Peace Warrior (20 page)

The Minith soldier had been stopped before he had a chance to hurt anyone but the damage was done, Grant knew. Though not as loud as a human weapon, the blast from the Minith's weapon had to have alerted the ship's crew.

"Everyone get ready!" Grant shouted, no longer worried about maintaining silence. The element of surprise was taken away. Now speed had to rule their movements. "We have to move. To the command center. NOW!"

* * *

The human voice resounded around the command center. One of the crew had opened a communication line into the Zone when he heard the weapon discharge just moments before.

"Humans! They’re inside the ship!"

"It's probably just one of our slaves, Brun!" Zal insisted illogically. He raged at the thought that a human would dare to enter a Minith ship without permission.

"Get a grip, Zal. Denial is not called for in this situation!" Brun openly chastised Zal in front of his subordinates.

"Your actions have been bordering on incompetence for weeks now. It is fortunate that I had the foresight to leave Lieutenant Treel behind as my confident. Without the lieutenant's reports, Minith Command might still be ignorant of the situation here on Earth."

"Treel! He is the spy?"

Confusion and anger at having been deceived by someone he had trusted fought for dominance within Zal and anger won out. His fury made him more certain than ever about his plans. He would not be stopped by anyone. This was his command and he meant to keep it or die trying, he no longer cared which.

Brun obviously had other ideas. There were eight crew members staffing the command center and he pointed to three of them.

"You three, head toward the Zone. Stop the intruders. Tinag, Yat, guard the doorway!"

Zal stared in disbelief at what was transpiring in front of him. Brun had just ordered three of his men, as well as two of Brun’s own personal guards, to fighting positions. His command was being stolen from him!

"You, on the communications console, what is your name?"

The Minith who had brought them the voices of the humans from the Zone turned toward Brun.

"Nial, sir."

"Nial, you have acted admirably. You are hereby promoted to the rank of sergeant."

"Thank you, sir."

"Do not thank me, sergeant. The promotion was earned. Now, get me a communication line with the Minith War Council."

"The War Council? But why, Brun? This is nothing but a slight inconvenience! I can handle this, I assure you," Zal exploded. The Minith Minister of Earth advanced a step toward the general, his fists clenched.

Sergeant Nial hesitated but a moment before carrying out Brun's order.

"Zal, you are hereby relieved of your command. I will assume responsibility for this ship and this planet. As soon as the corridors are cleared of these human rodents, you will report to your quarters and remain there until directed to do otherwise."

Brun's words were crisp and precise. He obviously wanted Zal to understand them without question and without argument. His wishes were not granted, however.

"You will not do this, Brun! This is my command! These are my soldiers. And this is my ship!"

"Not anymore," Brun cited calmly. He turned his back to Zal in dismissal and addressed Nial. "Have you received a reply yet, Sergeant?"

"Still waiting, uh, sir," the sergeant stammered. The argument between two senior commanders seemed to be taking its toll on the young soldier. "It...It normally takes a few minutes, sir!"

"Very well, then. We shall wait." Brun was turning back toward Zal when the blast took him between the shoulders.

Purple blood splattered about the command center and Brun, former General of the Minith War Council, fell to the floor. None of those in the room doubted that he was dead.

The remaining soldiers stared in horror at Zal. He appeared calm except for the hand holding the weapon. It shook uncontrollably.

The soldiers stared at Zal, unsure of what to do for several seconds. Nial broke the silence.

"I have the War Council on the line, sir."

Zal's hand stopped shaking at once and he looked toward the communication specialist.

"Inform them that Commander Brun has arrived safely and that the human situation is under control."

"Yes, sir," Sergeant Nial whispered.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Grant took Blue and six of the prisoners down one of the corridors leading to the center of the ship. Mouse led the remaining seven, including Sue, down the next corridor. They agreed that assaulting the command center from two directions made the most sense, especially if there was going to be significant resistance. Grant's group reached the innermost corridor of the ship without incident and turned right toward their destination. The corridor at this point in the alien ship was curved and they could not see further than thirty meters or so ahead. This slowed them down since Grant did not welcome the idea of running blindly into a Minith ambush.

They did not encounter an ambush, but they did run into a team of three Minith soldiers. Except for Blue, the three aliens seemed more surprised to see the humans running at them than vice versa. Blue began to wail as soon as he spotted the approaching aliens. The noise he made distracted the aliens momentarily and Grant was able to take out the lead soldier before the alien giant could fire his weapon.

They were not so fortunate with the other two, however, and both got off shots. Two of Grant's men went down with holes burned through their torsos. Grant shoved Blue, who wailed even louder at the sight of the two men dying, to the ground. Grant wondered why he bothered but, despite his dislike for Blue, he couldn’t just leave him unprotected.

The rest of the group hit the ground around them and got off shots at the alien soldiers. The two former 'masters' were quickly dispatched, but not before taking out another of Grant's recruits.

Grant checked the three fallen men. Nothing could be done for them so he, Blue and the three remaining soldiers continued on. They heard firing before they reached the command center and Grant surmised that Mouse's contingent had reached the goal first. They stopped at the final turn and Grant peered quickly around the curve of the hallway.

He spied Mouse and his group assembled on the opposite side of the command center's open doorway. He also saw two large alien bodies sprawled in front of the door and watched as several blasts were released from inside the room. The firing was very effective at keeping Mouse and his soldiers away from the doorway.

Grant motioned for two of his group to remain in the corridor as rear guards. He did not want any alien soldiers coming up behind them while they were occupied with the command center. He whispered to Blue to stay with them. The large man nodded and slumped to the floor.

Grant and the remaining prisoner, a woman who had picked things up quickly in training, moved forward to link up with Mouse.

Mouse waved and smiled as Grant approached. The reaction from the rest of Mouse’s group was mixed. Some nodded, a couple seemed to be crying, and one was seated on the ground, his head in his hands. The sight reminded Grant that these individuals – some of the most violent on the planet – were not warriors. For the most part, they were products of the Peaceful world to which they had been born.

He hoped they would hold up to finish the battle just ahead.

The blasts pouring from the command center slowed. Stopped. Grant wasn’t sure if the aliens were conserving their weapons or waiting for the humans to make the next move.

In a low voice, Grant asked Mouse in Afc'n if he had placed a rear guard.

Mouse shook his head, but quickly corrected the problem. One of the crying soldiers was dispatched to the task.

"Welcome to the party," Mouse jibed, then fired a wild volley of rounds into the room. He did not aim. Just jabbed the rifle into the doorway and pulled the trigger. Grant doubted he hit anything, but it would keep the Minith away from the door.

Another hot flash sizzled through the doorway in response, struck the opposite side of the corridor. The metal wall was darkened, blistered by the heat of successive blasts.

Grant just nodded. "We ran into a small problem. It’s under control, though. You ready to do this?"

Mouse smiled. “Oh yeah.”

Grant switched from Afc’n to Minith and addressed the aliens trapped inside the command center.

* * *

"There is no way out. We demand your surrender," the human voice shouted from the corridor.

Zal glared disbelief at the open doorway, slammed his fist into a control panel.

It's him!
Zal thought.

The Minith underlings looked to Zal. The stares were full of questions but Zal did not know what to do. He was staggered by the revelation. He
always
knew what to do.

The humans had them trapped. He did not know how many there were, but they were well armed. Well enough, at least. One thing was certain. Surrender was not an option. He would destroy the ship and the planet before surrendering to these weak slaves.

He quickly ran through his options and came up with the only one that offered any hope of his success.

“You three,” Zal pointed to the remaining guards who had arrived with Brun. They and their weapons had been key in keeping the humans from entering the command center.

"Rush the humans at the door. Kill them quickly."

The three soldiers looked at each other. Two stole furtive glances toward the fallen Brun. The purple stain around the body was large, but had stopped spreading. Zal wondered how they would react to the order and waited. They finally looked at him and he waved the weapon he had used to kill Brun. The gun, along with Zal's obvious willingness to use it, became a threat as real as the one posed by the humans.

Two of the soldiers received a curt nod from the third.

“Sergeant Nial," Zal addressed the communication specialist, certain to use the soldier's new rank. Like Brun, he wanted the trooper's unquestioning loyalty and readily offered that small token in return. “Prepare to lead them.”

The soldier nodded, drew his weapon and joined the other three.

* * *

Grant heard the exchange. Marveled at the stupidity of whoever gave them. The Minith soldiers had just been ordered to commit suicide.

"They're going to try to rush us!" Grant relayed the information to Mouse in Afc’n.

Mouse looked back with disbelief. Grant merely shrugged and instructed Mouse to take his team back to the corridor. It would provide cover for the group when the aliens rushed the doorway. He turned and signaled for the soldier with him to head back to their corridor.

"Bring 'em on, then." Mouse hefted his weapon and motioned for his team to retreat.

Grant, taking a chance that the Minith would need a few moments to prepare for their assault, quickly poked his head around the frame to see what was going on inside. In the fraction of a second that his head was exposed to their fire, Grant saw several of the large alien soldiers checking or drawing their weapons.

"I do believe they're coming."

He waited until Mouse’s small force retreated to their corridor and dared another quick look inside. Grant nearly lost his face to a beam of heat from a Minith weapon. The aliens were making their way slowly toward the door.

Grant backed away from the door and took two grenades from his belt. He pulled the pins and rolled the grenades carefully.

One…

As planned, they stopped a foot away from the entrance to the command center. Grant sprinted down the hall.

Two...

He grabbed the woman and pulled her around the corner of the intersecting corridor. He hoped Mouse had seen his move and had the foresight to have his team take cover.

Three...

He heard the sizzle and felt the heat of the Minith weapons being fired behind him.

Four…

The explosion lifted him into the air. He had time to think that at least one of the aliens had been caught in the blast. Then he slammed cruelly into the hard metallic floor.

He tried to push himself up. His body refused, suddenly unable to inhale. His lungs strained to draw breath, were rewarded with ragged, empty gasps.

I’m fucking dying!

Wind knocked out. You’ll be fine.

No, I’m fucking dying!

Not dying!

I’m dying!

Not dying!

It seemed like hours, but was really less than six seconds. Grant finally wrestled that first, sweet breath back into his lungs.

He pulled in a second full breath.

A third.

When the fourth breath arrived the emotional part of his brain finally began agreeing with the rational.

I’m not dying!

Grant pushed himself to his hands and knees.

He was nominally aware that Blue was sitting a few yards away and the rest of his small group was running past him toward the command center. He was fully aware of the ringing in his ears.

He shook his head and struggled to rise. The sounds of rifles firing came to him clearly, even through the ringing in his ears. The firing stopped after a few seconds. Grant regained his feet slowly and turned toward the control center. His slow steps turned into a jog.

He expected the others to be waiting outside of the doorway, still held at bay by the Minith soldiers inside. Instead, all he saw were several dead aliens and the corridor painted purple from a lot of Minith blood.

He jumped over the alien bodies and stopped outside the door to the command center. He touched the side of his face and felt the burned skin.

He dared a quick glance inside the room.

The glance showed Mouse, Sue and the rest of the prisoners from Violent’s Prison. Their weapons were all pointed at a single alien figure. Stepping over another alien body, Grant joined them.

The single Minith solider stood in a large pool of blood. At his feet, and the reason for the stain, lay yet another dead alien.

In his hands, the alien held a strange device topped with a flashing purple light.

It would be purple
, Grant thought.

"Grant," Mouse explained, "this ugly fucker says he's holding a bomb."

"Not just a bomb.”

The alien's Earth Standard was very good but spoken in quiet tones. Grant strained to catch the words. "No, this is not just a bomb."

"Speak up, asshole. Not everyone here has pancakes for ears!"

Grant had no doubt that the alien held a very powerful device, but he was not about to give up control of the situation. So the fucker had a bomb? He might kill the few of them, but that still meant that they had won. This fight was over.

"Ah! You must be the leader of these sheep. Yes?" The Minith spoke louder but Grant still had to listen carefully.

"I don't think you consider us sheep, but it does paint a nice picture: We are the sheep who have devoured the wolves."

"Devoured? Really, human, I would hardly describe killing a few of my men as devouring us. We are a strong race, much stronger than your own. Besides, the bulk of my command should be returning soon. I should think you'd want to be gone when they arrive. A few armed humans are nothing compared to a trained Minith battle force."

The Minith's mouth turned upward and Grant had the impression the alien was attempting a human-like smile. He obviously felt as though he had the upper hand in this game of cat and mouse – or sheep and wolf – but Grant knew otherwise.

"I don't think your 'battle force' will be returning from Violent’s Prison anytime soon.”

Grant dropped his own bomb. Watched as it exploded in surprise upon the alien's face.

"Uh... I'm sorry. I don't know your name. You ugly bastards have names, don't you?"

"How did you know about that?" the alien exclaimed.

As Grant suspected, the alien had no idea that they knew about the Minith raid on the prison.

"We know, because we wanted you to send your forces to the prison. You don't think you could have figured that out for yourself, do you?"

Grant toyed with the Minith but was constantly aware of the device in the alien's hands.

"And I'm sorry. But I still don't know your name."

"My name is Zal! I am commander of the Minith forces here on Earth.” The Minith answered in a tone that Grant took to be a shout. "Now, how did you know our plans?”

Grant turned to Sue who stood near the door.

"Bring Blue."

Sue returned a minute later. She had to push the overweight administrator from behind to get him into the room. The man's pallor resembled his name. He gagged as he stepped over the Minith bodies. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a shirtsleeve and sagged against a wall.

"He's not a very good specimen of a human," Grant offered Zal apologetically. "But he did okay when the chips were down."

"You mean he lied to us about Violent's Prison? Humans are not being trained there?"

A muscle in Zal's face began twitching and Grant wondered if the movement was involuntary, and if it was, did it indicate the same stress in a Minith, as it would have in a human?

"Oh, no, Zal." Grant assured the Minith. "Everything Blue told you was the truth. We thought you'd put him through the torture of the Zone so it had to be the truth." Grant raised his right hand. "And nothing but the truth. So help me God."

"What?" Zal was confused. "But what about that nonsense of a six hundred year old human? Clearly a falsehood."

Grant just shook his head and tapped himself on the chest.

"That's me. But, to be exact, I'm six hundred and thirty-four years old."

"I don't believe it! You lie."

"Look, you can believe what you want to believe. I'm not interested in trying to convince you." Grant pointed at the device in Zal's large paws. "I just want to know how we're going to resolve this situation."

Mouse lifted his weapon.

“Let me resolve it, Grant. It will only take a second and then we can be on our way.”

Grant shook his head and signaled for Mouse to lower the gun. Mouse sighed, obviously not pleased.

Zal glanced down at the bomb. Grant had the feeling that the Minith soldier had temporarily forgotten about it. Now that he remembered, he seemed to gather strength from the blinking contraption.

"Oh. Well that is simple. You and your flock are going to leave this ship at once. Then I am going to leave the planet." Zal gave the gathered humans another parody of a smile. "That is what you want is it not? For the Minith to be gone so that you can rule yourselves?"