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The Cavalry Cometh

Down Comes the Night

Ryony

The Cavalry Cometh

   The planet loomed large through the forward viewer. It's cloudless skies allowing a clear view of the sprawling jungles on this side of the planet. The tree canopy giving off a yellowish hue for thousands of miles before abruptly stopping at the red oceans that surrounded it.
   "Touchdown in fifteen, sir," said the scrawny pilot guiding the craft further round the planet.
   "Any sign of the tail?" asked Captain Peters.
   "No sir. It left us ten minutes ago."
   "Good. Let's get down and offload this cargo. Let them be someone else's responsibility."
   Captain Peters disliked these assignments, but he had no choice in the matter. A trumped up smuggling charge left him with the option of going to jail for the rest of his second regeneration or continue his cargo transportation business, but with fifty per cent of his work carrying cargo for the TechPsychers and their business partners.
   He looked over at the monitor that showed the Naturals in the hold, those humans that possessed natural psychic abilities, and thought 'you poor bastards'. Not for the first time on this trip.
   He looked back at the viewer as the flyer descended. Erin. Not one of the most hospitable planets he'd ever been to and an awkward place to land due to the magnetic fluxes running through the surface, but it had one thing going for it. Petrelium. The hardest known substance in the galaxy and something the numerous mining worlds pay top credit for.
   Only the concentrated, forced effort of the Naturals abilities can weaken its structure enough to be mined. Hence his third trip here in as many weeks.
   Nate, the pilot, navigated over the unbroken canopy until Station Seven could be seen. He was already experiencing magnetic interference and it increased the closer they got to the station until he was wrestling with the controls. Warning lights flashed around the cabin as Nate grazed a crash barrier coming in to the landing port.
   Captain Peters looked over at him, concern on his face. Nate could feel the Captains eyes piercing the back of his head, but never wavered from his concentration.
   The flyer touched down with a thud jarring Captain Peter’s head. He shot an annoyed look over at Nate.
   "Sometimes, Nate, I wonder where you got your license from."
   Nate wanted to say you try landing it next time, but just replied with, "Yes sir."
   When Captain Peters exited the craft he thought the place looked a lot emptier than usual. The large hanger to his left that was often awash with robotic machines making repairs to mining equipment, lay silent, their human operators no where to be seen.
   To his right the view opened out to the jungle eighty metres below. The mining area was a hive of activity and the jungle was gradually being eaten away by the giant tree munchers as they were affectionately known.
   The area had just started to be mined after the last mining area had exhausted all of its Petrelium which was another reason he had made this trip as the supply of Naturals had been exhausted too. He didn't want to think about what that meant.
   "Hello," he called out. It was unusual for someone not to come out and greet him. To check his cargo.
   Then he saw movement from the control tower. He was about to apologise for the incident with the crash barrier and ask why it was so quiet when he noticed that the three people coming towards him were not dressed in the mining company's uniform. And they were armed.
   "We'll take control of your transporter, now," said the man in the middle.
   He was at least six feet tall, a mop of blonde hair on his head and chiselled features that couldn't have been more squared if they had been sculptured. He was dressed in dark trousers and a dark top with cut off sleeves that exposed his muscular arms.
   The guy to his left was a little shorter with an afro hairstyle that made up the difference between the two men's height. His choice of clothing was a little more colourful with a blue top and green bottoms.
   The other guy was a monster. Standing at least a foot taller than the other two and probably twice as wide though it was hard to tell with the loose one piece clothing he was wearing. The perspiration on his jet black skin gave it a sheen.
   “Who are you? Where’s the Controller?”
   “Not for you to worry about,” said the giant. “Just order your man out and we’ll be on our way. No need for anyone to get hurt.”
   Captain Peters was no hero, but he took pride in his work. Pride in the fact that he had a one hundred per cent delivery rate. This situation threatened to spoil that.
   ‘Don’t do whatever you’re thinking.’
   Captain Peters jumped back from the voice in his head.
   “Who was that?” he asked, confusion on his face.
   ‘It doesn’t matter. Just do as we ask.’
   Again, an involuntary movement took hold of Captain Peters body as the voice filled his mind.
   “Stop it,” he said. “Stay out of my head.”
   “Very well,” said the blond man. But we’ll ask only once more. Order your man out.” The voice was serious and threatening and Captain Peters put all thoughts of disobedience out of his mind.
   “Guys, you’ve got company coming. Six ships about five minutes away.”
   “OK. Keep ‘em busy while we take off,” the blond guy said into the communicator. “Looks like you’re both coming with us.”
   The three men ate up the ground between them and Captain Peters and took him off his feet and carried him onto the transporter. When they got to the pilots seat, Nate didn’t argue with them and let the afro headed man take the controls.
   “Strap yourselves in. This could get bumpy,” he said. The other four found themselves a seat, the blond man in the captains chair, and buckled up.
   “Wow!” said afro man as the transporter veered off to the right when it left the ground. “These controls are a bit frisky. A little too light for my liking.”
   He managed to get control and carefully guided the ship up and away from Station Seven. Captain Peters noted that it was a lot smoother than when Nate was landing.
   An explosion could be seen roughly a mile ahead of them.
   “Looks like Ifor’s getting in the swing of things. I hope he looks after her up there.”
   “Stop worrying. You know he’s a good pilot. The Savage Mind’s in good hands.”
   Afro man nodded, but looked far from convinced. He looked over the instruments in front of him.
   “Should be leaving the atmosphere in...three minutes. Man this is a slow piece of shit. No way we’re gonna out run any of those TechPsychers. He’s gonna have to take ‘em all out.”
   “I’ll let him know.”
   Blondy took hold of his communicator and activated it.
   “Ifor. Need you to take out the TechPsychers. Roman says we won’t be able to out run them.”
   “No problem. Maybe when this is all over, Roman, I can give you a few flying lessons on how to get the most out of a ship.”
   The blond man and the big man both smiled. Roman just gritted his teeth. He held his hand out, requesting the communicator, which he was duly given.
   “The day I’ll need flying lessons from you will be the day you wash your pants for the second time.”
   The two men behind him sniggered.
   “You just take care of my baby. If there’s one little scratch on her when I next see her you’ll be in trouble.”
   Laughter was the response from the communicator.
   Roman threw the communicator behind him with a wide grin on his face and Blondy caught it.
   Another explosion ahead of them, closer this time, told them that the ships were going to be with them sooner than expected. A third explosion followed soon after.
   “Looks like he’s doing his job,” said the big man.
   “Still three to go and they’re gonna get to us before we leave the atmosphere. Are there any weapons on board?” asked Roman.
   “No. It’s a transporter not a fighter,” replied captain Peters a little annoyed.
   “Great! Well I hope you’ve got phenomenal shields ‘cause we’ll need 'em. Let me see if I can’t put a bit more distance between us and them. Give us a fighting chance at least.”
   Roman forced the transporter into a steeper climb and off to the right making the ride a lot more bumpier.
   “Roman!” shouted the blond man. “The Naturals.”
   “I know, Thorn, but if I don’t do anything they’ll be scraping us off the trees below. They’re buckled in, anyway. They’re safe enough.” Roman had noticed the monitor showing the Naturals when he first sat down.
   Another explosion in the distance showed that the incoming ships had altered their course to match Roman’s.
   “They’re down to two now,” said the big man. “Maybe Ifor can get them all before they reach us.”
   “Maybe,” said Roman.
   He struggled with the controls against the natural forces of the planet. One minute they’d be responsive, the next he felt there was a disconnect with the controls and the movement of the ship. The only thing in their favour was that the TechPsychers fighters would be going through the same process.
   “Just entering the upper atmosphere now,” said Roman. “Maybe we’re gonna hit space before they catch us after all.”
   He spoke too soon.
   A glancing blow caught the side of the transporter and jolted it off to the left. Roman instinctively threw the ship into a different direction, skimming along the upper atmosphere, delaying their entrance into space by a few more seconds.
   “Another one’s down,” said Thorn psychically sensing the explosion rather than seeing it.
   “The last one’s moving away. Seems to be engaging with Ifor. Looks like he’s managed it. I knew he would all along,” Roman said with a cheeky grin.
   The transporter’s ride suddenly smoothed as it entered space heading towards the planets moon and the open space beyond.
   “Sit back and enjoy the ride. We’ve a little time before we rendezvous with the Savage Mind.”
   Thorn turned to the big man.
   “Akarn, let’s go see the Naturals. Let them know what’s going on.” He then turned to Captain Peters and Nate. “You two are coming with us.”
   Just as the four men left Roman the scanners picked up five moving objects.
   “Damn!”
   ‘Thorn. We’ve got more company. You’d better get back here.’
   As the four men returned to their chairs Thorn said,
   “What’s up?”
   “Five more TechPsycher ships coming our way.”
   “What! Where have they come from? We scanned the whole area before we landed. There was minimal security.”
   “There’s another facility at the last mining site. They’ve not closed it down fully yet.”
   Thorn looked over at Captain Peters after his comment.
   “Damn!” He activated his communicator. “Ifor. We’ve got more TechPsychers coming after us.”
   The communicator crackled before the reply came back.
   “Yeah, I noticed. I’ll be there soon. Just having a little difficulty with this one. Doesn’t seem to want to die.”
   “What can we do, Roman?”
   “Our best bet is to head for the moon. It’s got its own atmosphere and ecosystem. The terrain will give me a chance to out manoeuvre them. Their fighters aren’t as mobile in an atmosphere.”
   “Oh no.” moaned Akarn. “Am I gonna need my sick bag?”
   Roman grinned.
   “Only if we don’t crash.”
   Roman made the necessary course changes and checked back at the scanner.
   “It’s going to be close, guys. They’re coming up fast. I’ve pinpointed an area on the moon that has the best cover. Lots of rocky outcrops and tall tree-like structures. Ideal for what I’ve got in mind.”
   Again Akarn moaned.
   The transporter was just entering the upper atmosphere of the moon when it jolted.
   “They’ve got here too soon for my liking. They’re in firing range now. Hang on. It’s going to be a rough one.”
   As if to emphasise his point another glancing shot caught the ship which jolted them again. Roman’s reaction was to send the transporter into a steep dive. Steeper than he’d have wanted to go into an atmosphere, but if he didn’t they were sitting ducks. At least this way they’d be harder to hit and get to the ground cover quicker.
   “Come on Ifor. Where are you?” said Roman to himself.
   The hull of the transporter started to creak and groan with the pressure from outside.
   “She won’t hold out at such a steep dive,” shouted Nate over the ever increasing noise.
   Roman ignored him and held onto the controls that were fighting against his grip.
   They could now see cloud through the front viewer and still Roman held the steep dive. They were almost in a vertical position, the creaking and groaning now drowning out any words that were spoken. Nate was screaming something at Roman, but the words never reached his ears.
   The impact from behind took the transporter into a spin. Sparks and smoke filled the cabin from overloaded circuits. The cloud cleared from outside to reveal the fast approaching ground below. Rocks and clumps of trees with a lake in the distance appeared and disappeared in the front window as the craft spun.
   But Roman was too busy to notice. His hands were almost a blur over the screen in front of him, tweaking the controls, trying to give himself a chance of landing the ship in one piece.
   With a herculean effort he managed to level off the descent to some degree and slow the spin, but any other options in the controls were out.
   ‘You better hang on tight. It’s going to be the roughest ride we’ve ever had,’ he sent to his friends.
   There was no response.
   As the transporter passed over a cliff a tall forest of willowy trees opened out in front of them. Vast, bending trunks seemed to sway in the invisible breeze that swept through the living canyon. Roman’s eyes lit up.
   ‘Oh boy, are we in luck.’
   More frantic movements from his hands on the screen and another little adjustment in the trajectory of the ship took them directly towards the safest place for them to crash land.
   Impact was seconds later. It hit on its right hand side and slid through the forest splaying out the bendy trees before it. Chunks of dusty soil flew through the air leaving a wake behind them.
   Inside, the shuddering of the sliding vessel coursed through the passengers bodies. The hold containing the Naturals was awash with shrieks and cries as the scared occupants were resigned to certain death. The misery fed off of itself.
   Roman had relinquished any notion of controlling the transporter and was hanging on to the arms of his seat, his belt stopping him from falling over to his right. Thorn and Akarn were doing the same. All three of them were calm. Captain Peters and Nate were in a state of panic that had their arms up covering their heads.
   The noise was deafening. Twisting metal squealed under the pressure, but it held its integrity until the ship came to rest with its nose half way up the trunks of five trees. Thorn, Roman and Akarn were out of their seats before Captain Peters and Nate had even uncovered their heads.
   “Nothing on the scanners. They’re dead.” Roman tried more controls. “Everything’s dead,” he said.
   Thorn turned to the two men who were slowly composing themselves before releasing their belts.
   “You,” he said pointing to Captain Peters,”are going to take me and Akarn to the Naturals. We need to get them out before the TechPsychers come looking for us. You,” to Nate, “will help Roman get access to the outside. I take it you have manual release on your doors?”
   Nate nodded still in shock.
   “Let’s go, then. It won’t be long before those bastards will be down here.”
   Thorn’s communicator kicked into life.
   “Guys! Are you OK down there. Guys?”
   “We’re good. Just about to go check on the Naturals. Try to keep the TechPsychers away from us while we look to get out. Once we’ve found some cover I’ll contact you.”
   “Will do, Thorn.”
   Thorn and Akarn followed Captain Peters along the walls of the ship following the slight angle down to the rear, the awkward journey broken by having to climb through the doorways. Each door had to be released manually and due to the way the ship was laying on its side, Akarn was tasked with holding them open while everyone climbed through.
   They found the Naturals to be safe and unharmed. When Thorn explained what was happening they released the men and women. A young woman by the name of Helen seemed to have their confidence and helped shepherd everyone out of the hold.
   “How’s our escape route, Roman?” Thorn asked into his communicator.
   “We’ve got access, but the door seems to be stuck. Gonna need the big man's help.”
   “OK. We’re on our way.”
   The going was slow and the transporter was rocked once by a laser shot from a fighter flying overhead. It was chased away by the Savage Mind, but Thorn knew they would look to get a couple of fighters on the ground to hunt them down.
   When they finally reached the exit they could see what Roman was talking about. The hatch had got stuck just six inches from its closed position. Akarn positioned himself where he got most leverage. It was a little awkward as the position of the ship meant the exit was now above their heads slightly. How he did it was impressive for a big man.
   With his hands above his head and fingers clutching the edge of the door he swung himself up to jam his booted feet in the open gap. Then with an almighty brute force effort slowly prised the stuck door open enough for everyone to get through.
   Jumping down he rubbed his hands, relieving the ache from the edge of the door.
   “You never cease to amaze me, big man,” said Roman.
   “Maybe one day you can be as good as me,” Akarn smiled.
   “There you go. Spoiling the moment. This is why you don’t have any friends.” Roman’s smile almost turned into a laugh as he waited for Akarn to entwine his fingers to give him a lift up through the gap.
   “Let’s have a moment later on when we’re out of this mess,” said Akarn.
   “I’ll hold you to that.” Roman stepped onto Akarn’s hands and was launched through the gap almost going over the edge of the ship and onto the ground. “You’d better ease back on that pushing power. I almost went over the side.”
   “Sorry! Who’s next?” asked Akarn to the onlooking group standing in awe of the giant before them.
   “I am,” said Helen leading the way for her fellow Naturals.
   One by one they were all helped out of the ship and Roman helped them down on to the ground. During that time they saw four fighters fly over their heads. Two turned back and looked to land just at the point of impact of the transporter some quarter of a mile away.
   “Head further into the forest,” said Thorn to Akarn who was the last to exit the transporter. He turned to Captain Peters. “How many TechPsychers do those fighters carry?”
   Captain Peters struggled to come up with an answer and shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
   “Ten plus the pilot,” said Nate.
   Thorn turned to face him.
   “Are you sure?”
   “Yes. I’ve had a tour of one. It looked a bit cramped inside. but the guy showing me around assured me there was enough room for ten TechPsychers.”
   Thorn looked at the group making their way into the forest. He pulled out his communicator.
   “Ifor. When you’ve finished up there we’re gonna need you guys down here. Possibly twenty two TechPsychers to deal with.” There was no reply. “Ifor?”
   “Sorry. Was a bit tied up. Got three more fighters to finish off then we’ll be down. Yilnar’s itching to get in on some action.”
   Thorn climbed to the highest point of the transporter and looked back to where the fighters had landed. He could see the tops of them, but not the passengers that had got out. He slid down and landed on the churned up earth to catch up with Roman and Akarn.
   “I couldn’t see how many were down there, but we could be looking at twenty two. We need to find somewhere to ambush them. Keep your eyes out.”
   “I think there’s some cover for our passengers over to the left. The forest runs alongside a rocky area. Looks like a good place for nooks and cranny's for them to hide in. It’s about a forty five minute hike,” said Roman.
   Thorn nodded.
   “OK. Akarn, you head that way. Roman, let’s hang back and see if we can’t hold them up a while until Ifor gets here. We’ll catch up with you later, Akarn.”
   Akarn took off leading the group towards their destination leaving the two men considering their options.
   “It’s too open here,” remarked Roman. “As soon as they get within a hundred metres they’ll see us.”
   Thorn was silent, contemplating the situation.
   “How long do you reckon we have before they get here?”
   Roman thought for a moment,
   “Through this terrain I’d say eight minutes or so.”
   “Can you rig the transporter to explode in that time?”
   Another pause from Roman before,
   “Possibly. I could set the systems to overload. But it’ll be close. We won’t have much time to get away.”
   “Then we’d better make sure we run fast. Get to it.”
   Roman hurried up the fallen transporter and back into the forced open door. Thorn moved round to the rear of the ship keeping low as he kept watch. He didn’t want to be seen before Roman had rigged the transporter. If the TechPsychers got held up they would never get close enough to the explosion to be affected.
   Five minutes later and Thorn caught the first movements in the distance of the on coming enemy. As he did he felt Roman in his mind.
   ‘I’m all done. We need to get going, now!’
   Thorn rushed back to the front of the transporter and caught up with Roman.
   “We’ve got about two minutes if we’re lucky. The ship got pretty banged up. Lots of things are unstable in there.”
   “The TechPsychers are in sight. Let’s hope it holds out until they’re closer.”
   Both men hot footed it away from the scene knowing they could be caught up in a fireball any second from now. They clambered over fallen trees and uneven surfaces as fast as they could, almost falling a couple of times.
   A fizz of a laser bolt and splintered wood close by them told them the TechPsychers were in range already, but it didn’t matter as the transporter erupted in a ball of flame spewing out its broken pieces all over the surrounding area.
   The blast threw the two men to the ground, Thorn catching his head on the side of a tree. The blow drew blood, but was just a graze. Roman was thrown onto a soft pile of rotting leaves and squelchy mud.
   The screams from behind them told them the plan had some success. As they slowly got to their feet they turned to see the resultant destruction.
   Flames rose to the sky as the surrounding trees caught fire. TechPsychers were running around and then throwing themselves to the ground to roll around and extinguish their burning clothes. The two men could see limbs that had almost reached their position laying on the ground smouldering. Among the TechPsychers there was panic.
   Thorn and Roman stayed around long enough to count up the survivors. Sixteen in total they made it. Not as successful as they had hoped.
   “That should hold them up for a while at least,” said Thorn. “Let’s go.”
   They padded off towards the escaping group.
   Within fifteen minutes they had caught up with them and forty minutes after that they came across the rocky outcrops that lined the edge of the forest. They were as tall as the trees with naturally occurring alley like walkways dotted along its length.
   Thorn urged Akarn to move further along the length for another fifteen minutes before trying one of the alleyways. He tried six before finding one that was suitable for their needs. A damp, almost tunnel-like space that occasionally opened out to a space large enough for their group and then split off in three different directions to open out into more open spaces.
   In one space Akarn came across a local creature with its food. All snarls and teeth, the stand-off with the bear-like animal ended when it cautiously dragged away its fresh kill out into the forest and looked for another place to store its dinner.
   The group followed Akarn in when he emerged soon after the creature.
   ‘Can you hear me?’ sent Thorn to Helen.
   ‘Yes.’ she replied.
   ‘Good. I want you to keep everybody here until I psych talk to you again. Don’t let anybody out. We need to deal with the TechPsychers before we move you again.’
   ‘OK. What if I don’t hear from you?’
   The thought had never crossed Thorn’s mind.
   ‘You will.’
   The confidence the reply came through with dissuaded Helen from questioning him again.
   Thorn, Akarn and Roman emerged from the tunnel into the forest.
   “There’s still not much cover here and Ifor won’t get the Savage Mind close enough to be of much help. Think we’re gonna need to split up and try and cover them in a semi-circle. Try to pick ‘em off one by one. They should be disoriented enough from the blast for it to affect any well drilled formations they might have. Akarn, you head out towards the North and gradually bare East. Roman, you head South and slowly come in to the East. I’ll move towards them from here. Let’s go.”
   The unique psychic connection the three men had gave them the ability to map in their minds where each one was and so Thorn could target where he wanted them to be in relation to each other.
   They were settled in position inside fifteen minutes. Now they had to wait.
   ‘Thorn! We’ve landed close to the crash site and are heading in,’ Ifor came through to his mind.
   ‘Be careful. We left a little surprise for the TechPsychers at the transporter and they may have left some survivors there.’
   ‘If they have they won’t be surviving for much longer.’
   ‘OK, guys,’ Thorn sent to Akarn and Roman. ‘The guys are on their way. Be about an hour so let’s hold our own until they get here.’
   ‘More than likely is they’ll miss all the fun.’
   Thorn felt the dark humour from Akarn’s mind and smiled. He loved the confidence in his men and it was well justified with their track record.
   The waiting continued.
   It was the movement of bushes that Roman saw first. A careful, decisive movement encased in caution. He scanned further along the line of sight and noticed another movement, eventually seeing the TechPsycher responsible. Then a third appeared further along.
   They were clad in field battle gear consisting of a grey one piece body overall that fitted snugly to the skin and controlled their body temperature, armour leggings that moulded to the wearers legs and breast and back plates and arm protectors that mirrored the leggings. On their heads were the neural enhancers that gave the TechPsychers their abilities. Abilities that terrorised regular society and hounded the Naturals.
   ‘I have a visual. They're proceeding with caution in a wide spread.’
   ‘Keep the element of surprise for as long as possible. The more we take out before the final fire fight the better. Akarn! Do you have visual yet?’
   ‘All quiet so...No. Wait. I have movement. Yup. Here they come. Cautious as ever.’
   ‘OK guys. Make my life easier and neutralise as many as you can without raising the alarm.’
   ‘Meet you in the middle,’ Roman sent to Akarn.
   Akarn smiled and began crawling towards the rear of the nearest TechPsycher. Though the forest wasn’t dense there were clumps that provided good cover and fortunately for Akarn it was enough to hide his huge frame.
   He had manoeuvred into position with the TechPsycher just metres away from him. The man was oblivious to the danger that lay in wait for him. Akarn wore a body suit under his loose clothing that shielded his life signs from any scanners. The only reason the TechPsychers knew their position was because of the rescued Naturals.
   With viper-like actions Akarn sprang towards his prey and in one swift movement grabbed his head and twisted, snapping the neck like a twig and bringing the corpse down before anyone could see. Akarn lay there in silence, listening.
   Only a minute later Roman had his first victim down and was moving onto his second without pause. Again, the tried and trusted technique of breaking the neck was employed, but being a much smaller man than Akarn, Roman relied more on his stealth.
   If a victim was alerted before Akarn reached him, he could just use his size and strength to overpower him. Roman had never met a man that wouldn’t be powerless against the big man. Whereas, Roman himself would struggle to bring a victim down without alerting any other enemies close by.
   The cat and mouse action continued with Thorn mentally ticking off each victim until eventually he spotted his first TechPsycher.
   ‘Guys, I have a visual. Dig in and arm yourselves. Let’s light this forest up.’
   The two assassins retreated to a safe and secure place and released their weapons from their belts. Their mental picture of where their friends were made sure their aim was away from their positions.
   ‘We’re down to eleven TechPsychers. Should be seeing them converge soon. Wait for my signal.’
   Slowly the remaining TechPsychers began to appear in a wide spread about sixty metres ahead of Thorn. He waited for a few seconds more.
   ‘Now!’ he sent and opened fire.
   The other two were a split second later and three TechPsychers dropped to the ground dead. Their comrades were quick in their response and were soon in cover and returning fire.
   Another TechPsycher fell to the ground, a hole the size of a fist in his chest. Thorn could feel their communications through his mind. They were frantic, but with an underlying calmness that he thought out of place for the situation.
   As the fire fight continued Thorn noticed the TechPsychers were trying to group together dragging some of their dead with them. Occasionally one of them would be picked off, but they managed to accomplish their goal and were now in a close group. Thorn was puzzled as to why.
   The answer was soon to emerge.
   A ripple of the air close to the group of five and suddenly the Psychic Knights laser shots were being absorbed by an invisible barrier around them.
   ‘When did the TechPsychers carry around with them a portable protection barrier?’ Thorn sent out to no one in particular.
   The three men's attack ceased and they lowered their weapons as they were having no effect.
   ‘What do we do now?’ asked Roman.
   ‘We wait to see what their next move is,’ sent Thorn. ‘Unless they think back-up is arriving and they’re digging in. Ifor has stripped them of that luxury.’
   There was a flurry of activity within the group and they could be seen working together to produce...what? thought Thorn.
   ‘Any idea what they’re doing?’ asked Thorn.
   None of the other two could tell what was going on and so they had to sit tight and wait.
   A minute turned to five that turned to ten and after fifteen minutes the activity died down. The five TechPsychers were crouched down next to something that was perched and aiming towards Thorn.
   Another ripple of air around them and one of the TechPsychers threw something in the air before the ripple returned again. The object hovered for a second as though getting its bearings before flying up high and then towards Thorn.
   ‘What is that thing?’ sent Roman.
   Thorn stared at it.
   ‘Shit! It’s a locator. It’s plotting where we are. They must have some sort of weapon.’
   The device left Thorn and headed towards Roman. Thorn caught the ripple of air around the TechPsychers just in time to see the flash from the middle of the group. His instinct made him dive to the ground to his left in time to feel the tree explode beside him, the sound deafening him for a few seconds.
   ‘They’ve got a laser cannon! Since when do the TechPsychers carry laser cannons around. Thorn! Thorn!’
   Thorn could feel the anguish in Akarn’s mind, but was too disoriented to respond. He forced himself to move before the next round hit his position. Scrabbling forward and low he inched away from where he fell despairing it wouldn’t be enough before the killing shot.
   But there was no second shot at his position. Instead the explosion came from Roman’s position.
   The silence shattering noise erupted throughout the forest, splintering trees and dispelling debris all around.
   As he dived to his left and attempted a roll the force of the expected explosion took him two metres away into a thick stub of a trunk. At the same time a three foot splinter from a disintegrated tree pierced Roman’s leg. He cried out in pain.
   ‘Roman! Roman!’
   ‘Still here. Not as mobile as I was, but still breathing,’ returned Roman.
   The third explosion threw Akarn full force into a tree trunk. He crumpled to the ground.
   ‘Akarn!’
   ‘I’m good. Just winded, but I think I’ve cracked a rib, though.’
   ‘Do you Know where the locator is?’ asked Thorn.
   ‘No. I’ve lost sight of it.’
   ‘We need to take it out. I’ll lead it over to me. Akarn, keep an eye in my direction for it. Soon as you see it, pick it off. Roman. Can you get a shot off at the TechPsychers when their barrier comes down for their next shot?’
   ‘Not from where I am. I’m gonna need to re-adjust my position.’
   ‘Be quick. Don’t think we’ll have much time.’
   Roman struggled through the pain to get in a good shooting position, but still in cover. He sent confirmation when he was set.
   Thorn poked his head up and fired off a few shots that were absorbed by the barrier. Within seconds he caught sight of the locator flying through the air towards him. Akarn caught it too. With his weapon raised he squeezed the trigger.
   But the strain of keeping his gun high aggravated his wound and the pain shot through his body affecting his aim. The shots flew wide of their target and Akarn had to relax his posture to dissipate the pain.
   ‘It’s no good. I can’t get a steady enough aim. You’re gonna have to get out of there.’
   The locator was directly over Thorn now and he knew what was coming next. He didn’t wait for it. Sprinting, he put as much distance between him and his last position as he could. It almost wasn’t enough.
   The force from the explosion broke his left arm and slammed a leg up against a tree that left him in agony. He lay there staring up at the cloudy sky, stunned and again partially deafened by the blast.
   The locator came into view again over head. It hovered there and Thorn waited for the inevitable when a familiar voice came through to his mind.
   ‘Somebody call for the cavalry?’
   It was Ifor.
   ‘We heard you were in need of some help.’ This time it was Yilnar.
   Thorn forced himself up to look over at the surviving TechPsychers now dead on the floor. He flopped back down again on the soft ground.
   ‘You guys couldn’t have come at a better time.’
   ‘Yes they could,’ sent Akarn. ‘If they’d have come sooner I wouldn’t have broken a rib.’
   ‘Maybe you should work on your agility, big man. Perhaps you’re getting a bit slow.’ sent Ifor.
   ‘I must admit,’ sent Yilnar. ‘I’ve noticed a little flab around the big man’s waist. Too many big dinners, I guess.’
   Thorn could hear the laughter from where he was and a smile spread across his face. He knew he couldn’t do what he did with anybody else.

The End