Alien Warrior's Challenge (Brion Brides 8)(2)

The only way they could achieve that was to challenge him and he was right in the middle of proving to them why that was a phenomenally bad idea.

The mechs charged as one, hoping to catch Kerven between them and squash him into his own armor. It had happened before and the simple AIs that ran the creatures knew it. Warriors had died, pierced by the metal edges of their thick, powerful golden armors.

There was no mercy on a Brion ship. Every warrior who wanted to belong to the greatest armies that roamed the galaxy had to prove their worth every day.

The captain waited until the last moment to jump. He pushed himself off the ground with an almost unbelievable force, lifting his entire impressive weight and that of his armor high enough to land on one of the mechs. The creature stopped immediately, shaking itself, trying to throw Kerven off.

He slammed the long, unbreakable battle spear into the mech's "brain", letting the mechanical beast crumble to the ground.

The other didn't wait a second to trample on its companion, seeking to make Kerven trip. The captain held his balance and struck the approaching enemy so hard it took a tumble itself. Kerven stepped back, lightning-quick, and swiftly cut off two of its front legs. Before it could compensate for the loss of them, the mech fell and finishing it off from there was simple.

Kerven took one step towards the last, smaller one that had been hiding behind the backs of its larger kin, before three more appeared.

He grinned, giving the hefty spear in his hand a twirl to make sure he was prepared.

The concept of a "hydra" was new to Brions. It was introduced to them by General Braen’s fated, his gesha, Naima. The female was Terran and the creature was one of the myths of her people – a beast that grew more heads every time one was chopped off.

The general had been thrilled by that story and so the program had been developed. One smaller mech to act the part of the creature's heart, the one Kerven had to kill to end the exercise, while the others acted as its heads. It was accompanied at first by one, then two other bigger mechs, and so on.

It was natural for warriors to take it easy until they got to about ten before actually starting to fight and Kerven had given the two mechs plenty of moments to ambush him.

He was about to teach the spectators another silent lesson in obedience when the call echoed across the arena.

"Captain!" the bridge reported. "We have arrived at Jumel. The Terrans are going to be attacked very soon by flanking Hoola forces. They request back-up at once."

So much for the training routine, Kerven thought, not really regretful.

There were greater battles to be won.

He took off, his heavy boots pounding on the floor of the arena as he jumped again, landing on the nose of the first mech. Taking a hold of the spear's shaft with two hands, the captain cut the beast in two with a crashing sound, leaping onto the other before the first had hit the ground.

The second fell with his spear whirring through the air to cut its head off its shoulders, and the third managed to take one step before Kerven slid under it and sliced its mechanical belly open. The heart tried to run, but Kerven caught it before the next wave initiated and after a wide strike, there was nothing left but pieces of metal on the arena.

He didn't even catch a breath. He didn't need to.

A Brion warrior only gets as much relaxation as the universe allows him, it seems.

Addressing the warriors, the captain called: "To the dropships! Secure the perimeter when we land. After we touch ground, I will not let the enemy advance one step!"

With perfect unity, the warriors saluted him, fist over heart and rushed to their designated ships. Kerven headed to his own fighter, the valor squares on his neck casting a crimson aura around him. The crystals on his skin were embedded into his nervous system, reacting to his every mood and emotion, reflecting a warrior's true heart.

If he'd been afraid, there would have been many challenges.

Kerven's squares had never showed anything resembling that, even when dealing with his powerful commander. Trepidation, yes, once or twice, however that was entirely natural. At least when dealing with the generals.#p#分页标题#e#

The planet waited below. Kerven quickly skimmed the briefing materials they'd received as the fighter descended with nauseating speed, making a straight line to where the fighting was the fiercest.

Jumel was a worthless little world, but it seemed it possessed something the Galactic union   desperately needed. Enough to go to war over, even. It had taken time for the Brion Elders to permit his intervention, yet Kerven had been glad when they did.

It was his chance to prove himself, to lead a mission with complete control over it.

The fighter started taking enemy fire long before it landed. Kerven hardly noticed. His mind was already on the battle, the valor squares that produced both light and sound tuning for the Hoolas. They were going to broadcast frequencies that disturbed and baited them, calling the enemies to him like a beacon.

Finally. Playtime, he thought with a wide grin.





3





Paula





Getting to see the major proved to be less difficult than it had been a few weeks ago. Then, Paula had been forced to endure endless military procedures, each more ridiculous than the next.

At one point, the soldier had asked her for an ID two feet from the previous check point. He'd been reading her name over the shoulder of the previous check point guard.

Now, Paula walked right into the headquarters – nothing more than a small bunker under the last working shield on the battlefield, flicking like a fluorescent light. It was disquieting, reminding her of horror movies that took place in haunted asylums.

The security is completely out of hand here, Paula thought.

She looked for the major in the group of men all tastefully dressed in the brown of the Terran army, and that was without counting the layers of mud upon them.

The task was harder than she'd imagined. All the men looked pale and overworked, their eyes distant, already speaking of the weariness of war. Paula formed her professional opinion at once.

Never mind security. These guys lack for sanity, first.

Perhaps Major Burton was contagious, somehow. As much as she'd had the dubitable pleasure of his company, the highest military commander on Jumel was utterly insane.

Not in the evil kind of way. He wasn't crueler, more selfish or a bigger sociopath than the job description demanded. While Paula had nothing but loathing for the man on a personal level as well as not agreeing with all his tactical choices – though, granted, she was a medic and not a tactician and perhaps shouldn’t have had many opinions on the matter to begin with -, she had to give him credit for being there.

As she finally caught sight of the commander and he of her, coming towards Paula with heavy, drudging steps, the fact that he hadn't left the field for a moment since the war began was obvious. For all the faults he had and she could recite many, the major wasn't the kind to lead from a reinforced fortress miles behind the front line, sipping cocktail drinks and playing tennis while his soldiers died.

Looking at his sunken eyes and empty gaze, it wasn't necessarily a compliment.

"When was the last time you slept, Major?" she asked, predicting his answer word for word.

The bear of a man regarded her with the sort of affection reserved for tax collectors and auditors. Major Burton was big. That was the first word anyone associated him with. There was a wealth of raw strength about him and a huge belly to match it. Dark, ever-narrowed eyes; a bald head and thick beard completed the image of a textbook officer of the Terran army, commanding obedience and respect with his simple presence.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead, Miss Allen," the major barked at her, the only form of speaking he practiced. "What are you doing here? This is a military command center."

"It's Dr. Allen. Why did they let me in then, Major?" Paula asked, shaking her head in the next moment, refusing to get into something she had no time for. "Never mind that. I needed to talk to you. The enemy is advancing."

The look in Burton's eyes came to life for a moment to glare at her. It was very obvious the dislike Paula felt for him was mutual. She wasn't surprised in the slightest.

Before the mission, Burton had had no qualms with calling her presence "distracting", "a nuisance" and "unnecessary". He had a point in there somewhere, but like always, the major only scratched the surface of the real problem.

"Indeed," he growled at her. "I hadn't noticed. Leave, Miss Allen. I have a war to run."

"Dr. Allen, Major," Paula replied with absolute calm, knowing the Galactic union   had her back as far as the commander was concerned.#p#分页标题#e#

His discomfort was none of her business, even if she did understand that the major wasn't used to the kind of war she forced upon him. One with actual goals.

By gods, I had to be raging mad on the day I volunteered for this.

"Spare me, girl," Burton snapped at her. "After all this is over and done with, you get to take some easy job somewhere in a pretty metropolis while my men and I will head on to some other inglorious ditch. You can leave your attitude for your friends and colleagues, bring none of it here."

Like you don't love that.

Out loud, Paula sighed, hating the major more than the usual share at that moment for striking at a weakness too close to home.