Jethro Goes to War (Wandering Engineer Jethro's tale) (62 page)

“
I take it
that isn't all?” the bear asked.

“
Yeah.”
The sheriff got a dark look on his face. He spat a wad again. “Sharon
had been raped before she'd been killed.”

“
Oh.”

“
So... your
niece is out there?”

“
I can hope.
For her sake I'm not sure if I should be hoping she's alive or that
she had a quick death,” the sheriff said. He hunkered down in
the dirt and pulled out a boot knife.

“
They're
pirates you know that right?”

“
They are?”
the posse turned to the bear. “You some expert? Psychic or
somethin' or other?”

“
No. but we
found their crash site yesterday about thirty clicks that a way,”
He pointed to the shuttle crash. “Eighteen months old or there
abouts. From their records twelve survivors.”

“
Crap,”
the sheriff rubbed his jaw. “Dang. Blast it. We ain't got
the...”

“
We'll get it
done sheriff,” the gunny growled, patting his rifle.

The sheriff gave him
a long look then checked each of the others out. He nodded after a
moment, liking what he saw. “All right then. You've got the
stones. We'll split the area with you.” He knelt.

“
This is where
we are. The falls. There is a trail there.” He pointed with the
knife to the west. “And this here game trail going up into the
mountains to the valley above. We can't get up there with horses.”

“
I'd say they
went high then,” the gunny said nodding. The sheriff looked at
him. “To keep from being seen and followed easily. This area is
heavily wooded.”

“
Yes. The
western trail peters around here then dead ends in the swamp.”

“
Okay, you can
check that. We'll check the game trail,” Valenko said with a
nod. “We're on foot. If you get to the swamp and haven't found
anything, let us know and come back. We'll meet here tomorrow.”

“
Right.”

“
I'm on
channel two twenty.”

“
Good to
know,” the sheriff said standing. He hesitantly held out his
hand. Valenko took it, being careful to keep his claws clear of the
man's gloves. His massive paw engulfed the sheriff's. “If you
find her, take care of her,” the sheriff said.

“
Of course
sir,” Valenko rumbled. “We'll do our best. We've trained
in hostage rescue. I'll treat her like one of my own cubs.”

“
Good. If
anyone can get her out its you then.” He whistled to his group.
“Head em up, let’s move em out boys. Daylight's a
wastin'.”

“
You take the
high road I'll take the low road,” someone sing songed as they
left.

“
Ah shut up,”
another muttered loudly.

“
Why did you
want to split up? Cover more ground?” Schultz asks.

“
No. I don't
trust amateurs. Since he's related to the latest victim I don't want
him around. I'm not sure he can keep a clear head. I'm not sure what
the hell he'll do. Go charge the guns and get killed for all I know.
No, it's best to keep them clear.” He grimaced turning to the
trail. “I'm pretty sure you're right. What we're after is up
there,” the bear said, pointing to a ridge line above. “I
got a brief thermal pulse from up there. Enough for a couple bodies
moving up the trail.”

“
You didn't
mention that before.”

“
I don't tell
everyone everything I know right off. Besides, I wasn't sure.”

“
Could be
natives, or animals.”

“
Yeah, but I
don't think so.”

Valenko led them up
the hill over the next four hours. They started to look for a safe
place to camp as night got closer, Valenko wasn't happy about the
prospects though so they pushed on. They crossed a trail and sniffed,
paused at the scent of death. They followed the smell until they
found the body of a boy. He'd been stripped. Scavengers had been
working over his body. The air was ripe with what passed as local
flies and parasites. Hurranna waved her hand across her face to shoo
them away.

Jethro silently
pointed out the tracks. They backtracked the trail. “They've
been up and down this area so often they've created a trail,”
Valenko observed. “Typical laziness. I wonder why they brought
the kid. Sheriff didn't mention him.”

“
Maybe he
didn't know. He's not that fresh. You're right though, they should
have policed the dead. Sloppy.”

“
They thought
a predator would do the job for them,” Schultz said getting a
lock of hair and making sure he documented the body. The face was
gone, torn off by scavengers. The soft tissue was always the first
thing to go.

“
What the hell
did they want a boy for? He's just a kid!” Hurranna growled.

“
Best we don't
know. But we're going to find out,” the bear snarled softly.
“That I'll promise you kid.” He looked down at the body
briefly and then back up to where he suspected the pirates were. “We
need to scout them then, either find shelter to hunker down and call
in support or... We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

...*...*...*...*...

They get within
sight of the ridge line a few hours later. They could see an overhang
of rock sheltering some sort of cave. The slope going up was steep,
almost sixty degrees. It was peppered with trees, but the area around
the cave had been recently cleared of growth.

“
Firing lane,”
Schultz said softly, understanding what he was seeing.

“
Yeah. We need
to pull back. Circle around,” Valenko breathed looking for
cover. He suddenly felt an itching sensation. The fur on the back of
his neck was rising.

“
Think they
know we're here?” Asazi asked looking around as she removed the
safety and cocked her weapon. Behind her and to her left Chirby
danced in place being torn apart by a hail of needler rounds. It
would be the last time the Veraxin ever shucked his armor.

“
Yeah I'd say
so!” Miles snarled hunkering down behind a fallen log. “Eat
this you mother frackers!” he snarled, raising his rifle over
his head and ripping loose with is assault rifle.

Asazi hunkered
behind a boulder, feeling it being chipped away by the rounds hitting
the other side. She winced as rounds tore through the air above her.
The rounds that had torn apart Chirby had been a heavy needler. These
were from an assault rifle similar to their own. That meant at least
two alert shooters with more to follow.

“
Keep your
heads down. They can't have a lot of ammo,” Valenko snarled.

Suddenly heat and
bright blinding purple and white light flared as a plasma round cut
down the opened fire lane to slam into a trunk behind them. Jethro
turned away from the heat and light and then back to see the tree on
fire. It's trunk torn almost in half. It groaned and then fell,
crashing to the ground behind them. He was still seeing after images
from the corona of that flare.

“
You were
saying?” Asazi snarled.

“
Keep at em!”
Schultz barked, firing over his head.

“
Easy for you
to say, you're behind a rock!” Miles growled. Rounds peppered
his position, tearing through the fallen tree, spraying splinters in
all directions. Needler rounds stitched into the exposed top and
side, chewing into it. They cut through the soft rotten wood and into
the marine. The first rounds kicked him up and back in a rear sprawl.
He was okay, the body armor's crystal matrix absorbed the impact of
the hyper velocity rounds. However his neck and throat weren't so
protected. A round found it's mark, tearing through his exposed
throat, up under his chin and into his brain to bounce off the inside
of his helmet. The remains of his head splashed out the open face as
his dead body fell and rolled down the hillside.

“
Bastards!”
Asazi screamed, spitting goo. She shook, and then fired, screaming
and snarling.

“
I've got
one,” Hurranna growled, climbing a tree. She climbed along the
limbs until she got a good view and then fired. A body in the cave
toppled back.

“
Eleven left,”
she yowled, then dropped as the plasma gun tore the branch she was on
out from under her. She fell with a screaming snarl.

“
Damn it!”
Sergei snarled. He fired over his head, then switched to a grenade
round.

“
Ox did you
call it in?” Valenko bellowed.

“
Yes sir.”

“
Good.”

“
Why's he
yelling?” Jethro asked over the team HUD.

“
Cause I want
them to know back up is on the way,” Valenko replied.

“
Plasma gun
has a twenty second delay boss,” Sergei growled. “Another
shot right about...”

This time the plasma
tore through the air above the backside of the bear tearing his ruck
apart. He snarled, back on fire and tried to roll to put the sudden
burning skin and fur out.

“
Freeze!”
Sergei snarled as needler rounds tore down the hillside near the
bear. One caught Valenko's exposed tricep. His limb jerked. He
bellowed in pain again then rolled back onto his stomach.

Jethro and Schultz
looked back and kicked dirt down the hill to the exposed bear.
“Giving me a decent burial is a bit early,” the bear
said, voice muffled by a mouthful of dirt. His torn and burned flesh
trembled a little.

“
We're not.
Hold still,” Schultz said. The bear flinched as rocks and dirt
hit his burning back. After a moment the searing sensation faded. His
implants began to kick in, numbing the pain.

“
Jethro flank
them. You know what to do,” he snarled.

Sergei looked over
to the panther as he began shucking his gear. “Crap.” He
turned back and fired another grenade. It slapped off the top of the
rock overhang and went in. It exploded and they could hear muffled
screams. Dust flew out in a cloud, momentarily blinding the plasma
gunner. He grinned lifting himself up a little. “That got the
bastards!”

Needler rounds
slammed into his right shoulder and bicep. He grunted as he went down
rolling down the hill on his stomach. “Fuck me that hurt.”

“
Serves you
right,” Schultz snarled. “I taught you better than that,”
the gunny snarled, shaking his head. “Cover fire on three.”

“
Ox get a
sitrep out.”

“
I have a
micro UAV out,” Ox replied. Valenko closed his eyes to see the
live feed. Ox danced the little flying robot from tree to tree up the
flanking slope.

“
Jethro catch
that?” the bear asked.

“
Yeah,”
the panther breathed as he winced as a man leaned out and shot the
UAV. “And that,” he growled.

“
Got him,”
Letanga snarled over the link. There was a shot and Jethro chanced a
peek to see the man was gone. “He's dead. Go,” Letanga
said.

“
If you’re
going to do it, do it,” Schultz said, nodding to the others. He
looked back to Ox and the greyhound. The greyhound medic was hanging
back with Ox, trying to get to the injured. Ox had one giant hand on
his chest, holding him back.

“
Not now doc,
wait until the shooting stops. We'll need you then. Until then we'll
just have to cope.”

“
He's right
doc,” Valenko snarled. “Stay. That's an order.”

 ...*...*...*...*...

Jethro made his way
around the flank trying to be careful and conserve his cloak. It was
at least half a click up a steep slope, he couldn't afford to be
burned out at the top. He couldn't risk letting leaves and debris
fall, giving away his position either.

Despite knowing his
teammates were under fire, he had to force himself to go slow and
steady, taking his time and get to where he could do some good. He
could see the infrared signatures of his prey with his implants. They
were clustered around the front face, focusing on keeping the team
pinned or sniping them one by one.

He got to where he
was sure any further movement would expose him to someone covering
this flank and then took a deep breath, eyes slitting. After a moment
he faded. Time to go to work.

 ...*...*...*...*...

In the cave the men
were looking back and forth, trying to get a clear shot. “I
think I got the bear,” the plasma gunner said. He brushed rock
debris off his back and shoulders, then ducked his head to get crap
out of his hair. “I'm pretty sure I did. We need to leave. If
they've got backup coming...”