War for the Iron Planet

Chapter 18: Castle Wingspan

Crush circled back around, carefully navigating through the dense trees in her damaged hovercraft, her only company a single soldier with a damaged faceplate. She was hoping to pick up those who had fled the battle on foot when the Republic caught up with them.

The Collective soldier she was driving towards looked up and turned towards the oncoming Republic ATUC and opened fire, only to be gunned down with a perfectly placed shot right through his torso.

She stopped her craft, too big and slow for combat in the forest, and ducked behind it for cover while firing at the enemy. The Republic shot down the last two soldiers who were on foot, and turned their fire towards Crush. The hovercraft she hunkered behind was heavily damaged by the volley of fire, and soon crashed to the ground, its propulsion system destroyed.

"Let's take the fight to them," said Crush to the soldier who had been in the craft with her.

"Good luck," he said mockingly as he ran off into the woods, deserting her. Rage surged through her circuits. She shot him in the back and watched him fall.

She slinked off into the woods, shedding her bright red coat in hopes of blending into the environment better. True, she was covered in fairly reflective metal plating, but she hoped that would be less eye-catching than a flapping red flag.

The Republic had parked their ATUC and were investigating the hovercraft on foot. They were led by a Krauqian female who wore the detached, determined look of a hunter.

"I think we got them all," said a Dromean male.

"No," said the Krauqian. "That last shot came from over by their hovercraft."

Crush hid behind a wide tree, furious at her bad luck. In a just world, these flesh-covered fools would be afraid of her. The Collective, or something like it, would rule with literal iron fists, not just surviving on what scraps it could steal from others.

Footsteps grew closer and then halted.

"I don't know," said a voice. It was the hunter. Her voice sounded strangely distracted. "I just have a weird feeling that this isn't the way... I think it may have doubled back."

"Okay," said another voice, "you're the boss."

Crush waited until their footsteps faded and then darted from tree to tree, making her way to the rendezvous point, where the shuttle back to the fleet should be waiting.

***

Kwa-Kwa couldn't explain the strange foreboding she had felt, but she trusted her instincts. She had just led her scouts back to the ATUC when she felt the sensation of waking up, although she hadn't been asleep. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Turn back around," she said, shaking her head to clear out the latent effects of the influence she had been under. "We've got a psychic to find."

***

Aboard the Reaper, Admiral Grim was shouting at the comm screen.

"Unacceptable!" he said. "You were supposed to take care of them in the sky, we would take care of them down below. Yet they slipped through your fingers and my soldiers were wiped off the face of the planet by an entire carrier-class ship!"

"Admiral," replied Raelik from the screen, his voice infuriatingly serene. "Things do not always go to plan. I've never known you to be one to shy away from sacrificing troops to a good cause."

"If I'd known this was going to be a sacrifice I wouldn't have sent my second-in-command! I expected to win."

"If you want the full payment I offered you, I will remind you that it was contingent on defeating the Republic to the Astralbian Kingdom's content."