Silence
Anonymous Me
With a mug of tea before Illya loaded into the transport ship to fly to the races and a fresh flask Illya felt better. The nap helped some too. When he arrived Illya looked across the massive set of seats and towers till he spotted the one Maks said was reserved for them and the Terran President. Illya stopped on the steps going up once or twice and then promptly failed to notice the small gate at the top. His metal leg hit the lower rung and loudly announced his presence. There was even a small dent in the gate. Feeling irritated with himself Illya swung one leg over the gate and then the next. Sitting down he scanned over the race trail to see if he could find number 11.
The Terran president scooted over on the long bench for the massive General to join them along side his wife. The man had made a loud entrance with whatever he had on his leg, but maybe that was the infamous Chip bones? Either way, he’d come to watch his wife fly, though he was late enough that they were into the second lap. “Number 11 right?” he said, handing the binoculars and pointing to a brigh flashing marker high in the air, “Look there in about...3 seconds.” The roar of powerful engines filled the air and a tiny black streak jettesoned from the Wilds mist in a vertical reach into the sky. For only a split second, the number 11 could be seen emblazoned on the side as the flyer arched over the marker and dove straigh down with the other racers on her heels. Calysta sat behind the throttle, heart pounding and a large grin on her face as she pulled into first before gunning the throttle out of the dive and towards the next marker. They circled around continent before flying straight over the stands and back for the final lap. The little thrill of victory surged through her as she started to dip down for the low marker at the edge of the mist. Suddenly something emerged from the fog alongside her. “What in the Wilds?” It was tow ship in the same class and with no care for the other racers behind her began to fire on her. Where had they come from!? Bullets pattered the side wall and she jerked her mask down over her nose in case of a gas leak. The ships looked Kaerlean not Terran, but it didn’t matter because her flyer had no mounted gunnery for a race. “Shit!” The racers scattered trying to avoid the hailstorm of bullets and Calysta jerked hard into a vertical climb again exploding out of the mist and over the edge of the Continent. The attackers made no mistakes about who they wanted tailing her no matter how many hard cuts and turns she made. Mashing her radio coms, she called the radio tower. “Clear the flight deck...the stands...dispatch…” Her radio cut off, having been damaged by another shower of bullets. She was a sitting duck with no way to defend and the best way was to take this away from the people on the continent. Gritting her teeth, she pushed into a hard dive into the island off Kinte, weaving in and out to brush them off.
Taking the binoculars from the Terran, Illya spotted Kalizda’s ship and then the two that started trailing her. His heart started pounding hard and he grabbed the radio on his uniform. “Cover fire for 11.” He yelled the orders in Quoti. Their ship could do it from the mist and no one would know. He saw a few ships start to land aon the decks and Illya wasted no time. “Maks! Get guns tah fix on dah flyers.” The president had his own guards and Illya wasn’t worried about him at this moment. Both Chip men skipped the stairs and instead launched themselves out of the tower and landed on the flight decks below. Illya was moving two pilots out of the way while Maks was recruiting help to get guns fixed on the flyers that had been confiscated.
Her flyer’s engines obeyed every command, but it took lightening fast reflexes to weave between the bottoms of the floating islands. She had the skill, flicking herself between two of the islands’ stony bottoms, but her attackers were keeping up. At least one of them was. Where the other went she didn’t know. With the other in hot pursuit, she sent the flyer entirely sideways squeezing through a small gap between two of the islands. For a moment her attacker was gone...until the second popped up from the mist directly in front of her on a collision course. “No!” Slamming on the throttle she launched into another hard climb passing the edge at the flight deck again. Another shower of bullets echoed but she couldn’t tell if that was on the ground or at her from the sounds. Her answer came when a hard ping came from her engine and the craft lost upward thrust. Puttering out, her flyer egan to fall, leaving her stomach behind. Don’t panic….Don’t panic Calysta tried to restart the engines with no luck and the mist veil was coming up fast. Soon she was passing through it and the pitch black Wilds appeared below. Breathing hard, she searched desperately for the clear space left by the Mirage and tried to nurse the failing flyer to a clear emergency landing spot.
They weren’t getting guns fast enough and Illya finally took his beret off, threw it on the ground and roared in frustration. After a moment he leaned over to retrieve it and call in to The Ombrey again. So far they had been unable to trace her except that her ship had gone down in the Wilds. Illya clenched his jaw and dug a parachute out of the back of the flyer and then got in the front seat. It had a mask in it, but it was too small for him. Checking his lights he flicked them on and nodded to Maks. They were both ready to go down after her. The little flyers buzzed off over the edge. Illya Looked over the side of his ship and he dove it a little lower. Maks flew a short distance apart. “General I got movement, Tyrie.” They both knew what that meant. “Big Momma triangulate off Little Boy. Send rescue our coordinates. Tyrie after little bird.” Illya took his ship lower yet and circled till he caught sight of the beasts closing in on one spot.
The flyer slammed into the cleared field, throwing dit and half grown trees in a spray of debris. The impact cracked the glass dome, letting in the deadly gasses, but her helmet and mask protected her from that. Instead, it was was the sidelong shove to the wreckage along with a vicious, screaming growl that sent a shock of fear through her. Tyrei. Maybe even more than one. Her hands trembled as she dug through her storage compartment and tried to retrieve her pistol. One of the beasts leapt onto the nose of the flyer, bending it downunder its weight as he dragged its massive claws over the glass. Suddenly a spray of bullets showered down and the animal screeched, abandoning their prey for a time. “Illya?” Glancing down, she realized the flyer had no power for the radio at all as the flyer landed nearby. It was not Illya but one fo the attacking flyers. Cursing, she slammed the clip into her pistol, turned off the safety and cocked it back ready to defend. With a deep breath she locked down her hatch and slumped in her seat waitin to see if he would dare to try to enter. With held breath she waited until a face appeared through the glass, a familiar one, and yet not familiar. A man with a strong jawline and scraggly beard...and mis matched eyes. “Elian Halvard?” As she said his name, his heavy fist punched down into the glass trying to break in.
Illya’s landing was less than smooth and he felt a surge of pain run through his chest as his little ship hit the ground. According to his figures he could run about 200 yards east and be to her. Maks landed much easier and the two of them drew their swords and prepared to fight off the Tyrie. As Illya ran around the brush he could see Tyrie in a group. Without hesitation he started charging in with his sword. He coudln’t waste any time they had to be gathered around the ship.
Calysta felt the glass shatter as Elian’s fist broke through and she fired off three rounds two of them embedding into his chest, only to be blocked by armer and tough skin. The third grazed his cheek and he, out of instinct stumbled away to protect his eyes and readjust his mask. The former captain’s eyes caught on the figures moving toward them fast in the distance and he knew the end he had was closing. “Damned Chips!”
They were almost to the Tyrie and Maks pointed to a large figure of a man moving away from the mangled ship that was barely visible in the pitch black except for a small glint of moonlight over the nose of the craft. “Over there!” Almost breathlessly Illya nodded and made another surge, forcing and willing himself to run faster. The Tyrei caught sight of their prey and began catapulting toward them.
Diving back into the cockpit he took two more hits before managing to punch the woman in the side of the head hard enough to crack her helmet and cause her to go limp. He wrenched her limp form from the seat by the front of her tunic and put a hand on her mask, threatening to pull it off to the approaching men with Tyrei on their heels. “Come closer…” he called, his voice a sickened gurgle, “and I’ll kill her.”
Suddenly the man stopped and Illya recognized the voice despite the distortion from the injury to the neck. “Yah afraid tah fight meh again? Let her go and ef yah win yah trow meh to dah Tyrie.” He knew there would be no mercy and he should have killed the man back on the Nova.
Elian snorted and grabbed up Calysta, jumping to the ground ground with a hand at her throat. “Nah. You took from me, Chip,” he said in his gravelled voice, “and now I take from you.” With that he started a drowned laugh and started hauling his prize back to his ship. She would make a nice pet, much better than the Chip, especially because of her high pricetag and the fact he preferred half breeds.
While Illya tried to fight with the man Maks drew his hand gun and started to open fire on the ship Elian was headed for. He aimed for every critical spot in range. If this guy got off the ground The Ombrey would be hard pressed to shoot it down with Kalizda inside. Maybe they could force him to fight here.
Elian saw his ship being fired on, but the Kaerlean vessel was well made and the hand gun bullets weren’t large enough to cause major damage. It did prevent him from getting any closer to his ship though. The woman’s bullets had been small, but he could tell this was a much larger caliber that could probably penetrate his armer and skin if he took a hit. They would also obliterate the woman. He sighed and turned back toward the only ship left available, what he didn’t count on was his false leg not detecting a root and he stumbled in the dark, dropping her and plowing into the dirt. “Ahg!”
Illya stood. He was waiting on edge and he could hear the Tyrei still cowering because of the gun shots. That wouldn’t be forever though. At least the gunfire from Maks proved to be somewhat useful at turning Elian around. In a matter of moment the man began to stumble and Illya raced forward. He used his prosthetic leg to kick at Elian when he reached for Kalizda and then brought his sword out in a swinging motion. If it hit he doubted that Elian’s head would be attached to his body anymore.
Elian growled like a beast from the kick, as pain radiated from his gut, but he was already stretched out reaching for the woman. The sword came down before he could roll and a hand came up to defend. With a decisive cry, the man’s hand was sheared off with a clean swipe and the blade slashed into his face right under his ear in a deep wound. The only thing he could do was look up and grin at Illya as the sword pierced his skin with a spray of blood. “You really are the best..killer...in the galaxy,” the words were labored, and gravelly, but also his last as he bled out and the light left his off set eyes.
Illya felt the spray of blood reach his hands and some of it spread on his face. He almost reveled in killing the monster that would have taken his Little Bird, but then Elian said something that burned to the core. The dead eyes staring at him and the ugly parted mouth had been the same to smile at him and call him the best killer in the galaxy. Part of Illya shuddered. Was it the Tannas? Did it really make him a killer?
Maks ran up behind Illya and he scooped Kalizda off the ground. “We got to make it to the ships!” They were already hearing the screeches and yowls of the Tyrie and they began to close in. Asha was sending rescue toward the location of their ships and it was close, but the Tyrie were closer. There wasn’t time left for any kind of thought. It was just survival. Illya could feel he was losing strength and he knew that Maks had to carry Kalizda, but that left Illya with the brunt of the fighting for now.
Drawing his pistol Illya shot the first Tyrie that he could get in his sights. The large cat like creature shrieked and skittered away a few steps, but it didn’t stop the others. Firing as many shots as Illya could at the large cats he went till the clip in the pistol was empty and then he drew his sword. By the time he relaoded it would be too late.
The animals were so close that Maks was forced to drop Kalizda to the ground. He drew his pistol and reloaded it while Illya fought off the first cat that drove toward them. A quick slice to it’s mouth and the creature slashed with its paw in retaliation. Illya was caught across his arm. Most of it hit his armer, but some dug underneath the edge of the armer and tore his arm open. The scent of blood drew the ravenous beasts almost wild and they came closer. Maks fired at a few more and then he felt something tug at Kalizda. Whipping around he saw one of the giant Tyrie had hooked a claw in her and was trying to drag her away. Drawing his sword he slashed at the beasts foot and it relased her with a scream.
Only a short distance away he could see the lights of a rescue ship scanning for them. They only had to hold on a little longer, but it was getting tougher with open ground to hold back the beasts. Now there were several animals that had backed off, but they circled them with tails twitching and ears back. The oversized feline type monsters hissed and crouched.
One Tyrie sprung from its haunches toward Kalizda and Maks. The Chip dove for Kalizda then he heard the solid thud of the animal land. Peering behind himself he saw that Illya was trapped under the cat’s paw and he brought his sword up to fight off the creature. There wasn’t anything that Maks could do. He had to guard over Kalizda because the beasts had already proven that they would take her if she was not guarded.
Simultaneously another two cats lunged and one bit viciously into Mak’s shoulder and the teeth tore into the side of his neck. He cried out and fought back as hard as he could. The cat dropped him and he hit the ground mostly limp. Still determined to protect Kalizda he managed to get to his knees and lay over top of her while he loaded his pistol. “Yah jes hold on.” Grunting to her he struggled to maintain conciousness for the time. His gun was loaded and he aimed for the blurry monstrous figures ahead.
Light flooded the small area they were in and clearing shots fired before the cats moved off. Illya barely managed to get himself up and he saw Maks was done. “Maks!” Running over he pulled his cousin/nephew from the ground. “I need help!” Yelling to the men up in the rescue ship he waited for one with a mask to descend and pull Maks into the ship and then Illya sent Kalizda up next.
When he was finally in the ship Illya sat in the medical bay waiting for the doctor to give any kind of news on Kalizda or Mak’s condition. The first news he got came as an utter shock.
“There’s nothing we can do.” Cautiously the Ehaui started. “I don’t have enough equipment on board to save him. Maks is dying. Done what I can. The injury is too severe.”
Blinking a few times Illya stared at the doctor dumbfounded and he felt a few tears come to his eyes. Rising up he grabbed the doctor by the front of his coat and slammed him into a wall. “Den yah try harder!” He wasn’t ready to lose Maks. “Get back in dere and yah do someting about et.” Slamming the doctor against the wall again Illya finally let the stunned Ehaui go and he dropped to the floor on his knees. Yelling and cursing and screaming in rage he pounded on the floor till his fists were bloody and his chest ached too much to continue. When he wore out he dropped his chin to his chest and let the tears flow freely.
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Elpsbet got the news and she rushed to the gang plank of the ship. “Thomas I have tah go now.” Anxiously she shoved her feet into her shoes and ran toward the rescue ship bay. “Meh Maks is dying. He needs meh.” Wiping the hot tears from her eyes she nearly stumbled as she ran out the door. The Chip woman tripped on the docks and felt the sting of the gravel dig into her hands, but it was nothing compared to the urgency to see her Maks before he died.
When she arrived to the ship Elpsbet rushed into the medical bay and she held one hand over her mouth as tears streamed down her face. “Oh...Meh dear Maks.” Shuffling over to his bedside she stroked his hair and leaned in carefully. “I’m here for yah.” Taking her hand down from her mouth she slipped her fingers into his big hand and held on tight. She could feel his grip was weak and his skin tone had already gone ashen. “Jes let meh be here like we agreed.”
Maks couldn’t see very well. His vision was already fading and he turned his head toward her voice. He knew it was his Chip woman and he tried to speak, but he lacked the strength. Instead she gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Her lips were wet and he knew it was tears.
Elpsbet stayed with him and waited for the last half hour and when Maks gave his last labored breath she lowered her head onto his bloodied chest and wept loudly.
The Terran president scooted over on the long bench for the massive General to join them along side his wife. The man had made a loud entrance with whatever he had on his leg, but maybe that was the infamous Chip bones? Either way, he’d come to watch his wife fly, though he was late enough that they were into the second lap. “Number 11 right?” he said, handing the binoculars and pointing to a brigh flashing marker high in the air, “Look there in about...3 seconds.” The roar of powerful engines filled the air and a tiny black streak jettesoned from the Wilds mist in a vertical reach into the sky. For only a split second, the number 11 could be seen emblazoned on the side as the flyer arched over the marker and dove straigh down with the other racers on her heels. Calysta sat behind the throttle, heart pounding and a large grin on her face as she pulled into first before gunning the throttle out of the dive and towards the next marker. They circled around continent before flying straight over the stands and back for the final lap. The little thrill of victory surged through her as she started to dip down for the low marker at the edge of the mist. Suddenly something emerged from the fog alongside her. “What in the Wilds?” It was tow ship in the same class and with no care for the other racers behind her began to fire on her. Where had they come from!? Bullets pattered the side wall and she jerked her mask down over her nose in case of a gas leak. The ships looked Kaerlean not Terran, but it didn’t matter because her flyer had no mounted gunnery for a race. “Shit!” The racers scattered trying to avoid the hailstorm of bullets and Calysta jerked hard into a vertical climb again exploding out of the mist and over the edge of the Continent. The attackers made no mistakes about who they wanted tailing her no matter how many hard cuts and turns she made. Mashing her radio coms, she called the radio tower. “Clear the flight deck...the stands...dispatch…” Her radio cut off, having been damaged by another shower of bullets. She was a sitting duck with no way to defend and the best way was to take this away from the people on the continent. Gritting her teeth, she pushed into a hard dive into the island off Kinte, weaving in and out to brush them off.
Taking the binoculars from the Terran, Illya spotted Kalizda’s ship and then the two that started trailing her. His heart started pounding hard and he grabbed the radio on his uniform. “Cover fire for 11.” He yelled the orders in Quoti. Their ship could do it from the mist and no one would know. He saw a few ships start to land aon the decks and Illya wasted no time. “Maks! Get guns tah fix on dah flyers.” The president had his own guards and Illya wasn’t worried about him at this moment. Both Chip men skipped the stairs and instead launched themselves out of the tower and landed on the flight decks below. Illya was moving two pilots out of the way while Maks was recruiting help to get guns fixed on the flyers that had been confiscated.
Her flyer’s engines obeyed every command, but it took lightening fast reflexes to weave between the bottoms of the floating islands. She had the skill, flicking herself between two of the islands’ stony bottoms, but her attackers were keeping up. At least one of them was. Where the other went she didn’t know. With the other in hot pursuit, she sent the flyer entirely sideways squeezing through a small gap between two of the islands. For a moment her attacker was gone...until the second popped up from the mist directly in front of her on a collision course. “No!” Slamming on the throttle she launched into another hard climb passing the edge at the flight deck again. Another shower of bullets echoed but she couldn’t tell if that was on the ground or at her from the sounds. Her answer came when a hard ping came from her engine and the craft lost upward thrust. Puttering out, her flyer egan to fall, leaving her stomach behind. Don’t panic….Don’t panic Calysta tried to restart the engines with no luck and the mist veil was coming up fast. Soon she was passing through it and the pitch black Wilds appeared below. Breathing hard, she searched desperately for the clear space left by the Mirage and tried to nurse the failing flyer to a clear emergency landing spot.
They weren’t getting guns fast enough and Illya finally took his beret off, threw it on the ground and roared in frustration. After a moment he leaned over to retrieve it and call in to The Ombrey again. So far they had been unable to trace her except that her ship had gone down in the Wilds. Illya clenched his jaw and dug a parachute out of the back of the flyer and then got in the front seat. It had a mask in it, but it was too small for him. Checking his lights he flicked them on and nodded to Maks. They were both ready to go down after her. The little flyers buzzed off over the edge. Illya Looked over the side of his ship and he dove it a little lower. Maks flew a short distance apart. “General I got movement, Tyrie.” They both knew what that meant. “Big Momma triangulate off Little Boy. Send rescue our coordinates. Tyrie after little bird.” Illya took his ship lower yet and circled till he caught sight of the beasts closing in on one spot.
The flyer slammed into the cleared field, throwing dit and half grown trees in a spray of debris. The impact cracked the glass dome, letting in the deadly gasses, but her helmet and mask protected her from that. Instead, it was was the sidelong shove to the wreckage along with a vicious, screaming growl that sent a shock of fear through her. Tyrei. Maybe even more than one. Her hands trembled as she dug through her storage compartment and tried to retrieve her pistol. One of the beasts leapt onto the nose of the flyer, bending it downunder its weight as he dragged its massive claws over the glass. Suddenly a spray of bullets showered down and the animal screeched, abandoning their prey for a time. “Illya?” Glancing down, she realized the flyer had no power for the radio at all as the flyer landed nearby. It was not Illya but one fo the attacking flyers. Cursing, she slammed the clip into her pistol, turned off the safety and cocked it back ready to defend. With a deep breath she locked down her hatch and slumped in her seat waitin to see if he would dare to try to enter. With held breath she waited until a face appeared through the glass, a familiar one, and yet not familiar. A man with a strong jawline and scraggly beard...and mis matched eyes. “Elian Halvard?” As she said his name, his heavy fist punched down into the glass trying to break in.
Illya’s landing was less than smooth and he felt a surge of pain run through his chest as his little ship hit the ground. According to his figures he could run about 200 yards east and be to her. Maks landed much easier and the two of them drew their swords and prepared to fight off the Tyrie. As Illya ran around the brush he could see Tyrie in a group. Without hesitation he started charging in with his sword. He coudln’t waste any time they had to be gathered around the ship.
Calysta felt the glass shatter as Elian’s fist broke through and she fired off three rounds two of them embedding into his chest, only to be blocked by armer and tough skin. The third grazed his cheek and he, out of instinct stumbled away to protect his eyes and readjust his mask. The former captain’s eyes caught on the figures moving toward them fast in the distance and he knew the end he had was closing. “Damned Chips!”
They were almost to the Tyrie and Maks pointed to a large figure of a man moving away from the mangled ship that was barely visible in the pitch black except for a small glint of moonlight over the nose of the craft. “Over there!” Almost breathlessly Illya nodded and made another surge, forcing and willing himself to run faster. The Tyrei caught sight of their prey and began catapulting toward them.
Diving back into the cockpit he took two more hits before managing to punch the woman in the side of the head hard enough to crack her helmet and cause her to go limp. He wrenched her limp form from the seat by the front of her tunic and put a hand on her mask, threatening to pull it off to the approaching men with Tyrei on their heels. “Come closer…” he called, his voice a sickened gurgle, “and I’ll kill her.”
Suddenly the man stopped and Illya recognized the voice despite the distortion from the injury to the neck. “Yah afraid tah fight meh again? Let her go and ef yah win yah trow meh to dah Tyrie.” He knew there would be no mercy and he should have killed the man back on the Nova.
Elian snorted and grabbed up Calysta, jumping to the ground ground with a hand at her throat. “Nah. You took from me, Chip,” he said in his gravelled voice, “and now I take from you.” With that he started a drowned laugh and started hauling his prize back to his ship. She would make a nice pet, much better than the Chip, especially because of her high pricetag and the fact he preferred half breeds.
While Illya tried to fight with the man Maks drew his hand gun and started to open fire on the ship Elian was headed for. He aimed for every critical spot in range. If this guy got off the ground The Ombrey would be hard pressed to shoot it down with Kalizda inside. Maybe they could force him to fight here.
Elian saw his ship being fired on, but the Kaerlean vessel was well made and the hand gun bullets weren’t large enough to cause major damage. It did prevent him from getting any closer to his ship though. The woman’s bullets had been small, but he could tell this was a much larger caliber that could probably penetrate his armer and skin if he took a hit. They would also obliterate the woman. He sighed and turned back toward the only ship left available, what he didn’t count on was his false leg not detecting a root and he stumbled in the dark, dropping her and plowing into the dirt. “Ahg!”
Illya stood. He was waiting on edge and he could hear the Tyrei still cowering because of the gun shots. That wouldn’t be forever though. At least the gunfire from Maks proved to be somewhat useful at turning Elian around. In a matter of moment the man began to stumble and Illya raced forward. He used his prosthetic leg to kick at Elian when he reached for Kalizda and then brought his sword out in a swinging motion. If it hit he doubted that Elian’s head would be attached to his body anymore.
Elian growled like a beast from the kick, as pain radiated from his gut, but he was already stretched out reaching for the woman. The sword came down before he could roll and a hand came up to defend. With a decisive cry, the man’s hand was sheared off with a clean swipe and the blade slashed into his face right under his ear in a deep wound. The only thing he could do was look up and grin at Illya as the sword pierced his skin with a spray of blood. “You really are the best..killer...in the galaxy,” the words were labored, and gravelly, but also his last as he bled out and the light left his off set eyes.
Illya felt the spray of blood reach his hands and some of it spread on his face. He almost reveled in killing the monster that would have taken his Little Bird, but then Elian said something that burned to the core. The dead eyes staring at him and the ugly parted mouth had been the same to smile at him and call him the best killer in the galaxy. Part of Illya shuddered. Was it the Tannas? Did it really make him a killer?
Maks ran up behind Illya and he scooped Kalizda off the ground. “We got to make it to the ships!” They were already hearing the screeches and yowls of the Tyrie and they began to close in. Asha was sending rescue toward the location of their ships and it was close, but the Tyrie were closer. There wasn’t time left for any kind of thought. It was just survival. Illya could feel he was losing strength and he knew that Maks had to carry Kalizda, but that left Illya with the brunt of the fighting for now.
Drawing his pistol Illya shot the first Tyrie that he could get in his sights. The large cat like creature shrieked and skittered away a few steps, but it didn’t stop the others. Firing as many shots as Illya could at the large cats he went till the clip in the pistol was empty and then he drew his sword. By the time he relaoded it would be too late.
The animals were so close that Maks was forced to drop Kalizda to the ground. He drew his pistol and reloaded it while Illya fought off the first cat that drove toward them. A quick slice to it’s mouth and the creature slashed with its paw in retaliation. Illya was caught across his arm. Most of it hit his armer, but some dug underneath the edge of the armer and tore his arm open. The scent of blood drew the ravenous beasts almost wild and they came closer. Maks fired at a few more and then he felt something tug at Kalizda. Whipping around he saw one of the giant Tyrie had hooked a claw in her and was trying to drag her away. Drawing his sword he slashed at the beasts foot and it relased her with a scream.
Only a short distance away he could see the lights of a rescue ship scanning for them. They only had to hold on a little longer, but it was getting tougher with open ground to hold back the beasts. Now there were several animals that had backed off, but they circled them with tails twitching and ears back. The oversized feline type monsters hissed and crouched.
One Tyrie sprung from its haunches toward Kalizda and Maks. The Chip dove for Kalizda then he heard the solid thud of the animal land. Peering behind himself he saw that Illya was trapped under the cat’s paw and he brought his sword up to fight off the creature. There wasn’t anything that Maks could do. He had to guard over Kalizda because the beasts had already proven that they would take her if she was not guarded.
Simultaneously another two cats lunged and one bit viciously into Mak’s shoulder and the teeth tore into the side of his neck. He cried out and fought back as hard as he could. The cat dropped him and he hit the ground mostly limp. Still determined to protect Kalizda he managed to get to his knees and lay over top of her while he loaded his pistol. “Yah jes hold on.” Grunting to her he struggled to maintain conciousness for the time. His gun was loaded and he aimed for the blurry monstrous figures ahead.
Light flooded the small area they were in and clearing shots fired before the cats moved off. Illya barely managed to get himself up and he saw Maks was done. “Maks!” Running over he pulled his cousin/nephew from the ground. “I need help!” Yelling to the men up in the rescue ship he waited for one with a mask to descend and pull Maks into the ship and then Illya sent Kalizda up next.
When he was finally in the ship Illya sat in the medical bay waiting for the doctor to give any kind of news on Kalizda or Mak’s condition. The first news he got came as an utter shock.
“There’s nothing we can do.” Cautiously the Ehaui started. “I don’t have enough equipment on board to save him. Maks is dying. Done what I can. The injury is too severe.”
Blinking a few times Illya stared at the doctor dumbfounded and he felt a few tears come to his eyes. Rising up he grabbed the doctor by the front of his coat and slammed him into a wall. “Den yah try harder!” He wasn’t ready to lose Maks. “Get back in dere and yah do someting about et.” Slamming the doctor against the wall again Illya finally let the stunned Ehaui go and he dropped to the floor on his knees. Yelling and cursing and screaming in rage he pounded on the floor till his fists were bloody and his chest ached too much to continue. When he wore out he dropped his chin to his chest and let the tears flow freely.
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Elpsbet got the news and she rushed to the gang plank of the ship. “Thomas I have tah go now.” Anxiously she shoved her feet into her shoes and ran toward the rescue ship bay. “Meh Maks is dying. He needs meh.” Wiping the hot tears from her eyes she nearly stumbled as she ran out the door. The Chip woman tripped on the docks and felt the sting of the gravel dig into her hands, but it was nothing compared to the urgency to see her Maks before he died.
When she arrived to the ship Elpsbet rushed into the medical bay and she held one hand over her mouth as tears streamed down her face. “Oh...Meh dear Maks.” Shuffling over to his bedside she stroked his hair and leaned in carefully. “I’m here for yah.” Taking her hand down from her mouth she slipped her fingers into his big hand and held on tight. She could feel his grip was weak and his skin tone had already gone ashen. “Jes let meh be here like we agreed.”
Maks couldn’t see very well. His vision was already fading and he turned his head toward her voice. He knew it was his Chip woman and he tried to speak, but he lacked the strength. Instead she gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Her lips were wet and he knew it was tears.
Elpsbet stayed with him and waited for the last half hour and when Maks gave his last labored breath she lowered her head onto his bloodied chest and wept loudly.
