Ladies and Gentlemen, the fifth installment of the tale of Alpha Squad, for your consideration. Don't hesitate to compliment, criticize, or critique in any way you wish. After all, we learn the most from our mistakes, do we not? Enjoy.
There was a grunt and a clatter. I started at the sound and reached out, my other hand still connected to Rulen. “Grantz? Grantz, that you?”
The guardian’s reply was a moan, then “Argh!”
“He’s broken something, Chief,” Parma replied. “I don’t know what, but it probably happened when he got launched by that thing.”
I swept my hand around, peering into the almost utter blackness until my hand found Parma’s armor. “Hold Rulen. Let me check on Grantz.”
As the elevator continued its journey downwards, I stripped off Grantz’s armor and ran my hands over his torso lightly, probing for irregularities.
“Agh! Urk!”
There. A broken rib, and that was probably the least of things. I sat back and sighed. “He needs more advanced medical tech than I can provide: that, or a lot of rest. Several days’ worth.”
Parma was quiet for a few seconds, then said, “And we don’t have the time for it, not if we want to make it to the Core on the rations we brought. Is that it?”
“Yes.”
We sat in silence for a while. Then the quiet was broken by a new voice.
“Am I dead? Heaven sure is dark.”
There was a chuckle, then Parma replied, “No, you’re pretty far from paradise, you twat. Besides, what makes you think you’re going there instead of the other place?”
“Because you definitely won’t be there, O cruel maiden mine.”
I snorted, trying to disguise my laugh as a cough. There was a smack and “Ow!” as Parma took revenge.
A few minutes later, the surroundings started to get brighter, indicating the end of the trip. I looked around. We seemed to be going down some sort of advanced shaft – unlike our previous trips, this elevator was traveling down along a steel beam. The shaft itself was made of some sort of reinforced transparisteel.
“Is that a…town?”
I glanced down at the landscape below. It seemed to be a dimly lit ramshackle collection of huts and shops. As we got closer, I could make out little brown-furred creatures scurrying about. Many were pointing up towards the elevator, watching it descend, and others were frantically dashing here and there. I gripped my sword.
“Parma, standby for possible engagement,” I said. I looked over at Rulen. “You fit to fight?”
Rulen sat up, wincing. He held up his BAB in one hand and a flash bomb in the other. “Can do, sir.”
The elevator slowed as we got closer to the ground level, then stopped. Several of the creatures were waiting for us, standing a respectable distance away from the elevator. They brandished large war axes, and a crimson symbol was emblazoned on their tunics.
“Who goes there?” One of them challenged as the environmental barrier of the elevator slid down.
“Knights of the Spiral Order, on a reconnaissance and exploration mission,” I called back. “We mean you no harm, if you mean us none.”
The lead creature, who was much bigger than the others, snarled. “The gremlins of the Crimson Order do not take kindly to trespassers in our territory, outlander.” He pointed at the elevator. “Turn around and go back. You’re not going past us.”
I sighed. “We will not disobey our orders. And even if we wanted to, I’m sure you’re aware of the fact that these elevators only seem to go one way.”
“Then die!”
The four gremlins behind him charged, swinging their axes in smooth, deadly strokes. Before they could go far, however, there was a flash of light as Rulen’s bomb detonated, blinding them. The visor on my helmet dimmed the nova of the explosion, just enough to see a charged projectile from Grantz’s Callahan – apparently the guardian still had enough consciousness to fire his gun – streak past us and slam into one of the gremlins, shattering every bone in its body and hurling it backwards. Multiple shots from Parma peppered another, filling it so full of holes it looked like a cheese grater. Then I charged forward, slamming my sword full-on into another one.
Strangely, the Avenger’s blade didn’t cut its thick fur – but the concussive force of the swing was more than enough to audibly crack several of its ribs. I brought my blade up and around for a second blow, smacking the gremlin over the head and crushing its skull.
Three down.
The remaining gremlin and its leader stumbled back, wide-eyed as they witnessed us systematically dismantle their companions. Then they turned and fled, screaming what I assumed were gremlin obscenities at us over their shoulders.
“You’ll pay for that, outsider!” shouted the leader. “Just wait! There are thousands of us just waiting to tear you apart!”
I looked down and nudged the body of the gremlin I had killed with the toe of my boot. “If they’re all like your companions, then I’m afraid that would be classified as genocide,” I called back – but the leader was already out of earshot.
Tentatively, several other gremlin heads poked around corners and out of doorways, peering at us as we stood over the bodies of the ones who had just attacked us. I raised a hand, palm outward.
“We won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt us,” I promised. “We don’t want to fight if we don’t have to.”
One gremlin approached us, accompanied by two more just behind him. His fur was gray, white in some places. The village elder, I assumed.
“Thank you for ridding us of those bullies,” he said, his voice surprisingly strong for his looks. “The Crimson order is not welcome everywhere in the villages, so they make themselves welcome.” He smiled, gesturing at where the gremlin leader had disappeared in his flight. “It is refreshing to see someone stand up to them, for once.”
I bowed. “If they were being bullies, serves them right.” I looked around. “I’m sorry to ask something so quickly of you, but do you have a place we could stay, and food for the night? Two of my companions are wounded – one of them seriously – and they need to rest before further travel.”
“Why, of course. Anything you need.” The gremlin elder gave another kind smile. “My name is Harwog. And yours?”
“I am squad leader Euclid.”
I turned slightly and gave Parma a thumbs-up. She nodded, and several of the gremlins came over to help her take Grantz and Rulen to a nearby hut.
“Tell me, Euclid, what brings you so far down into Cradle?”
Cradle? Was that the name of this world, then?
“The Spiral Order – a group of knights like myself – crash landed on this planet. I was commissioned by my superiors to scout out, find and bring back the energy source we detected at the core, to see if it could restore our ship.”
The elder’s expression darkened when I mentioned the core, and he was silent for a minute. “That is a dangerous mission,” he finally said, “and I would try to convince you to turn back, save for the fact that you cannot. And if you continue that course, you will most likely never make it to the Core in the first place.”
I frowned. “We’ve made it this far – why not?”
“There is something down there – something even the Crimson Order does not dare disturb,” Harwog said, shuddering. “Something evil inhabits the Core, some monstrosity. No one knows what.”
“Why?”
The elder laughed bitterly. “The Crimson Order would banish any gremlin who dared go down that way, and would execute any who assisted them. Besides, no one would want to if they could. Even if one were to get past the Crimson Order, there is still the Lost Kingdom of Almire. It is a heap of ruins, vast and uncharted, and at the heart is Firestorm Citadel itself.” His ears lay flat on his skull as he mentioned the name. “Some even say that Vanaduke, the King of Ashes, still lives there to this day…driven mad by the fall of his realm.”
I raised an eyebrow. “If the Crimson Order would execute whoever helps explorers into that place, aren’t you endangering yourself by helping us?”
The elder scoffed. “Our fates were sealed when those fool servants of the Order attacked you and got themselves killed. We will suffer their punishment whether we help you or not. Besides,” he added, his voice growing softer, “it is most likely that they will simply punish me as an example, instead of the whole village.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. I’ve lived long enough. Besides, it brings me pleasure to sting them, if only a little.” Harwog grinned fiercely. “My son was taken by them as an infant. They have torn many gremlin families apart.”
We arrived at the door of the hut where we were to stay the night. “Isn’t there a resistance, if they’re so tyrannical?” I asked, stopping before the entrance.
“Oh, yes, but it is far out of reach of us,” Harwog replied. “Emberlight, it’s called, the town of gremlin outcasts and rebels. It’s much further inward, though I don’t know where. Perhaps it is even on the border of Almire. Such a remote place would make sense – even the Crimson Order would hesitate to search for them there.”
I nodded. “If we found them, could they lead us through Almire, do you think?”
The elder shrugged. “Possibly. That is more than I can say.” He gestured towards where Rulen and Grantz lay on side-by-side beds, Parma attending to both. “I will lend you some of my healers – they can make quick work of your companion’s injuries. The skill of gremlin menders is unmatched.”
I bowed again. “Thanks a lot for your help, elder Harwog. We greatly appreciate it.”
“It is my pleasure, squad leader Euclid. May your stay here be refreshing.”
I walked over to the bed where Grantz lay, his eyes closed and his face contorted in pain.
“He shouldn’t have fired the Callahan,” Parma said quietly, gesturing to his shoulder. “The muscles there were already strained from our tussle with the king – now he’s torn them.”
“No worries, Harwog told me his menders could fix both Grantz and Rulen up fairly quickly.”
Parma looked at me inquisitively. “Harwog? The elder? What were you two talking about?”
I told her about our conversation.
“Evil?” she chuckled when I finished. “They think that the Core, a source of pure energy, is evil?”
I shrugged. “That part seems a little superstitious. But as for everything else, I believe it to be true and valuable information.”
“Oh, definitely,” Parma said. She moved aside as the gremlin menders entered, muttering greetings. We walked over to one side of the hut, keeping an eye on the procedures and continuing our conversation. “What I don’t like is that part about Vanaduke and Almire. There seem to be plenty of kings in this planet – what did he call it, Cradle? – and I don’t like the thought of another mad one.”
I nodded. “If we can get more intel when we reach Emberlight, that would be best.”
Parma gave me a look. “When we reach Emberlight? Don’t you mean if we reach Emberlight? If it exists at all, that is. Harwog didn’t say he’s seen it with his own eyes.” She sighed and looked back at where the menders were still working on our squadmates. “Chief, this mission is looking more and more hopeless in terms of rescue. We can’t go back, because the elevators are locked, and if we go forward, we’ll have to get through this Crimson Order and this mad Vanaduke king. Even if we manage to so much as slip by them, the path is closed behind us.”
I said nothing, leaning against the wall of the hut and closing my eyes. This was what I’d feared, to be honest. These doubts had been nagging at my mind ever since we’d started, and now they were getting louder.
“Chief?”
I opened my eyes and looked at Parma. “You’re right, but there’s no other course of action. Stay here with the gremlins and get slaughtered by the Crimson Order? Stay at Emberlight – if we can find it? Even if we did, how long could we last?” I shook my head. “No, it’s come down to either die here or get to the Core, secure the energy source, and hope for rescue. And I will follow my orders, Parma.”
Parma’s shoulders slumped, just a little. “I know. It’s just…” She glanced at Rulen, who was attempting to crack jokes at the menders as they worked on him. “What if we don’t all make it? What if…” her voice caught, and she looked back down at the floor. “What if we end up like that recruit – crushed between the jaws of a world we don’t know?”
I leaned forward and gripped Parma’s shoulders, my voice firm. “I won’t let that happen, knight. Grantz won’t let that happen. Rulen won’t let that happen. And you won’t, either.” I smiled. “That’s an order, sergeant.”
Parma looked back up at me and gave a tired smile in return, then snapped to a salute.
“Yes, sir.”
This is really quite top-notch writing here. I can't believe I haven't looked at this story before yet! Know that you now have a new reader and follower.
Especially loved that bit of banter between Parma and Rulen at the beginning. Little snips like that are always quite hilarious.