307 Far Future Ch. 17 – Reporting for Juris Duty (1/2)
The next day...
I eyed my Band as the alarm rang on it, blaring in my head for my attention.
”What's up, My Queen?” I responded with a mental tap on it. ”Someone's pet Canary Kriko get away?” I knew he'd be looking that up, but I just threw it out there. The brain-melting cute little birds from Colgurin IV were outlawed everywhere, their songs were just that deadly.
”Juris Directive. You've been requisitioned for leading a Tactical Squad for the cleansing operation on that Spideroid nest you found.”
Gee, that sounded familiar. ”Either they don't need me, or I'm useless with the numbers they are going to send, My Queen?” I answered, although I had to admit more Karma and nexals was not something I would pass up lightly.
”And I quote, 'After review of Terminatus Sanctia's Agent Rantha's close-combat skills against members of the Arachne Gigas Nox, her services are requested to provide guide and personal security for Juris Tactical operators during the breach of the primary Arachne Lair.' Unquote. Get moving. You've an hour to get there.”
It was a requisition, not a request. I rolled my eyes. ”I really want to get a higher ranking so they just can't do that to me, My Queen.”
”Juris handles everything below the Umbrans and Coronals. They can always do that to you,” was his deadpan reply. ”Are you geared.”
”Yeah, I had time to work on some ranged options.” I patted my shoulder holster with my new autobow, Paten. He could definitely use lots and lots of Naming Karma. ”Close-combat support, huh.”
”Their decision came after I sent one of the Queen legs you brought back up to them.”
And they discovered it could chop through their armor and didn't feel like getting minced when one dropped down on top of them. ”Such swell people. Did you negotiate hourly and hazard pay, plus bounty payment?”
”For every kill you can validate.” My Queen was so thorough about money.
”I'm on my way.”
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The assembly point for my squad was actually about half a mile from where I'd waited for the troop previously. And to my surprise, it was Sergeant Charlz and his Tactical Squad again.
I glided up again, yawning into the back of my hand, and this time the bike-cop just waved me past, obviously told to expect me. I waved at him, he kind of looked at me in disbelief, and I slid past, spinning around lazily once, still moving in the same direction as I pirouetted like no ice skater could, and ended up right in front of Sergeant Charlz.
The slightest of flinches made it plain he wondered how I had picked him out in the middle there, but that was all. ”Termite Sama Rantha drafted and reporting for duty, Sergeant!” I replied, saluting casually yet properly. I glanced around perfunctorily. ”I don't have a known way down from here, Sergeant, and the ways I do have won't fit someone in power armor.”
”Agent Rantha.” His voice had that edge of someone who'd watched a certain series of videos about harvesting spideroids on Termite bounty reports very closely, and suddenly realized, Fuck me I do not want to be on the other side of that mindblade of hers. He probably had all sorts of questions about why someone like me was working as a Termite when I could be selling my skills upspire, but he held off. ”We have an alternate route down through some maintenance tunnels that will admit us.” He flicked the route to me, my Band pinged, and I glanced at it in my Visual File.
”Damn, that's some murderous choke points. I'll have to take point and clear them for you.” I wrinkled my nose and ignored his flinch of surprise that I was going to run point for them. ”Patch your coms through my Band, would you? And the FoF indicator, so you don't pop me when things get sweaty. I'll give you a visual feed.” I tilted my head, looked at his feet. ”I see you got some pads there.”
”Yes. Our objective is to seal off that tunnel you identified and make sure it is not used as an escape route while the main force presses in from the sides. There are other squads deploying to seal and block other routes out.” Beep boop bip, linked up with the don't-shoot-me and coms.
Of which there had to be literally dozens by now. ”How are they handling the lower routes?” I asked curiously.
”Undergang units are moving in to seal them.” Ah, the infamous Eight Families of Underspire...
”Changed your loadout, too.” I frowned slightly, looking over them. ”It's inevitable that you're going to be charged. Are you bringing any riot shields? Anything you can put between yourselves and those choppers would be useful. The exit from the lift was twenty feet across, so you'll need at least seven of them to make a wall across the bottom.” Which would be half his squad.
”Eight men have fold-out shields to form a wall.” The wrist stubbers on their arm-mounts were perfect for point-blank duty.
”Well, then.” I glanced at the map again, oriented myself to a stairwell nearby, and skated off that way. I knew what they were all looking at, and they got a good view, too.
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”Emperor, Sarge, this girl moves quick,” Corporal Buunz murmured in the private channel.
”No shit, fuckhead. How many times did you watch her vids? Not enough!” he answered before the other man could. They were trotting along with the tireless ease of their power armor, in single file down here in the access tunnels, being careful not to bang on the pipes of durasteel or plascrete walls around them, the heavy suits only humming as the two-inch pads on their feet absorbed the weight of over a quarter-ton of man and metal almost silently. ”Now shut it with the chatter.”
She was already over a hundred yards ahead of them, her position clearly indicated on their route, markers for choke points indicated, and they could all see her unnaturally clear video feed in a corner of their visors.