Keeper Hunter

“Who is?” I asked alarmed.

“The enemy,” Inkassi replied.

That didn’t give me a single hint as to what he was talking about. “Explain,” I snapped at him.

Inkassi pointed to the holo. It showed what I assumed was the exterior of this house and the surrounding residences. A concrete fence edged the property on three sides and aligned along it were a number of red dots. I guessed that these were the enemy Inkassi was on about.

“Inkassi block their comms,” Leo ordered.

I let him take control he was the soldier here and not I.

Leo turned to Sindara and Guy. “Gear up!”

They disappeared into the back of the house.

Leo turned to me. “I take it you’ve seen combat?”

“I’m not unfamiliar with it.” My gut clenched. I had seen combat but I didn’t say I was accustomed to it. I’d rather avoid a fight than start one.

Leo nodded thoughtfully. “We’ve only got enough weapons for ourselves,” he apologised. “Oh course you can use the SMGs?”

Thirika had trained me in their use, she hadn’t thought highly about them saying they were useless. I’d taken to the same after training. I felt better with my Seven Double ‘M’. I pulled it from the hidden compartment in my jacket. “I’m very effective with this.”

“Good to know,” Leo said.

I continued to watch the holo my pistol on the table beside it. It seemed that whoever they were it was taking them time to get into position. There seemed to be a lot of movement but none of it towards us. Several minutes passed without any change of circumstances. Sindara and Guy returned in full combat armour their coil assault guns strapped to their chests. Their green and grey patched armour looking out of place in an urban setting.

“Take positions, Inkassi you are with me,” Leo said to them and he went into the back.

He had said nothing about me so I remained where I was my eyes on the holo.

Leo and Inkassi returned clad in the same combat armour. Leo had an annoyed look on his face.

“We can’t get a comms out?” he said as if it meant something to me.

“Is that a problem?”

“For us we can’t call in the 43rd they were our back up.” Leo flicked a hand to Inkassi.

“Try and get our comms back up.”

While Inkassi did that Sindara and Guy took up positions covering the doors and windows. I watched them ready themselves then realised the thing I hadn’t taken notice of. I cussed myself for overlooking the obvious. I really must be slipping not to notice the details in the first place. The walls were thicker than standard and the windows narrower. The place was a strong point. It didn’t have the look of a bunker although the windows were narrower than a normal house. From the outside it appeared to be a standard single storey house. The kind that could be found anywhere within the Empire or even the Confederacy. With a pitched tiled roof, homely back yard and manicured front lawn with a picket fence. The epitome of domestication but it hid its true intentions. I guessed that it was part of the Davenport paranoia over attack from the Empire. Some of it was justified since during what the Empire called the Rebellion. The Confederacy had a different name for the war they called it the Secession War. When eleven of the thirteen colonies on the edge of Imperial space broke away and joined a fledging Confederacy. In that war to part me was ashamed of my birthright. We nuked five cities, which resulted in over two million deaths. It explained Davenport’s hatred of the Empire making it a breeding ground for both The Anti Terran League and the Black Stripes.

I focused on the holo map wishing that Inkassi had installed external cameras. Then I’d be able to see exactly who we have to deal with. Without comms we couldn’t call for help. The movement amongst the red dots had stabilised but in a way that had me confused. I noticed movement a single red dot moved a way from the others and seemed to be heading to the door. It walked up the path to the front door.

“We have movement?” I asked Sindara who was by the front window and peering through the shutters. “See anything?”

“Figure in combat armour,” she replied tensely.

“Armour?” I didn’t like the sound of that it just made our fight a whole lot harder.

“Same as ours,” Sindara said shifting back slightly to get a better angle.

We all jumped when the door chimed. I really was that wound up. I quickly calmed myself down. I stood looking at the others. I was the only one not in armour and without a defensive position.

“Keep frosty,” I’d used that expression before and thought I appropriate here. “I’ll find out who this is and but be ready in case things go wrong?”

“Sindara, Guy cover Gwen,” Leo said as the door chimed again this time more impatiently.

I moved to the door Seven Double ‘M’ in hand. I pressed the button saying, “Be ready.” The door slid open. It was times like this I wished the door had hinges and could be partly opened. That would have been the safer way.

An armoured figure towered over me one of those coil assault guns strapped to her chest. And by saying ‘chest’ it was definitely a woman under it, a Valkyrie if my guess was not off. Her words confirmed everything.

“We need to talk Initiate.” She gestured to my Seven Double ‘M’. “Put that away.”

I holstered my weapon automatically. I knew how she’d react if I didn’t I didn’t want to end up in the middle of a gunfight here.

“Best you come in,” I said reluctantly. “I don’t want to cause a scene we’ve got enough trouble without adding to it?”

“That problem has been resolved for the moment,” the Valkyrie said.

I backed away from the door I really didn’t fully trust this Valkyrie I knew nothing about. “Everyone lower your weapons?” The last thing we needed was a blood bath. I was the only non-armoured person here. I was relieved to see the others do so.

The Valkyrie entered she must be really tall as her head nearly touched the roof. She ducked a little and took of her helmet. She was a typical Valkyrie with blonde hair coiled around her head. Those blue on blue eyes and pale skin. Several scars criss-crossed her face. “It took us a while to track you down,” the Valkyrie said. “I’m Hlanhildr and you are Gwen.” Hlanhildr smiled. “You certainly don’t look like the images the locals have in their database. They don’t do you justice.”

“Oh?” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“But that’s not the issue here?”

“What is?” Sindara said.

I noticed the men weren’t saying anything although Leo’s body language said he wasn’t happy with the state of affairs.

“The fact is that these locals had a shoot to kill order on you,” she said that to me then added. “On all of you?”

Leo stepped back startled. “Shoot to kill?” he said as if he wasn’t taking Hlanhildr’s words seriously.

Hlanhildr ignored Leo looking at me directly. “What did you do to earn that?”

“Poking noses into places it wasn’t welcome,” I replied.

That brought a chuckle from Hlanhildr. “That’s you all over is it not?”

“True,” I admitted.

She laughed again then turned serious. “What was it that warranted the effort?”

“Neurotoxin in the export beer,” I told her.

“I see,” she said and gestured to the others. “These?”

“Investigation team.”

“Your contribution to this?”

“In the wrong place at the wrong time they decided I was trouble because of my accent.”

“I see.” Hlanhildr seemed to be repeating the same phrase over and over.

I decided to change tact. “Are those your people outside. We thought we were going to be attacked?”

“You were the target of a shoot to kill order.” Hlanhildr gave me a considered look. “Which is why we stepped in and stopped them. Stupid Humans wanting to start a war they couldn’t win.”

I considered the implications of her words. I really didn’t want to be the cause of a war. But we were already fighting a war the logical part of my mind reminded me. “Ok,” I said reluctantly.

“Anyway don’t worry about it they won’t be any trouble.

I winced at the thought. “Why am I dreading that.”

Hlanhildr waved it off. “We just made them regret choosing the wrong side. Besides I didn’t like their attitude ordering us around like we were the hired help.” Hlanhildr snorted. “I made their leader very sorry.” She gave me a chilling smile. Now Initiate we should talk about the situation and how you got into it?”

Despite what I had already told her she seemed to want more details.