Chapter 14

Lydia sat at her desk and pour herself a glass of red wine. She spent hours working on the translator and integrating it into the ship’s communication system. Her briefing with Amulius wasn’t scheduled until the end of the week. It would take a couple of days to reach Bradist’s space. So, there was some dead time. The doctor was alone with her thoughts, which would normally be a good thing, but her mind couldn’t stay focus.

The brilliant young scientist wasn’t thinking about equations, complex formulas, or upcoming missions. Thoughts of her blue eye friend kept on invading her mind. These weren’t thoughts on how amazing Faith was on the battlefield, or how Faith could change human development for generations to come. These were more personal thoughts and deep feelings were developing.

At first, it was a way to build and establish trust and then loyalty. Lydia was aware that Faith had a crush. It was cute. Lydia rarely used her sexuality to get her way. When she did, she wasn’t proud of it. But with Faith it was different. If Faith just wanted sex, Lydia would be open. It has been a while since she had a release. Besides, she was attractive to Faith. Lydia loved the bright blue eyes, the pretty smile and the way the dark hair contrast with Faith’s fair skin. ‘Faith wanted a relationship,’ Lydia thoughts, but Lydia wasn’t ready for one, but she thought about it. Why not? She loved Faith’s company, loved kissing the soft lips of the toughen warrior. Lydia liked Faith, a lot.

The doctor was on her second glass of wine when Piet arrived at her door, which surprised her because he never came to her quarters “Come in,” Lydia called out.

“Just checking up on you,” Piet said as he looked down at his datapad. “You did some good today.”

“Thank you,” Lydia replied. “I don’t know if I did some good, I was responsible in slaughtering fifty people or so.”

Piet laughed. “They were bad people. They needed to die and the women needed to be free.”

“I agree.” Lydia leaned back into her chair and resting her feet on her desk.

“Popovo has been abusing those women for years,” he said. “Star Force was never going to do anything about him. Hell, Faith had to take out Alessio. He was a sick bastard too. Star Force had too many rules, to handle real problems. That is why I join SINDRI. We get shit done.”

Lydia took another sip. “I know you didn’t come here to justify my job and duties. What is the real reason?”

Piet placed his datapad on the desk next to her. “I spend some of your credits. I mean I spend a lot.”

“You need to get my permission,” said Lydia, “before you spend my credits.” She wasn’t happy about it. “The mission is far from over.”

“You will be pleased,” he said, “look at the pad.”

Lydia placed her glass down and picked up his pad. There was a transaction of assault rifles and pistols on the screen. A smile came to the doctor’s face. “These are the guns that Ganesha used. They don’t sell these to anyone. How were you able to do this?”

“Can you keep a secret?” Piet said with a smile.

“Yes.”

“So can I.”

“Screw you, Piet.” Lydia laughed and gave him the pad.

“We got ten rifles and twenty pistols,” he said. “We have enough firepower to deal with any situation. We’ll find out if those Bradists are really bulletproof.”

“Good thinking, Piet.” Lydia picked up her glass and took a sip. “So, I heard that you are a guy that can get things.”

“I have my connections,” he said. “What do you need?”

“I need you to find something special,” she said. “Keep this between us.”

“No problem.”

The hot running water of the shower removed the slime and grit off of Faith’s body. The water stung her skin as it ran over her face, down her neck, her chest and washed over her legs. Taking long showers was a ritual for Faith. It relaxed to her. It helped her to stay focus, but she could only focus on one thing, the beautiful redhead. What started as a crush might have blossomed into something else. Faith’s feelings deepened, but she wasn’t sure if Lydia felt the same way. Her friend was a gifted manipulator. Maybe, this was all about control. Maybe their whole relationship was about control.

Faith’s fist hit the button that turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. As she grabbed a towel off the hook to dry off her body, her mind had thoughts of Lydia touching everywhere the towel touches.

“Dammit!” Faith murmured to herself as her towel dried between her legs. She got dressed in her typical sleeveless cropped shirt and loose fitting shorts. Her wardrobe wasn’t too complicated, she had several sets and variations of that outfit.

Faith flopped back onto her bunk with her arms out to the side forming a cross. The raven hair warrior never engaged in any leisure activities that weren’t related to fighting or training. If she wasn’t training, she found herself doing nothing which was frustrating, but today it wasn’t. Doing nothing was fine, it allowed her to think about doing her new leisure activity, thinking about Lydia. Faith never had these feelings about anyone. It might not be love, but it was something special.

The door to Faith’s quarters slid open. It was Ezi. The shavilli was wearing a very not shy outfit. It was tight, low cut and very revealing. Faith got off her bunk and greeted her guest.

“It was something I pick up at the port,” Ezi said referring to her sexy black outfit. “Do you like?”

Faith smiled. “I’m not hating it.” The outfit exposed Ezi’s midriff and showed off her long legs. The low cut top showed enough of her cleavage to make Faith blushed.

“Do you think Zain might like it?”

“You could wear a bag and Zain would like it. You are turning your interest to our handsome engineer?”

“No.” Ezi flashed a smile. “I’m still interested in you, little one. Zain is just a filler.” Ezi approached closer. “I noticed a change in you and Lydia.”

“It a change in a good way,” answered Faith. “I really like her, a lot.”

“Are you going presume this?”

“I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t handle rejection very well.”

“I will be here,” said Ezi. “I will put you back together if she ripped you apart.”

Faith laughed. “That was harsh, but thank you. You are a real friend.”

“Oh little one,” said Ezi. “I can be more than a friend.” Ezi placed her hands on Faith’s shoulder and delivered a small shock that sent a sensual feel throughout the warrior’s body. Faith’s eyes dilated, goosebumps appeared all over her arms, stomach, and legs. Her nipples erected and she felt the moisture between her legs.

“What the hell was that?” Faith asked in a shaking tone.

“Just a sample,” Ezi said.

Faith felt an urge to throw Ezi on the floor and ravage the beautiful creature. Faith’s will weakened, but still strong enough to fight that impulse. She struggled to get her words out. “Don’t...do...that...again.”

Ezi smiled and kissed Faith on the cheek. “That’s for rubbing my head.” The shavilli winked and walked towards the door. Before she left the room, she turned her head and looked at Faith one last time. “Maybe, I should focus my attention to Simona. I noticed she has been keeping an eye on me.”

Ezi left the room, leaving Faith with sexual uneasiness, but the feeling soon passed. Just in time for Faith to hear Simona’s voice on the intercom.

“Faith, we need you on the bridge.”

“Oh my way,” Faith replied.

The bridge was busy with activity as Faith enter. All the crew was working at their stations trying to assess the current situation. “What the hell is going on?” Faith asked.

“We have a boggy.”

“Put it on the Jumbo,” ordered Lydia, “magnify by ten.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Simona. “It looked like a drilli’s ship.”

Faith stared at the Jumbo. “It looks like a scout ship. It shouldn’t be out here. There isn’t a drilli base in this sector.”

Lydia looked at Simona. “Did it detect us?”

Simona checked her scanners and sensors. “I don’t believe so, ma’am.”

“Good,” said Lydia. “Lock weapons on it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Delay that order,” Faith interrupted. She noticed something about the ship. “Magnify by fifty.” Simona looked at Lydia. Lydia nodded quietly giving Simona permission to follow Faith’s request. After Faith got a better look, she noticed the insignia on the ship’s hull. “Svantevit,” she said out loud.

“The same group that attacked Uma?” asked Ezi.

“Yes,” Faith confirmed. She pointed to the ship on the screen. “That is a short-range scout ship. Its base has to be close. No one knows where their base is located. If we follow the ship, it might take us to Svantevit’s headquarters.”

Ezi smiled. “I could revenge my sisters.”

The crew looked at Lydia waiting for a response. “How far are we from the jump point to bradist’s space?” Lydia asked.

“Thirty-six hours before we get to the jump point,” answered Vlad.

“We already took out one merc group,” said Lydia. “Why not one more? Follow the ship, Vlad. Make sure you don’t get detected.”

“Not a problem,” he said. “I got this.”

“Besides,” Lydia added. “We can try out our new guns.”

“Ma’am, I advised against this course of action,” said Simona. “We should focus on the mission at hand.”

“Noted,” replied Lydia. “This shouldn’t delay us too long.”

Vlad trailed the scout ship, shadowing every move. Vlad made careful adjustments and matched the ship’s speed. The scout ship headed for an uncharted planet. The planet was green in color about half the size of Earth. It was one of two celestial bodies in the area. The other was the dwarf yellow star that the planet orbited.

“What system are we in?” Lydia asked.

“Not sure, ma’am,” answered Simona. She checked the star chart. “This area is uncharted.”

“Start charting and keep an eye on the stealth system, Simona. We can’t afford to get blown up by the planetary defenses of the planet if it had any.”

“Understood, ma’am.” Simona did what she was ordered to do. Even though there wasn’t much to chart.

The scout ship moved closer to the planet and the Enigma followed. The Enigma hadn’t been detected by the ship or the planet, but Vlad was very careful. He through to himself, ‘Don’t mess this up.’ He pulled back once both ships entered the atmosphere. Vlad had to remember that the ship was undetectable on screens and sensors but can be seen by the naked eye. Simona’s sensors detected a large structure which the scout ship appeared to be headed for. Vlad veered off to the right hoping not to be seen. In space, the Enigma wasn’t a big ship, but when it was twenty kilometers from the surface of the planet it could be easily seen. The planet’s surface had a jungle terrain with very thick vegetation. It was very similar to the Amazon, if humans had no interference with it. There were rivers and several large bodies of water. No other artificial structures appeared on Simona’s sensors. Her sensors detected high humidity and high temperatures. It wasn’t unbearable but very uncomfortable. Vlad could not find a clearing to land the ship. The closest the ship could get to the surface was about thirty meters, the height of the shortest trees. Vlad hovered over the trees waiting for Lydia’s order.

Lydia got the crew ready for the mission. This was going to be a major assault on what might be the headquarters of the Svantevit. She was taking a big chance with this mission. Everybody expected Vlad would be participating in the assault, the pilot would be in charge of evacuating the team.

The assault team was in the armory selecting their gear. They were all wearing the standard ballistic suits. The suit provided protection from small to medium firearms, but Lydia wanted her team to have even more protection. They added a tactical vest, which offered better protection to their torsos and some armor plating to their arms and legs. The additional armor magnetically sealed itself to the ballistic suit. Faith declined to wear the additional armor because it affected her movements. Faith was about speed and flexibility, but the rest of the team was about staying alive.

The team selected their firearms. Their options had increased since Piet made an unauthorized purchase. The crew marveled at the new guns. The guns were chrome in color and had a smooth feel to them. The rifles came in one piece, no assembly required. It was about a meter long and twenty centimeters in diameter, but very light. It had a range of five hundred meters, but most people used this rifle for close combat. It didn’t fire dense pellets like other firearms, they had their own special ammo, flat razors. The razors were about two centimeters long and one centimeter wide and were very thin. It fired them in burst about fifty razors at a time. They fired them at such velocity, that it would tear and rip through most armor. The standard ballistic suits didn’t stand a chance against them. The razors were laced with an anticoagulant toxin that would allow the victim to bleed out even from a small wound over time, if not treated. The ammo came in thousand rounds clips, which limited the rifle to forty shots per clip. Each crew member would carry ten clips on their ammo belts. Faith didn’t carry a rifle, she preferred the pistol version. The pistol was one third the size of rifle and it fired twenty-five razors per burst. The pistol clips held two hundred rounds.

Each crew member, expected for Faith, carried a rifle, a pistol and combat knife Faith carried two pistols and her katrat. Lydia also carried two frag grenades.

Lydia explained. “Faith would scout ahead and the rest of the team would move in a wedge formation towards the main structure. Keep in radio contact.”

“What are we going up against, ma’am?” Simona asked.

“They have three hundred members,” Faith answered for Lydia.

“Three hundred members?” Zain said. “You are aware that we are only six?”

“We have the element of surprise on our side,” Piet nodded with a big smile on his face.

“We had beaten the odds this whole mission,” Lydia assured Zain. “We are not going to screw up now.”

“I understand, Lydia,” Zain said. “But we are six. One, two three, four, five, six.”

“Yes,” Lydia answered. “We all understand the concept of the number six being a hella lot smaller than three hundred, but we have better guns and we have Faith. It’s not going to be a cakewalk, but it shouldn’t be a slaughter.”

“I still have a bad feeling about this,” said Zain, “but let’s do this.”

The crew did a quick weapon check and made their way to the loading bay of the ship. Lydia opened the bay door and the crew instantly felt the heat and the humidity rushed into the bay.

“Dear God,” Piet reacting to the humidity. “I feel like a fungus. We don’t have to worry about the Svantevit,” he added. “The heat and humidity will kill us.” He and Zain both laughed.

“It’s tolerable,” Simona frowned. Her face clenched and focused. She wasn’t in the mood for jokes. She released the two repelling lines that were fastened to the ceiling of the bay.

“Vlad,” Lydia contacted him through the earpiece. “We are about to descend to the surface. I’ll let you know when we clear the ship.”

“Not a problem,” Vlad replied. “Good luck.”

“I will see you at the base.” Faith jumped out the ship. No rope, no problem. The thirty meters dropped was nothing for her. She landed with the grace of a cat and started her journey to the base.

The others repelled out of the ships. Once on the surface, Lydia informed Vlad to move the ship into higher altitude to keep the ship out of sight. This was a big risk if the team needed quick evacuation. But it also allowed Vlad to keep an eye on any incoming ships. The group was about four kilometers from the structure. The team moved in wedge formation toward the base. They were following Faith’s path through the jungle. They had their ears and eyes opened. Their weapons were at low ready. The group kept a steady pace through the jungle. The heat and the humidity were taking a small told on the group, especially on Piet and Zain, the two older members of the group.

“What’s the situation?” Lydia asked Faith via earpiece.

“All clear here,” Faith responded. “I’m about twenty-five meters away from the base. No activities. I didn’t run into any patrols of any kind.”

“Hold position, Faith,” Lydia ordered. “There might be some proximity alarms. Run a scan.”

Faith activated her carpus and ran a full scan of the area. After a couple of minutes, the carpus informed Faith that all was clear. “No alarms,” she reported. “Maybe they had no intention of anyone locating this place. The element of surprise might...” She was distracted by movement by the base. She saw three drilli walking out of the structure. Two of them were armed with automatic pistols and were wearing light body armor. One was naked. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about. “We have movement.”

“Don’t engage,” said Lydia. “Just watch them.”

“Okay,” Faith replied. She continued to watch the drilli. It appeared that two armed drilli were giving the naked one orders. They argued and fought briefly. One of the drilli threw the naked one on the ground. Two of them pulled their pistols and shot him in the head at point-blank range. His head exploded into a red cloud of brain matter, flesh and skull. Remaining two drilli walked towards the structure and the door slid open. Faith walked closer to the building to get a better look. The building was located in the only clearing in the dense jungle. It was a small cube-like structure. It was a hundred meters tall, a hundred meters wide, and a hundred meters long. Faith didn’t notice any security cameras and any type of security for the base. “I’m approaching the base,” she informed.

“Do you want to wait for back-up?” Lydia asked.

“I just taking a look around,” Faith answered. “But if you want to join the party, you better double time it here.”

“We are on our way,” replied Lydia.

Faith approached the dead drillus. The body was headless. Lush green ground soaked up the blood giving the immediate surrounds a dull red hue. Stripping a drill naked was a sign of disrespect. This drillus died with no honor. Faith didn’t know what his crime and she didn’t care. She turned around and observed the door.

“That’s strange,” Faith murmured. “There are no panels or buttons to open the door. It could be controlled by sensors?” With her pistols drawn, she walked close to the door, but nothing happened.

“You are too light to activate the door,” said Lydia as she and her team stepped out of the jungle. “You are standing on a panel that would trigger the door to open, but you don’t weigh enough. In other words, we need a drillus to get us in.”

Zain pipped in. “Several of us can stand on the panel to open the door.”

“True,” Lydia commented, “but the three standing on the panel would be a huge target.”

“You said we need a drillus to open the door,” Faith explained. “Would a dead one do?”

Lydia smile. “I have an idea.” The group broke into two teams. They flanked the door. Lydia, Ezi, and Piet were on the right and Simona and Zain on the left. Faith stood by the dead drillus.

Faith grabbed the beast and placed him on to her shoulder. It was a funny sight since the drillus was so much taller than her. The average drillus weighted two hundred kilograms, which was nothing for her to pick up. She continued to show off her strength by hoisting the beast over her head and tossing it onto the panel. Once the door slid open, Faith flipped and rolled into the building with her pistols drawn. There were ten drilli, some were working at computer stations and others were just standing around. Some faced the door; others had their backs to the group. The drilli weapons were holstered; they weren’t ready for an attack. It was going to be a slaughter.

Faith blasted the first two drilli in the back. The razors ripped through their armor and right into the flesh and exiting through the front. The team filed through the door and fired on the other drilli. The new guns were effective, the rounds sliced through the drills with little effort. Heads ripped in half, bodies shredded and blood splattered all over the walls. The team moved with such speed and efficiency, the drilli died without firing a shot. They looked more like victims of a savage animal attack than a firefight.

“That was a successful test,” Piet joked. The team made a quick scan of the room.

An uncharacteristic smile appeared on Simona’s face. “If I had a dick, it would be rock hard right now.”

Ezi focused on Simona. “I am seeing a new side of you and I like it.”

“You better,” replied Simona. “You sexy, purple ...”

“Let’s not start fucking each other just yet,” Lydia interrupted. “We have a long way to go.”

“Sorry, ma’am,” said Simona. “I never fired anything so powerful before.”

“Try not to have an orgasm during the mission,” Lydia jested. “You can come all you want, once we are back on the ship.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The equipment wasn’t damaged during the onslaught. The team looked for the main terminal, which they found after Faith removed the bloody drillus body off of the terminal. Lydia went to work on hacking the system.

Once Lydia hacked into the system, she started to do some real damage by downloading all intelligence and information that the Svantevit had collected. Faith was right, it was their headquarters. They got information about contracts, assignments, and members. Lydia didn’t have time to review it, but she was able to download a map of the base. They discovered the only the top two floors were visible on the surface. The base went several hundred meters underground with a large hanger at the bottom. A large elevator tube was at the center of the far wall of the building. It took up about half the size of the room giving it a u-shape. The elevator ran the whole length of the building and only made two stops: top of the roof where the landing pad was and the hanger. There were no other elevators in the building. To gain access to the rest of the structure, they would have to use the stairs on each side of the elevator.

A drillus’s voice came over the intercom. “”

“We are about to get some company,” said Faith as she checked her pistols.

“Piet and Faith are with me,” said Lydia. “We will go to the east. Simona, you and the others check out the west. Kill everything that enters the doors.”

“Understood, ma’am,” replied Simona. The two teams split and carried out their assignments. They took cover behind the work stations and terminals. It provided some protection, but they weren’t sure if it was enough.

“Remember,” Lydia yelled out. “Ammo is limited. Make every shot count.”

The team was ready. They knew what was coming, a horde of drilli. The team had the advantage, the drilli had to funnel into the room, which made them perfect targets. The team shot and blasted the drill as they filed into the room. Blood spat over the walls and floor, the drilli were being ripped apart. The body count added quickly. They were tripping over the dead bodies of their comrades. They were wasting their numbers doing these tactics, but the drilli had a plan.

“Vlad,” Lydia called on her earpiece. “We need an evac from the base.”

“ETA in three minutes,” he replied.

The advancement of the drilli had slowed. Signs of relief appeared on the team faces, they were dangerously low of ammo. Then, they felt the base swift and shook.

“What the hell is that?” Simona asked.

“The elevator!” said Lydia.

The drilli used the elevator to transport several platoons to the landing pad. The platoons jumped off the pad headed to the front door of the base that was kept open the dead drillus’s body. Before the team could react, the drilli shot Zain with a Bartha, a powerful shotgun. The blast shattered his body armor and torn into his back sent him crashing into a wall several meters away. He was dead on impact.

“Down the stairs,” Lydia ordered to the team as they returned fire. “Vlad,” she called on her earpiece. “Come in hot. Make this place a parking lot.”

“What?” he questioned the order. “What about you?”

“We will be out of the way,” Lydia assured him. “Just do it.” She tossed a grenade at the drilli entering the building; the explosion slowed the progress on the platoons. Giving the team time to get to the stairs. They quickly climbed over blood-soaked bodies of the drilli. They slipped down the river of dead bodies, killing the remaining drilli in the stairway. They continued to make their quick descended to the lower levels.

Vlad approached the base saw the platoons of drilli itching to get in. He didn’t wait for the all clear from Lydia, trusting she got the team to safety. He fired the plasma cannons, the beams raced toward the structure and a large explosion of fire and blood filled the of the jungle.

The first level of the structure smoldered in the warm blues flames. Vlad saw the dead bodies of hundreds of drilli burning, but none of his friends. He did several fly-bys and called Lydia, but hadn’t heard from her or any of the crew. His worst fears pondered in his head. Did he kill them?

Twisted metal and broken concrete could have been the grave of the Enigma’s crew, but they were lucky. Most of the blast focused on the surface. The explosion expedited the crew descended several hundred meters to the lower levels. They were bruised, but not broken. Their bodies covered in blood, but not their own. Lydia had a constant ringing in her ear, but it wasn’t from the explosion. It was Vlad’s voice.

“You can stop screaming,” said Lydia. “We are here and still alive.”

“Dammit,” he joked. “I was going to take this ship and get whole new crew of hot babes.”

“Sorry,” replied Lydia. “You are stuck with us and it is still my ship.”

“Of course.”

“It will take us a while to get out of here.”

“Was it worth it?”

“No,” answered Lydia as she looked at her team minus her engineer. “But it had to be done.”