Unleashed, p.1
Unleashed, page 1
part #8 of The Descendants War Series
Unleashed
The Descendants War
Book 8
John Walker
Copyright (c) 2021 John Walker
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
DISCLAIMER
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This story contains explicit language and violence.
Blurb
An attack on the Terran Colonies emboldens the allies to make a move. As they gather their forces, they send the Triton and Brekka on a mission to give them an edge, a quick raid into enemy territory. As each takes an enormous risk, they pave the way for a telling victory against the Kahl Empire though they may not survive the attempt.
Meanwhile, the pilgrimage continues as the archaeology team makes their way to a new world. This desolate place seems abandoned by the former occupants, leaving a vast facility as little more than a ghost town. Not all is as it seems and when they land, they discover an ancient mystery that puts all their lives at risk.
The Kahl Resistance picks up speed, gathering forces for a final push to save their people. Various agents find themselves in a desperate race to escape the wrath of their military forces. Powerful individuals stand in their way, and the situation couldn't be more dire. In the end, they may well be the last bastion of hope for not only themselves but their civilization as a whole.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Prologue
Cirilla Anfer wiped blood from her eyes as she followed after Brahn. The air car crashed into a business, destroying the front while taking out displays full of clothes. All the workers fled. Onlookers gathered outside, mostly in the street. Fortunately, they didn't get too close, but it did seem odd none of them attempted to offer aid.
Brahn took Ephir from their boot. He tossed him over his shoulder, carrying him swiftly around to the back of the building. They traveled down an alley while emergency service sirens screamed in the distance. He made it clear they needed to be somewhere hidden before the authorities arrived.
They crossed a street into another alley then went through an open door. Brahn led them up a flight of stairs where he put Ephir on the floor. Cirilla followed, staring at the floor. She worked out much harder at home, but the stress from being shot at, crashing the vehicle, and even the maneuvers took a lot out of her.
She slumped against the wall.
"We don't have time for that," Brahn said. "They said they were going to contact us, but we kind of have to improvise after all that."
"What do you want me to do?" Cirilla asked.
Brahn rubbed his eyes. "Set up an encrypted distress call. I'm guessing they're monitoring the area. I should've insisted we get contact information from them. The fact I didn't..." He shook his head. "I'm heading downstairs to stand guard. If that idiot wakes up and causes trouble, shoot him."
"So he's alive?" Cirilla didn't want to look at Ephir. She had no desire to see a dead body.
"Yeah, he made it. He'll need medical attention though. And I don't want the authorities giving it to him or we'll never get him to the damn resistance people." Brahn headed down the stairs. "Be careful about how you use your device! The Lord Marshal may be looking for you with it. A decent tech officer may be able to track you down."
"Good to know!" Cirilla shouted after him. She turned to her device, tapping to bring up the communicator. Setting up encryption was simple enough. Doing it in a manner which for a group she didn't have the information for seemed impossible. She'd have to keep it somewhat generic. Both sides would likely receive it... and break the code.
"What do you want me to say?" Cirilla shouted. When Brahn didn't immediately respond, she moved over to the stairs. "Hey, did you hear me? I have no idea what I'm sending out here! Advice would be awesome!"
Three blaster shots went off in rapid succession. They came from down below, making it clear she was on her own. She hurried back to Ephir, clearing her throat as she collected her thoughts. Every time she came up with something to say, another noise caught her attention, distracting her from the moment.
Someone might come up those stairs at any moment. Cirilla struggled with an urge to draw her weapon. I need my hand free for the damn comm! She hit the transmit button then closed her eyes as she spoke.
"We need immediate assistance. Package received. Pinned down. If you're listening to this, you probably already know what I'm talking about so getting here fast would be a VERY good idea!"
A hand grabbed her ankle. Cirilla screamed, fumbling to draw her weapon. She looked down into Ephir's eyes.
"What... is... happening?" Ephir croaked out the words, coughing at the end. "What've you done?"
"Be quiet!" Cirilla pointed her weapon at him. "Get your hand off me! Right now!" She yanked away, stumbling from the effort.
"You need to answer..." Ephir winced, bending at the waist to cling to his gut. "What happened to me?"
"You were in the back when we crashed." A crash downstairs made Cirilla spin. She approached slowly, leaning to get a look. Two flashes followed sparks bursting from the wall opposite the stairs, stopping her in her tracks. Dropping low, she kept her weapon aimed on the stairs, finger poised to pull the trigger. "Brahn?"
"Move Ephir!" Brahn shouted from below. "Hurry!"
Damn! Cirilla thrust her weapon back into her holster then rushed to the man. She grabbed him by the hands, dragging him away from the stairs to a nearby pillar. He groaned the whole way, which made her wince. Whatever injuries he suffered from must've been severe. Moving him could've paralyzed him... or killed him outright.
Not likely. Brahn carried him from the vehicle without him dying.
"You're not exactly... gentle..." Ephir curled into a ball when she let him go. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish?"
"You're lucky we want to accomplish anything," Cirilla said. "After what you did to me. Your threats... pushing me into spying on the Lord Marshal... if we didn't need you, I'd shoot you in the head myself." That was a bluff. She doubted she had it in her to kill someone in cold blood. Self-defense was another story.
"You have no idea what's at stake!" Ephir fought to finish the sentence. He drew several deep breaths before continuing. "You're a small price to pay when it comes to saving the empire from ruin. From the resistance you talked about, or the Lord Marshal's age and weakness... the church even!"
"You think you know best? Why? Because you're some intelligence agent? You've had a vision? Just be quiet."
"Because I've... got... the proof." Ephir fell into a coughing fit. Bad enough Cirilla began to wonder if he might not be on his way out. "And if I die... no one will have it."
"Uh huh. What do you want me to do about it? We're waiting for help. Just calm down." The conflict downstairs continued. Something crashed, like a shelf being taken down. A man screamed as if he'd been caught on fire. The noise continued until an energy blast cut the sound off. "That's..."
"Insane?" Ephir offered. "Whatever your boyfriend is doing down there, he can't keep it up!"
"We'll see." Cirilla crouched beside him, drawing her weapon again. "But you and I are going to stay safe right here. Try to relax. We'll get you aid as soon as we can."
Come on, Brahn! I don't like being alone up here. Whatever you're doing, make it faster!
***
Brahn Kless charged down the stairs. Cirilla hadn't noticed the incoming aircars pursuing them. He figured the sniper had gathered whatever forces they had left. The building seemed like a reasonable place to go to ground, mostly because it bottlenecked the enemy through the alley. Unless they didn't care about getting Ephir back.
Though when they shot the vehicle, I began to wonder. Brahn figured they had to know about him being in the back which led to another possibility. They want to keep him quiet. Either he works for someone else, or they have a little partnership going on. Whatever. I'm keeping him alive at all costs.
Ephir's survival from the crash gave Brahn hope. It made it feel fated, like the man wasn't supposed to die arbitrarily. Brahn normally didn't believe in such things. This one time, he gave in. With all the talk of the Prophet and the dogged belief Zali leveraged, he started to feel a sense of divinity.
This whole situation might be a test. Brahn shook that off as he reached the door, peering down the alley the way they came. Letting himself believe in a supernatural angle wouldn't help anything. He fought alongside men with devotion. They tended to make ridiculous mistakes, the kind that got them horribly killed.
One of his leaders had bought into such things. The man sacrificed soldiers without a second thought. Brahn felt the only real miracle at work in that situation was the fact he'd survived the foolishness. After five missions, he was reassigned, putting him under the command of a sane pers
The Crusade should never have been married to religion. A beam struck the top of the doorframe, showering the area with sparks. The attack pulled him back to the moment. He risked a glance, catching sight of three men charging down the alley along with the sniper at the end, gearing up. Of course you'd hide, you bastard.
Brahn's computer let out a triple beep, indicating it had finished a scan of the area. He checked the building schematic, noting there were two other entrances but only one way to get to those stairs beside the exterior entrance. A door down the hall and to the right remained closed.
That gave him some confidence in his current situation; in holding the enemy to one point of entry. Leaning his weapon out, he swept it from left to right while pulling the trigger. An arc of shots slowed his opponents as they took cover. Even so, a returned beam nearly got his arm, coming close enough so he felt the heat.
Pulling back inside, he moved to the opposite side of the entrance, leaning to get a look out. He figured the sniper remained trained on where he had been. It gave him just a moment to take in the scene. No other men charged him. They'd all been suppressed and driven to stop. It wouldn't last. Not when their leader found out what they were up to.
I can't play games with the sniper. Brahn moved down the hall to stand on the opposite side of the door. This gave him a straight view of the stairs as well as the other entrance. It meant using Cirilla and Ephir as bait, to draw their pursuers inside... then take them out from behind. Before they figure it out and redirect.
Four men didn't present a tremendous threat. Not when they were the ones having to charge the position. Besides the fact they didn't seem particularly wise. If they had kept moving rather than hiding, they might've already taken him down. Instead, they gave Brahn a chance to adapt and to make changes to his tactics.
The first one peaked in, leaning to get a good look at the stairs. Brahn blasted him in the back of the head. As the body went down, he opened fire, tossing blasts bolts up the stairs before expiring in a heap.
One of the others poked his weapon in, shooting up the stairs. Brahn took aim... the door beside him burst open. A man charged in, grabbing him by the lapels. The attack came so swiftly, he genuinely faltered to surprise. As he was dragged back toward the room, he squeezed off a snapshot at the door.
Screams broke out but just as Brahn was about to lose visibility, he shot the man in the head, silencing him.
His attacker tossed him through the air, directly into a shelf full of knickknacks and trash. He brought all the stuff down with him as it collapsed with a tremendous crash. The man grabbed his shirt from the back, hoisting him to his feet.
Brahn tossed his elbow back, catching his opponent in the soft spot just where his ribs met his side. The blow loosened the grip on the left side, so he let go, throwing a couple quick jabs straight to the back.
The two hits proved to be far more powerful than Brahn would've anticipated. He yanked himself free, spinning in place with a wide left hook. The blow cleanly missed as the man ducked, coming back with a solid hit to the gut.
Brahn tensed at the right moment, minimizing the impact though it still ached. He shoved the man back then followed up with a kick to the shin. That slowed the bastard down, knocking him off balance.
They threw themselves at each other, tossing a series of punches and parries like they were in some kind of sporting match. More weapons fire erupted in the hallway. He couldn't imagine who was shooting back at Ephir's guys, if anyone was. Surely, not Cirilla. Regardless, I need to finish this idiot off.
Brahn put his back into a block, knocking his opponent to the side. He followed up with a thrust kick, planting his heel in the man's ribs. Something gave from the hit as the man went to the floor, wallowing... groaning even as he tried to rise by planting an elbow and shoving.
"No." Brahn moved next to him, nudging the man onto his stomach. He dropped his knee on the back of his opponent's neck, snapping it with his weight. "You were no joke..." He crawled to his feet, grabbing his gun as he headed back toward the door. The fighting outside escalated, as if they didn't know he was there.
Or they thought I was contained.
Taking cover by the door, Brahn paused there to glance out. Men had come inside but they were at the base of the stairs firing up. Why, he wasn't sure. No one fired back. It must be a distraction. They're throwing down suppressive fire. He checked his device for a way in through the second floor.
Another stairwell on the side of the building led up to various windows along the structure. If the sniper took up a position there, he'd have a fair line of sight on anyone on that floor. Depending on how cool Cirilla remained under fire, she might be safe, but if Ephir was available for a hit... well, it seemed obvious he might be tagged.
Brahn slipped out with his weapon raised. He double tapped the figure on the left, taking the one on the right as he turned. They went down, heads steaming from the blasts. He advanced, pausing at the door to glance out before continuing on to the stairs. Walking backward, he kept his weapon at the ready.
"Cirilla! Stay down!" Brahn waited for her to reply. His heart raced when she didn't say anything right away. "Did you hear me?"
"I'm down!"
"Is Ephir secure?"
"Yeah, we're at this pillar thing! Who's down there?"
"Just me right now." Brahn got a glimpse over the lip of the floor at the window on the opposite side of the room. He stopped, narrowing his eyes until he noticed a shadow. The flash of a scope made him duck. An energy blast slapped the wall behind him. "There's a sniper over there! Stay out of sight from the other side of the building!"
"I can get him," Cirilla said. "I think I've got a shot..."
"Don't!" Brahn grunted, running down the stairs. He burst outside, sprinting for the end of the alley. Sirens in the distance seemed to be getting closer. Real authorities would be there soon. The fight had to end fast, or they'd be caught. Then I get to explain myself to Aeden. That'll be a fun half hour before my execution.
He slid as he reached the corner, coming out with his weapon aimed high. The sniper turned, eyes widening. The man spun with his rifle. Brahn fired twice. The first blast hit the metal near his target's shoulder. The sparks made him jerk backward. The second took a chunk of leg.
The rifle fell off the edge, clattering on the ground. Brahn stepped out further for a better shot while his opponent fumbled for a pistol. The weapon narrowly cleared the holster when Brahn opened fire, letting off half a dozen shots. They tore through the sniper's side, cutting making him convulse then fall still.
An energy blast burst through the window, slapping the building across the street. Brahn grunted. Dammit, Cirilla! He sprinted back to the door, shouting as he entered, "Okay, he's down! Get Ephir ready! We have to get out of here now!"
"I... think we're in trouble," Cirilla said. "Three vehicles landed on the northeast side of the building."
Brahn joined her, checking his device. Sure enough, they did have company, but he was sure they weren't the authorities. Those people had to be a good five minutes away at least and even when they arrived, they needed to organize. None of them would charge in. "How many people do you have, Ephir?"
"I..." Ephir slumped.
Brahn scanned him. He was still alive, just unconscious. "Convenient." He rubbed his eyes. "Alright, so... I need to grab a second gun." He headed for the stairs. Pausing as someone started up the way. He rushed back to Cirilla. "They're already coming." He took aim, drawing a deep breath.
"The Prophet sends his regards!" a man shouted from down the stairs. "We'd better get moving if you don't want to be inside a cell in the next few minutes."
"Who sent you?" Brahn asked.
"General Zali. Do you want to move on?"
"Our prisoner's unconscious," Brahn replied. "I have to carry him out." He put his pistol away, slinging Elphir over his shoulder. Cirilla grabbed his arm.
"What if they're lying? How do we know they are who they say?"
"I appreciate your paranoia," Brahn said, "but we don't exactly have a choice here. Besides, we're supposed to be embracing faith, remember? This is our chance to put it to the test." He started away. "I guess we'll know how legitimate all this is if they turn out to be clever opponents."
