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Chapter Fourteen
Ryan felt the fires of frustration and rage boil up within him to the point
where he felt that he would explode if he didn't vent them in some manner,
however futile that might prove to be.
Gazing up at the armaglass ob port that gave an unseen observer a full
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panorama of the war party below, Ryan felt that the opaque wall of armaglass
was almost mocking them. He could imagine some of the Illuminated Ones perhaps
even the commander of the redoubt, or their overall leader standing, poring
over the people gathered below, examining them as though they were nothing
more than insects. Not as human beings who were fighting for their survival,
but rather as specimens who could be used in some experiment.
Ryan knew it was a futile gesture even before he began, but it was something
that he felt he had to do. Both to vent his anger, and also in some way to
galvanize an army that had been deflated with the realization of how they had
fallen so easily into a trap.
Taking the Steyr from his back, the one-eyed warrior strode through the throng
that clustered miserably in the chamber and took aim at the ob port. He fired
a round and watched as the bullet clattered harmlessly against the armaglass,
not even pitting or scarring the surface.
It may have been, in that sense, futile, but it did serve to
change the mood of the army. Whereas, scant moments before, they had been
reflective of the tone set by Gloria in her exclamation when she realized how
her enthusiasm had trapped them, they now felt lifted by the defiance of the
one-eyed man.
Ryan's blast was the first of many.
"C'mon Doc, my old beauty, let's show the bastards we're not chilled yet," Cat
said, grinning as she raised her laser blaster and firing at the ob port. Her
charge hit the armaglass, and although it made a faint scorch mark but little
else, it was the cue for more of the warriors to fire.
As the laser blasters, rifles and handblasters went off around them, the
companions sought out one another among the throng of the warriors.
"Is there really any point in joining them?" Mildred asked rhetorically as
they gathered.
J.B. shook his head. "Not a hope of breaking through, even by sheer weight of
numbers."
"Yeah, but at least it's got everyone on the up again," Ryan commented. "That
was really the only reason."
Krysty eyed the throng. "It's certainly worked, lover. They're fired up, all
right, but what the hell can we do to get out of here?"
"More question of what they do get rid us," Jak commented with a twinkle in
his ruby-red eye.
Dean was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Doc coughed, partly as a prelude to speaking, but partly because the pox was
taking a stronger hold of his system. "Allow me, perhaps, to explain and
expound upon our friend Jak's point. Observe, if you will, that we have been
guided into the vast chamber where they keep their mat-trans units. We all, do
we not, either have the disease or are carriers of such. Now, if you were in
the position of the Illuminated Ones, what would you choose to do? Chill us
all? Take issue and battle with us? Or would you, if you had the opportunity,
not disseminate us all to
the farthest corners of the land, thus achieving the rare treasure of chilling
two birds with but the one stone? After all, they would not only have disposed
of us, they would also have spread their foul calumny."
"Is that what you meant, Jak?" Dean asked with a wry grin.
The albino shrugged. "Bigger words, but yeah."
"Point is, it's vital to get the hell out of this chamber as soon as
possible." Mildred shivered. "The more time we waste here, the closer some of
us get to buying the farm. And I hate to sound self-important, but if I go,
then will I have time to tell the rest of you what you need to look for?"
"Don't worry, Millie," J.B. said softly, laying a hand on her arm, "it's not
going to come to that. They've got other plans for us, I figure." There was a
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light in the Armorer's eyes as he spoke that told of a deeper feeling, one
that he wouldn't express so publicly, but which Mildred could acknowledge.
"Let's hope so, John," she replied simply.
The barrage of fire on the ob port was beginning to lessen as the warriors
realized that it was doing little in the way of any practical good. There were
still those who were pouring fire and anger on the only visible symbol of
their enemy, but most had acknowledged that there had to be an alternative.
Gloria and Tammy fought their way through the throng toward the companions.
"Ryan," the Gate queen said, "that was triple stupe of me. I've just led us
right into the shit, here."
"It's not your fault," the one-eyed man assured her. "They set it up so that
we had to follow, in order to wipe out the threat of the sec force."
Gloria looked at Ryan askance. She knew that he was only partly speaking the
truth. She had, she knew, acted rashly, but dwelling on that would do no good,
and Ryan was trying to tell her to move on from it. The important thing now
was what they
would do next.
"Listen," Tammy said rapidly, "we need to get these stupidworks to stop
firing. They'll waste valuable ammo that we may need when we figure out how to
get out of here."
"If we get a chance," Gloria added.
"Will," Jak said firmly. "They need us in mat-trans. We not going by choice.
So they need sec to push, right?"
"Yeah, I'd figure that," Ryan agreed.
"And if they need to send sec in, then they need an opening to come in
through, right?" Krysty smiled with understanding.
Ryan agreed. "We just need to wait and see. Have some patience but don't let
our heads drop."
"Can't afford too much patience," Mildred muttered, shaking her head slowly.
"Have to hope they don't have much, either."
J.B. looked at Mildred, concerned, then focused his attention elsewhere.
"Let's get this firing stopped," he said brusquely.
The Armorer left them, moving among the masses with
Tammy, trying to persuade the warriors to cease firing.
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