wants?"
Giichi nodded.
"Strange. I've seen something like it before."
"You have?"
"Yes. There's this blue vixen I know…Krystal." He got a faraway look in his eyes, shades of regret coloring them. "She has a staff like this too, except its colored gold. It even collapses like yours."
Giichi tilted his head. Cerinians? They still exist? He wanted to ask more, but they didn't have time right now—
Clomping footsteps approached the room's entrance, Giichi turning towards the door. Two separatists ran around the corner. They took one look at Giichi, spotted Panther, and opened fire upon the black cat.
Giichi and Panther dived behind different counters, using the stone as cover.
"Stop shooting! Stop shooting!" Giichi screamed, although no one could hear him over the gunfire.
One of the separatists cried out, Giichi hearing a sound like something punching through meat. He peeked out from cover. Behind the separatists, Jima stood there, a silver spike right through one of their backs. The other separatist turned his weapon upon her, but she was already pushing the fresh corpse right at him to throw off his aim.
Shit! Gotta go!
Gasping, he took off running through the shop's back exit. A dark storeroom was on the other side, with some of the monks' old pieces still on the shelves: mirrors, jars, bottles, glasses, and even some art pieces. However, he paid them no mind, running into the next corridor. Glancing back, it didn't look like anyone was following him. He'd gotten away from Jima again, but…
Stupid trigger-happy grunt! Panther could've escaped with me too if it wasn't for him!
Panther wasn't ready to face one of the Retinue yet. If Giichi had stuck around back there, Panther would only die defending him, and the staff would end back up with the Royalists anyway. Running was the only thing Giichi could do, and pray Jima didn't see which way he'd gone in the confusion.
He hoped Panther found a way out of here alive, and was able to surrender peacefully to the separatists somehow. Being dead might even be better than him being with Sable. He didn't want to have to fight him some day, after she'd finished infecting him with her poisonous dogma...
Anyway, it couldn't be helped now. At any cost, Giichi needed to make sure the Royalists didn't get this staff. But what would he do now? Where would he find another exit? He rested against a nearby column to catch his breath. There was another mural nearby, again showing the old lion nobility enjoying everything their positions had to offer. Disgusting. The Ibhu era—when the Ibhu clan of lions reigned—lasted for over eight hundred years. A lot of people had suffered and died in slavery so those select few lions could attain their status.
The only comfort Giichi took in the ostentatious displays was they dated the temple to Mkango's reign. He knew it once he saw the king's statue out front of the temple. Mkango was the final king in that long and horrible line, before he was dethroned from power about a hundred and eighty years ago. By historical accounts, his life was miserable, although no one today shed any tears for him except his awful descendants. Mkango had tried to put up displays of power, bravery, and invincibility to his subjects like his forefathers, but secretly he lived in perpetual fear of his slaves and peasants rising up to overthrow him…something that turned out to be remarkably prescient. Thus, the old king always kept a secret exit somewhere within the temples he ordered constructed, then had the builders executed so none could reveal their secrets. Fortunately, some of them survived and passed on their knowledge to history. They all said Mkango liked to keep the hidden passage in or near the main worship chamber, where he would keep his throne.
Giichi stopped, as he had an epiphany.
This temple has a secret exit. I can use it to escape! A huge grin crossed his face. Thank Thaal-Ja Mom always made me study my Thaljistani history. Who knew it would save my life one day?
Excited, he started running again. The temples during Mkango's reign all stuck to a general layout, with the main worship chamber being deep inside the temple. If he was right, he wasn't far away from it…
Giichi hurried around a corner, entering another room…this one the biggest out of all the chambers he had seen here. It was another arched room, columns lining the sides. Natural light from outside entered the room through an elaborate series of tunnels cut into the walls. The tunnels had mirrors and smooth surfaces to reflect the light as needed. More elaborate murals covered the walls, depicting a prosperous kingdom with green pastures, fat livestock, impressive cities, and lions prancing about in their fancy clothing. Overhead, the ceiling depicted a twinkling night sky, glass beads set in the stone catching the light. Hot air balloons floated about the stars, the king's lion and tiger soldiers leaning out and appearing to survey the murals below.
However, Giichi's attention rested on a massive lion statue on the far end of the hall, dressed in a plain robe. His eyes widened. Statues like this still existed even today?
Unlike the sculpture out front, this one depicted Thaal-Ja himself. Originally it would have been overlaid in precious metals like bronze and gold, but the material was gone, possibly stolen, leaving behind only the bare stone. This symbol was appropriate during the Ibhu era, but it would be considered blasphemous now. The lions twisted Thaljism to their own ends, saying Thaal-Ja was a lion himself, and had thus decreed the lions should rule. There used to be many other statues like it scattered around the planet, but most of them had been toppled over and smashed into gravel after Mkango was removed from power. This was a rare surviving example.
But where's the hidden passage?
Giichi hurried for the mural on the wall behind the statue. The switch should be hidden somewhere close by. He looked over the painting, seeing many images of Mkango but little to indicate the presence of a switch, until his finger settled on a sack of gold being handed over to the king by Thaal-Ja himself. The sack was circular, with a noticeable groove around the edges of it set into the stone. It was a little bit larger than the size of a coin, about the right size for a button.
Rolling his eyes, Giichi pushed his thumb against the bag, the stone underneath giving way to its pressure.
With a rumble, the Thaal-Ja statue slid aside, revealing a small square hole behind it. Giichi grinned, running around to jump inside.
"There you are!"
Giichi spun around, Sable pointing her blaster at him. He froze where he was, raising his hands. Sable laughed, moving in closer as she held up the blaster.
Damn it! I almost made it out! She had to show up right now, didn't she?
"Now…" she held out her free hand. "Return the staff to me."
Staring at the gun pointed at him, Giichi's hands shook, as he reached behind him to take the staff off of his back. He held the collapsed stave out to her, Sable stepping forward to retrieve it. Her face was hungry, her lips pulled back into a broad smile as she enjoyed her position of power over Giichi. Of course she would. They'd both hated each other since they first met over a decade ago in Gerrant, long before this war had started. Even as a teenager, Giichi thought she might be sleazy and a schemer. Unfortunately for him, she'd managed to worm her way into the Azerian royal courts in Gerrant and lodge herself there ever since, having an uncanny knack to charm and sweet talk the right people to get whatever she wanted, even Queen Kula.
But Kula wants you alive, Giichi. His eyes widened, before his mouth curled up into a devilish smirk, looking at Sable.
Confused by the change on the sand cat's face, Sable hesitated.
Giichi pulled the staff back, extending it out to its full size and moving into a defensive stance.
"You insolent cub!" She jabbed the blaster's barrel at him. "What are you doing?!"
Giichi laughed. "You're not going to shoot me."
"And why not?!"
"You know there are some things even you can't get away with, right? Like killing me?" Now it was Giichi's turn to smile. "What will Kula do to you then? It'll be a lot worse than her taking back the Onyx… You know it's her ship, not yours, right?"
Sable pointed her blaster at his leg. "I could tell her you took a stray shot in the middle of the battle."
"Oh please." Giichi shook his head. "A laser shot to my leg? You know the separatists like to use bullets. Shoot me, and you'd have to explain why you or Jima or Rihat shot me by accident! Kula wouldn't be too happy about thaaaaaat!" He sarcastically drew out the 'a' in the word, even adding a finger wag.
Sable snarled, her blaster shaking in her hands, rendered useless by Giichi with nothing but the power of words.
Oh, he was having fun with this. This was no different from when they'd been forced to speak to each other in Gerrant's royal courts, back before the civil war. She was nothing without her friends and connections to back her up, and always would be. Some things never changed.
Putting away the blaster, she reached over, trying to grab the staff again. Giichi however whirled it around, swinging it in a wide arc that made her back off.
She growled at him. "Give it back!" Even though she was older than him by many years, she almost sounded like a whiny child who'd had her favorite toy taken away. She tried to move in again, but was quickly rebuffed by a wide swing of Thaal-Ja's Calling, Giichi holding it with a practiced hand.
He thrust the staff at her, making her jump backwards to avoid taking the tip straight in her chest. She was flabbergasted Giichi was able to hold her off. Even Giichi himself was surprised. I haven't trained with a staff in ages. She sure does suck at fighting. Must have gotten rusty from spending all her time safe and sound in the capital…
"You're still nothing but a rotten little kitten, you know." Snarling, she clenched her open hand in a fist, hard enough for her claws to dig into her flesh. "The same rotten little kitten I've always known, the runt of your siblings."
"And you're a conniving bitch, only looking out for yourself."
Sable snarled, moving in for the staff again, but Giichi struck her in the side, sending her recoiling backwards. She cried out, putting a hand to her torso as she was knocked off balance.
Man, I could do this all day. He grinned, returning back to his defensive form again.
Behind Sable, someone entered through the worship chamber's main door, and all of Giichi's cockiness vanished in an instant. Jima was there, eyes fixating on Giichi like a predatory bird about to swoop upon its prey.
Oh shit, never mind!
Giichi spun around and collapsed the staff, slinging it over his back as he dived through the square shaped doorway and into the darkness of the hidden passage. Jima had already sprinted halfway through the massive hall and about to push straight past Sable. She'd be upon him within seconds.
WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?!
He looked around the narrow rock passageway, trying to find something that would help him…and he spotted a small button on the wall near the doorway, colored red with faded paint. He didn't know what it would do, but pushing it wouldn't make things any worse than they were already. He hammered it down.
Stone rumbled against stone behind him, the square of light from the worship chamber shrinking in size. The statue was sliding back into place. Jima ran towards the hole, but it was too small for her to fit through now.
Giichi turned around, sighing…and Jima reached in through the closing hole, grabbing the hood on the back of his red hoodie. Screaming, Giichi clung as best as he could into the grooves of the stone lining the passage, holding on for dear life. The shrinking gap would soon crush Jima's arm if she didn't let go, although she didn't seem to care. The hood's fabric stretched to the breaking point, ripping away in the snow leopard's grasp. Giichi fell flat to the floor as the passageway sealed up behind him, leaving him in darkness.
I got too carried away… The sand cat's chest heaved, still in shock over his close brush with capture there. Shoulda ran instead of toying with Sable.
A charging noise built up on the other side of the statue, Giichi already familiar with the sound. He jumped up off of the floor, hurrying through the passageway as Jima discharged her energy cannon into the Thaal-Ja statue. The corridor rocked and shook around him, dust settling to the floor. However, the barrier remained intact…this time. Behind him, he heard more explosions, Jima still trying to break through. The statue had bought him some time, but not much.
Ahead, he saw daylight at the tunnel's exit. He sprinted for it, emerging back out into the heat and sunlight. Nothing but white light reached his eyes as they adjusted to being back outside. Once things came into focus, he found himself inside a narrow canyon filled with sand, rock walls towering up on either side. Giichi's heart sank. What the hell do I do now? These rock walls have me penned in. Jima will catch up easily. And even if I lose her, I'm still stuck in the desert. No ride, no food, no water…
Up ahead, Giichi saw a sand cloud billowing up, filling the canyon. At the front, a dirt bike approached, along with a military dune buggy following behind. Both vehicles looked battered and slapped together, painted a sandy color similar to the desert around them. Giichi recognized the buggy as an FPA Sandrail, featherweight and fleet-footed over desert terrain. The vehicle was little more than a roll cage with three seats, four wheels, an engine, and two mounted machine guns attached to it…one for the front passenger and one for a dedicated gunner in the back. Giichi waved to the occupants, and they waved back, sliding into a stop next to him and kicking up a cloud of grit. He coughed as it went into his nose.
The bike's rider and the dune buggy's driver leaped out. They both wore battered fatigues covered with patchwork armor, as if they were local militant tribesmen. Nearly everyone who lived in the desert was a native Thaljistani cat, but these guys certainly weren't. Their faces quickly gave them away as non-Felidae, with the biker being a ferret and the buggy's driver being a warthog.
The warthog appeared to be the leader of the squad…or was it called a fireteam? Giichi wasn't sure. In any case, the warthog's eyes widened with astonishment upon recognizing Giichi, his tusks glinting in the sun. "Giichi? It's you?"
His mind still running a thousand miles an hour, Giichi frantically nodded, cradling the staff in his hands.
"I'm Sergeant Mason. This is Mills." Mason indicated towards the ferret. "And Allad." He pointed towards the brown bay cat manning the buggy's gunner nest.
Allad waved to him.
"Listen, we've gotta go, and we gotta go fast!" Giichi pointed back at the cave. "Jima is right behind me!"
Hearing this, Mason and Mills looked at each other, then ran back to their vehicles, Giichi sprinting for the buggy's passenger seat. As he saw the warthog buckle himself back in though, he was struck by an idea.
"Wait!" Giichi raised a hand to the warthog.
"What are you doing?!" The warthog shouted, starting up the engine again. "We have to go!"
"Umm…" Giichi cleared his throat. "This'll sound weird, but can I drive?"
"What the hell?!" Mills revved his bike, stopping next to Giichi. "You're a scrawny kid! I mean look at ya!" He gestured towards Giichi's dirty red hoodie, sneakers, and blue jeans. "We're supposed to be rescuing you! You look like you're about to piss your pants!"
Giichi's ears curled back at the ferret talking down to him, even as his knees were knocking together, shaking in terror. He did have a point. Nonetheless… "L-look, I've driven one of these before." He indicated towards the dune buggy. "The DPV Sandrail, yes?"
Mason stepped out of the driver's seat, a frown on his face. "Yes, I know you have."
"Say what?!" Mills turned to the warthog.
The warthog nodded to the ferret, before looking back at Giichi with that hard expression on his face. "You're that civilian who our bosses keep allowing into the Driving Range, to take the vics on joyrides, right?"
Giichi gulped. "Yes?"
Mason nodded, and gestured to the driver's seat. "Good, 'cause I know you can drive this buggy better than I ever could. Saw some videos online, before I ordered them taken down. Good stuff." He grinned, moving around to the passenger's side. "Have at it!"
"The heeeeeell?" Mills looked at Giichi again, dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Allad chuckled to himself.
Giichi slid into the driver's seat. It was a little low for him, so he ratcheted it up to where he was looking over the buggy's wedge-shaped hood. He smiled, looking down at the wheel and the gauge cluster before him. How long was it since the last time he'd been sitting in an actual driver's seat like this? A virtual seat helped but there was no real comparison for the real thing, feeling the rumble of the machine's engine and all the other sensations. His hands slid over the metal steering wheel, enjoying the touch of the grooves in his grasp. His tail flicked back and forth behind him.
"You…" Mills' eyes widened. "You look different now."
"You're in for a treat, Mills." Allad laughed. "He used to be known as Speed King in Gerrant too."
Giichi smiled…but an orange blast struck Mills in the shoulder, sending him tumbling into the sand, his bike falling over next to him. Giichi looked back to the cave entrance, and his fur stood on end.
Jima was there, the arm cannon form of her glove still glowing hot from her last shot. She turned her attention Giichi in the driver's seat.
That feels like Nail staring at me. She broke into a sprint, transitioning into running on all fours as she leaped across the sand, kicking up great plumes of the stuff every time she made contact with the ground.
Giichi slammed the stick into reverse, pushing his foot to the floor. Mason's and Allad's heads lurched forward as the buggy gathered speed. Even so, Jima was gaining on them fast. Allad opened fire with his mounted machine gun, but Jima merely dispersed her glove into its shield form, the droplets flicking the shots away as she closed the gap undeterred. She leapt into the air, flying straight for their vehicle.
Giichi heard a click, a metal pin falling to the floor through the hole for the gunner's nest.
"Eat this!" Allad pitched a grenade right at her.
Jima raised her arms and legs in midair, flaps extending from her limbs to form a parachute, slowing her down. The grenade exploded in front of her, obscuring her from sight.
Giichi didn't stop to look, instead releasing the gas and twisting the wheel to the right. The vehicle's nose spun around, rock walls flashing past on both sides. Everyone in the buggy was terrified, clinging to whatever they could around them. Now they were facing the way they'd been going, Giichi pushing the stick back into drive as they took off. A smooth J-turn, but Giichi was far too afraid to be pleased with it. With a straight path in front of them, Giichi slammed the accelerator. There was a hint of wheel spin upon the sand, and then they were shooting forward along the dirt pathway.
Looking back in the rearview mirror, Jima made it to her feet, although she appeared dazed from the blast. After recovering, she took off in a leaping sprint again, but now that they were moving forwards at full speed she had no chance of catching them. The DPV Sandrail was designed to go fast across the desert sands, after all. Soon, Jima was nothing but a speck in the rearview mirror, eating their dust.
Giichi let out a sigh. They'd gotten away, but someone else had died so they could get out…
"Not many separatists have seen a Retinue and lived." Mason's hand was over his heart, feeling its beating. He checked his watch. "But we're not out of this yet. Giichi, you need to get us to our evac."
Still thinking about Mills, Giichi asked, "Where is it?"
Mason reached over and pushed a button on the dashboard. A hologram HUD appeared in front of Giichi, including a detailed map and an arrow pointing straight to where they needed to go. "Follow that. A transporter's going to be waiting for us."
"Got it." He pushed the accelerator down, watching the speedometer and tachometer climb. A little grin tugged at the end of his mouth.
While Mills' death was terrible, Giichi would be lying if he didn't say it felt glorious driving a real car again for the first time in over a year. The front wheels bounced with the suspension, the springs compressing and decompressing with every bump. You didn't get to see this in an ordinary car, and Giichi found it fascinating, like he was driving an open wheeled race car. Who was he kidding though? With this thing's light weight, it pretty much was a race car in spite of all the gear and bodies piled on top of it. They were almost flying over the sand instead of driving on it.
A left turn approached, a cliff face towering overhead on the left and a yawning chasm filling the right. Giichi was still headed towards it at full speed.
"Uh…Giichi?" Mason asked.
Giichi didn't respond, still having his foot to the floor.
"Giichi! Stop! Brake!"
Giichi's smile got bigger. At the last moment, he planted his foot on the brake. The car's weight shifted forward, Giichi watching everyone's heads tilt with it. He spun the wheel to the side, sending the Sandrail into a controlled drift around the corner, kicking up dust as he stepped on the gas. The vehicle's four-wheel drive system kept the car planted and in his control, even as the wheels slid in the grit. Giichi laughed as the car straightened back out again at the turn's exit.
"Don't do that again." Mason glared at him.
"Spoil sport." Giichi rolled his eyes.
"What is wrong with you?!" Mason asked.
"What do you mean?" The sand cat glared at him.
"Aren't you terrified anymore? You were shaking in your sneakers before."
"Nah." Giichi leaned over, looking out the side of the buggy "Ooooh, switchbacks…"
The road snaked downwards into the valley like a long trail of spaghetti, curving back and forth on itself with multiple hairpin turns. He got a toothy grin looking at them, his fangs on full display. Another hairpin was coming up, this one going to the left.
"Giichi, no!"
But the sand cat ignored him, hammering the brakes, the back wheels locking up long enough to initiate a slide. He switched to the accelerator, standing on it as they blasted around the turn like this were a professional level drift event. What a weird sensation, doing this in a military vehicle bearing the full weight of two soldiers and their gear. It was a lot of extra weight compared to a hypercar, although he was getting the hang of throwing the buggy's weight around. He accelerated again, taking them down the small road towards the next hairpin.
"Wooo!" Allad on the turret shouted, slapping the protective armor around his machine gun nest. "Do it again, Giichi!"
"Don't encourage him!" Mason yelled up at him, slapping the side of the vehicle.
Giichi laughed, glancing in the mirror. Something was catching up behind them. It was the dirt bike again, but Jima was riding it. She charged up her weapon, unleashing an orange blast. It sizzled right past the buggy, energy crackling and blinding Giichi briefly as it passed. The shot struck a precariously balanced boulder up ahead of them, triggering a small rock slide that sealed off the road. They were trapped.
"Damn it!" Mason shouted. "She's got us!"
Not quite… Giichi had his eyes on a tiny sliver of road still available at the edge of the cliff on the left, about wide enough for their left set of tires.
"Mason, Allad, lean to the right!" Giichi shouted. "Then when I turn left, lean left!
"Huh? Why?" Mason asked.
"Just do it! I'm going to get us out of this!"
Confused, Mason leaned as far to the right as he could, grasping the roll cage there. Allad did the same.
"Hang on tight!" Giichi lurched the wheel to the right, using what little space was available, before spinning the wheel back to the left. The weight of the buggy shifted towards the right set of tires, Giichi watching the suspension compress on the right front wheel. He had the momentum going. Now to make use of it, and swing the pendulum the other way.
"Lean left!"
Mason and Allad thought they knew where this was going, but they did as he asked. Giichi steered the wheel over to the left again, bringing them precariously close to the cliff edge. The buggy's right wheels lifted off of the ground. Giichi balanced the buggy on two wheels, the vehicle's cabin teetering over the edge of the cliff, giving them a nice view straight down. Mason looked like he was about to crap his pants. Allad on the gun was crying out for dear life, only his gunner's restraint harness keeping him from falling out of his seat. Nonetheless, Giichi kept his eyes on the prize: the narrow gap ahead of them. He nudged the wheel back and forth, keeping them balanced, as they rolled right through the tiny strip of ground. It wasn't a moment too soon, as he could feel the ground crunching underneath them, rocks falling away as they skiied straight through.
Giichi turned the wheel back to the right, letting the buggy fall back onto its four wheels with a loud thump, everyone's heads bouncing as they made full contact with the ground again.
"Hooooooly shit!" Allad shouted, laughing like they'd passed the first hill of a rollercoaster. "That was goddamn awesome Giichi!"
Mason was shivering, looking at Giichi. "You practiced that too?!"
Giichi glanced in his mirrors. The ground they'd driven on had crumbled away, the rocks tumbling down the hill. Jima couldn't get around the barrier with the bike now.
Allad leaned over, extending a hand so Giichi could give him a high five. Giichi returned it, grinning away. The road continued to slope downhill, Giichi pulling around the next switchback and settling into the next straightaway.
A dark shape, little more than a small flick of movement, leaped from the sky and slammed into the middle of the road, kicking up dust. As the sand cleared away, Jima stood up, her long spotted tail flicking behind her. She was back. Again.
"Doesn't she ever give up?!" Allad opened fire, spitting hot lead her way. Mason joined in with the machine gun mounted in front of his seat.
Her deflector shield was up again, as she calmly walked towards the approaching buggy even though she was about to be run down. Giichi frowned, silently urging her to get off the road. Sure, she was his enemy but he didn't want to run her over either. The thought made him sick. Please, jump out of the way, please jump out of the way! At the last second, all of the droplets reformed around her hand, forming into a sword as she rolled to the side of the road. She made a downward slash…right towards the tires. Giichi gasped, swerving around her, hearing a shredding of metal as she cut straight through the roll cage frame near his left leg.
"Holy crap!"
The next switchback was coming up, Giichi passing through it with ease, but Jima jumped in front of them again.
"Cheater," Giichi muttered. "Taking shortcuts like that…"
"Are you even taking this seriously, Giichi?!" Mason asked, as he opened fire again.
"Of course I am." Giichi frowned. "We're not going to get away from her like this. It's time for desperate measures."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Mason's eyes widened.
He studied the slopes running alongside the switchback roads. The grade seemed to be less steep, now that they were getting closer to the valley floor. Once they made it to the floor, they could go flat out and leave her in the dust. "Both of you, hang onto something."
Mason and Allad nervously checked their seatbelts. This must have meant something serious if he was only now telling them to check their restraints.
"Are you ready?" Giichi asked, looking back at them.
They nodded in the affirmative.
"All right." He returned his eyes to the road, Jima dead ahead of them. "Both of you, keep your fire on her. I'll let you know when to stop shooting and hang on."
"Roger Giichi!" Allad shouted.
Both Mason and Allad held down their triggers. As before, Jima brought up her deflector shield.
"Three, two, one…now!" Giichi twisted the wheel to the side, taking them off the road and straight down the side of the hill. Allad and Mason held tight to the buggy's frame as they descended a forty-five percent grade. They bounced up and down on their seats, Giichi's butt slamming down hard onto it with every impact. His bottom was going to be goddamn sore for a few days, but it was better than being captured again.
He glanced in the rearview mirror. Jima…she was still following them! She was taking short leaps down the hill, but she was still keeping pace with them without much difficulty. Soon she'd be upon them again!
"Is…there…anything…else…we…can…do?!" Giichi tried shouting in between bumps.
"Let…me…call…fire…support! Echo 1! This…is Zulu 4!" Mason shouted onto his radio. "Jima…behind us! Need support!"
Giichi heard some sort of confirmation from the voice on the other end. A dark shadow swooped over the buggy, Giichi looking up through the gaps in the roll cage. There was a twinkle in the sky, and he could see a separatist fighter coming back around, splashing lasers all around Jima, obscuring her from view as orange laser blasts lit her up, sending up small blasts of dirt and sand all around her and blocking her from view. Giichi could not see what had happened to her, but at least she wasn't right on their tail anymore. The hill leveled out, as they drove across the sandy bottom of the ravine. The buggy hadn't liked his shortcut, what with the suspension almost being shot at this point, but at least it was carrying them on. Jima had no more options left as far as keeping up with them.
Mason and Allad cheered as Jima fell behind them. They'd finally lost her. Giichi grinned as Mason clapped him on the shoulder.
"You did good, kiddo."
Giichi shook his head, smiling.
A couple minutes later, they turned a corner, a wide open sandy field before them. A transport ship waited for them there, its long ramp wide open and waiting for Giichi to drive inside. The Separatist fighters flew overhead, providing them with air cover. Giichi grinned, accelerating towards their evac.
A soldier stood near the ramp, smiling as he waved for them to enter. However, Giichi noticed the smile vanish, as the man looked skyward. A shadow flashed over the truck, briefly covering them in darkness.
Giichi felt a cold sweat.
A silver-colored, delta-shaped craft roared right over their heads. They didn't even have windows for the cockpits, instead looking like one solid piece of metal. Oh shit! A Retinue fighter! A mass of energy charged on the front of the ship. It unleashed the energy blast towards the transporter, instantly vaporizing it and everything around it in a huge fireball.
Giichi slammed on the brakes, looking up into the sky. The silver fighter turned upon the separatist pilots in the air. Two had already been shot down in the initial ambush, the others scrambling to get out of the way.
Giichi spotted another separatist pair attempting to get behind the silver craft, opening fire. A few of their blasts tagged the Retinue fighter, but instead of damaging the ship's structure it left small craters and holes that soon plugged themselves back in, the silvery metal shimmering back into shape.
Orange laser blasts struck the separatist fighters from behind, exploding them and sending them down to the ground. Another silver fighter had joined the fray now, moving fast to defend its teammate. Four separatist fighters were already gone, half of their squadron dead.
Mason and Allad were panicking now, both looking around at the chaos and destruction. Giichi found his confidence dwindling again, no longer feeling safe in the driver's seat. He spun the buggy around, heading back for the safety of the dense valley, but Jima was back again, having followed them all the way here.
Allad and Mason opened fire upon her, spilling more shell casings all over the inside of the cabin. She jumped high up and out of Giichi's sight. Allad screamed, craning his gun upwards as he tried to track Jima. But his gun had reached its max elevation, and he couldn't target her anymore. The snow leopard reformed her gauntlet into a hand blaster, riddling the bay cat with orange blasts. Allad cried out, sinking back into his chair and going limp.
She wasn't done yet, using the roll cage to climb around to the back of the buggy, doing it as easily as if it were a jungle gym at a playground. Once she was at the rear where the engine was, she changed her glove into its spike form, spearing the engine block. With a loud groan and snap, the engine sputtered and died. The needles on all of Giichi's gauges settled to their idle position, the buggy losing power as it slowly glided to a stop on the sand. Mason tried to turn around in his seat, waving his rifle at her, but she jumped on the roll cage above him, pointing her finger downwards to send a spike right through his chest, spraying Giichi with blood.
She'd done it all within the space of fifteen seconds, Giichi too stunned to even move. Jima dragged him out of the buggy and onto the sand, ripping Thaal-Ja's Calling off of his back and slapping a new pair of handcuffs on his wrists. Giichi tasted the sand as he was slammed to the ground, Jima planting a boot on top of him.
Meanwhile, the two Retinue fighters hovered to the ground, kicking up dust as they landed. On top of each one, a hole opened up in the metal, both pilots appearing and jumping to the ground. Both of them wore body suits and gloves like Jima and Rihat. They approached Jima and Giichi. One of them was a female, clouded jaguar, and the other was a male leopard with yellow fur and dark spots.
"Nidi." Jima nodded to the clouded jaguar. "Hanzu." She nodded to the leopard. "Excellent job arriving in a timely fashion."
Nidi and Hanzu returned a bow, putting an arm and closed fist across their chests as they did so.
Giichi coughed, his nose still partly buried into the dirt. They waited there for thirty minutes, Jima not once letting Giichi stand up. He had nothing to look at but the burning wreckage of the transporter that was supposed to take him to safety, as well as the dead bodies of Mason and Allad sprawled out in their buggy.
More Royalist aircraft arrived, painted black and orange. A shuttle—similar to the one they'd used to depart from the Onyx—descended to the ground nearby, with Panther, Rihat, and Sable exiting. Jima returned Thaal-Ja's Calling to Sable, who accepted it with an excited smile, her sharp teeth on full display. She turned to Giichi.
The sand cat laid in the dirt, too defeated to even raise his head.
"You've been a naughty little shit, haven't you?" She leaned over, sneering at him. "At least you got what was coming to you." She delivered a kick to his side.
Giichi gasped, the wind knocked out of his lungs.
However, it did not hurt as much as knowing he'd squandered his second and last chance to change things, and now it was inevitable Queen Kula would get the case… He'd failed to avenge the deaths of Nail and the others, and the purges they feared would begin soon. The sand cat's head spun, his vision blackening as he passed out…
~X~
Panther looked with despair as Jima picked up the unconscious Giichi off the ground, carrying him back to their second shuttle. What now? What the hell now?
"Oh, Panther…"
A chill ran down Panther's back, turning to see Sable walking across the sand towards him.
"That was almost a disaster, wasn't it?" She smiled, careful to sway her hips and tail as she approached.
"...I suppose." Panther's voice was distant, not even noticing the way she was walking.
"I was afraid of losing you too."
Panther's ears perked up. "Really? Me?"
"Of course! Jima told me about the two separatists who almost shot you! I'd hate for you to die before you see the rise of Thaal-Ja and Queen Kula. You haven't even gotten to see the capital yet!"
"And that would be terrible." Panther was mostly talking to carry on the conversation, hoping it might distract Sable from the frightened look on his face.
Even so, she looked so happy to see him. Maybe Jima hadn't noticed how he was trying to help Giichi earlier. Panther relaxed, even managing an uneasy smile. Perhaps he'd gotten away with it after all.
"I do wonder how Giichi managed to cut his cuffs in half though." Sable put a faux confused expression on her face.
Panther's eyes widened.
"Giichi didn't have anything on him sharp enough to cut through metal, but somehow it happened anyway." She looked off to the side, stroking her neck fur. "Hmm… How did that happen? Who helped him?" She gave him a long stare, her yellow slit eyes never leaving his.
A lump formed in Panther's throat.
"You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Panther shook his head.
"Oh, I see. Ah well. Our plans are still on track." She patted him on the shoulder, smiling. "You're excited to see what we will do to this planet within the next few days, right?"
Panther nodded, more running on autopilot than anything at this point.
"Ah, good. I can't wait to get rid of not only the longnoses, but also all the cats who sided with them. They're even worse than the longnoses. They will be cleansed along with the subspecies they wish to protect. It's a good thing you're not one of those traitors though, right?"
Panther nodded again, this time more frantically.
"Excellent. Well Panther, we'll be departing for the capital soon. Unfortunate your arrival on Thaljista had to end up this way, but I hope the rest of your life here will be more pleasant."
She left to talk to the Retinue about something, leaving Panther standing there. He shook in his boots, staring at the sand.
Did she know he had helped Giichi? She'd dropped big hints she did, but why had she not punished him if she knew he had betrayed her? She hadn't threatened him directly, but the true meaning of her words was clear: Don't step out of line again. I won't be so forgiving next time.
She had him.
She had him right in her hand, as if he were nothing but an insect she could squash at any moment. Why the hell had he come to this place with her? Why hadn't he listened to Giichi back on Fortuna? There was nothing to do now. No more ways to stop the massacre, no way out from under Sable's thumb.
He belonged to Sable now...forever.
~X~
A\N: The title of this chapter is a reference to something from an old racing game. I doubt most of you are old enough to know which game it is, although I'll be quite surprised if you are :P Anyway I do think it's a fitting chapter title. Let me know if you want me to just tell you what it is.