The Legacy of the Lioness Read online

  “Engineer, why are you on the mountain, that wasn’t the plan and—” General Haik yelled over the radio. His voice was cut off as gunfire from the opposite site of the mountain erupted.

  I looked out my firing port and saw the nomads weren’t shooting at the vehicles anymore, but each other. The nomads near us were returning fire at the snipers high on the opposite mountain.

  “Cease fire! Cease fire!” one of Haik’s men yelled over the radio.

  I watched through the rearview mirror as Kodiak and another man emerged from behind General Haik’s men. They mowed them down, shooting most of them in the back with submachineguns.

  Wounded, the fifty-caliber machine gunner swiveled around his turret to return fire, but his head exploded into a pink mist as Kodiak’s comrade shot him down.

  “Shit,” Leo said.

  A young male turned around and put his hands up. He kneeled. “Kodiak, wait! I didn’t do anything, I just followed Haik’s orders and—”

  Kodiak looked him in the eyes and shot him dead. He chuckled as steam rose up from the dead bodies. The sun peeked through the clouds, shining down on the corpses littered along the mountain pass.

  “So much for it looking like an accident. This was just a massacre,” Neona said.

  “Kodiak simply used the confusion of the convoy to his advantage,” Luther replied.

  The radio beeped. “Engineer... they... betrayed us... please...stop them,” General Haik pleaded.

  “I see him.” Leo pointed. Haik was crawling toward us. I could see blood running down the corners of his mouth as he stretched out his hand. Luther held the radio out in front of him, staring at it.

  A gunshot was fired from the opposite mountain as his face collapsed into the snow. His dead eyes appeared to be fixed on us.

  “Haik didn’t have a clue this was coming,” Neona muttered. I glanced at Luther and thought about all the times he must have avoided death in his reign. I wagered part of the reason he was still alive was because of his ability to sniff out an ambush.

  “We have our own concerns.” Luther pointed past Haik’s men. In the distance, I could see the anti-aircraft tank. It never made it to valley. The driver likely witnessed the beginnings of the ambush, and now it was in full retreat.

  As I zoomed in with my helmet’s visor, I noticed one of the convoy trucks had looped around the mountain, regrouping with the AA tank. It had apparently made it all the way through the valley because the nomads were too focused on each other.

  “Chase it down,” Luther ordered.

  Neona shook her head. “Kodiak didn’t give a damn about those solar panels! If he did, none of those vehicles would have made it through the valley. This whole mission was so he could isolate General Haik far away from their colony and murder him,” she theorized.

  I edged down the mountain after the anti-aircraft gun.

  The radio beeped. “Engineer. Why are you leaving so soon?” Kodiak asked casually.

  Luther held the radio close to his mouth. He paused briefly. “To claim our part of the bargain, remember? And you said this was supposed to look like an accident, you murdered more than half your own men,” Luther replied.

  “Well, you of all people know how unexpected things can happen. The men loyal to General Haik didn’t see his death as an accident and started shooting at our men. We were forced to kill them. It’s unfortunate that so many men had to die, but the outcome is still the same. You’re not going to stay and celebrate this new era of our alliance?” he asked. I could hear someone cheering in the background.

  Luther ignored him and put away the radio. He glanced at me before staring ahead at the anti-aircraft tank. It was about four hundred meters ahead of us. “I’m done with Kodiak. We gave him what he wanted, now he can deal with it. I want that anti-aircraft tank,” Luther said.

  I pushed around a thicket of trees. “We’ll catch it in less than a minute, it’s too slow to outrun the Mauler,” I said, attempting to ease his worries. I cut them off by climbing a small hill as the two raider vehicles disappeared over it.

  I slowed down as I reached the top of the hill. My eyes widened. “Shit,” I said, I noticed the anti-aircraft guns pointed directly up at us. It was parked, setting up its own ambush. I shifted in reverse and floored it as flashes of light strobed in front of us, melting the snow. Steam poured into the air as it continued to fire. I stopped, looking left and right.

  “We’re too fast, they’re forced to stay to fight,” Leo said.

  “Captain, the energy output of that weapon is sufficient to kill us with a single direct hit. The Mauler’s armor is adequate to repel small arms fire, but not high-powered energy weapons that are designed to shoot down aircraft,” Xena said.

  “Any ideas?” I asked Luther. I wasn’t taking the bait by going straight at it.

  “Incoming hostiles on the right flank,” Xena said. She jumped up on the minigun turret as everyone looked to our right. The truck escorting the AA tank was barreling toward us. The passenger climbed out of the window, holding something in his hand.

  “Explosives!” Leo yelled. I continued in reverse as the man reared back to toss the object at us. I heard the Mauler’s minigun spool up as he heaved his arm forward, but he was riddled with bullets before he could throw it.

  Xena tattered the small 4x4 single cab truck. The front tires instantly burst as the vehicle nosedived into the snow. The forward glass shattered as blood sprayed the cabin. I noticed the driver attempt to bail out of the vehicle, but he was torn apart as he reached for the door handle. The hood flew up and the engine bay was peppered with hundreds of holes as black smoke poured from the vehicle.

  “Cease fire!” Luther roared over the gun.

  “Understood! Target down!” Xena shouted. I could hear the minigun’s whine as it slowly spooled down.

  I eased around the left side of the hill to get eyes on the AA tank.

  “It’s gone,” I said, throttling forward after it through a dense forest. “Slow down,” Luther said. Ahead there was a fast-moving river that snaked around a rocky path. Just before it was the AA tank, parked on the bank of the river. The hatch on the top of it was popped open.

  “Captain, it appears the tank’s guns are malfunctioning, I’m detecting a single lifeform in the area,” Xena said. As we neared, I noticed a man standing next to the river. It was the cyborg from the factory with the red eye, the man that reminded me of Kodiak.

  I approached cautiously within fifty meters.

  “I’m not letting Kodiak take me alive, so go on, kill me now!” the cyborg shouted.

  Luther got out of the vehicle and stood on the tracks. “There’s been enough killing for one day. Why don’t you head down the river?” Luther suggested.

  The cyborg looked over his shoulder at us before taking a big step forward toward the freezing, raging waters. “You have no idea what kind of man you’re working for.”

  “I don’t work for Kodiak,” Luther replied.

  “Then why are you here?” the cyborg asked. Luther ignored him, staring at the AA tank.

  All at once, the man’s knee exploded in a red mist, immediately followed by the sound of a loud gunshot. The cyborg fell, holding his leg as he groaned in agony.

  Luther focused his attention to our left as a jeep emerged in the distance. Kodiak was hanging out of the passenger window holding a long rifle pointed at the cyborg.

  “Dammit,” Leo said.

  “Just stay put for now,” Luther ordered me.

  The jeep stopped a few meters before the cyborg as Kodiak and one of his comrades got out of the vehicle. “Well, well,” Kodiak said. He glanced at us and smiled before looking back at the injured cyborg.

  “If this isn’t bad luck, I don’t know what is,” Kodiak chuckled as he approached the cyborg.

  Kodiak stood over him and poked his wound with the gun barrel.

  “Aa-ah!” the cyborg shouted in pain.

  “Tigus. You might wanna get that leg checked by a doc
tor,” he said, snickering. Kodiak’s associate smiled from ear to ear.

  “Of all people, Tigus, I didn’t expect you to be all the way out here running guns for the Ghosts of the Red Army. I thought you’d be sitting on a throne somewhere, enjoying the spoils of war,” Kodiak said.

  Tigus took off his gasmask and spat up at Kodiak. He panted heavily as he crawled toward the water. Kodiak aimed his rifle down at the ground, blasting his other kneecap from behind.

  “Ah-h-h!” he struggled.

  “Well stop moving, Tigus! I’m not done talking to you. When I give you permission to die, then you can,” Kodiak warned.

  Tigus glared up at Kodiak. “Traitor! You killed hundreds of our men for the Architect!” he yelled.

  My eyes shifted toward Luther as he leaned forward, bracing his hands on the dash. I heard his metallic fingertips screech against the metal for a moment.

  Kodiak glanced at us before staring down at Tigus. “You’re delusional. I was always loyal to the Warden. Not the Mave. Everyone knows this. You’re a raider. A pillager. A liar. How could anyone believe you after the horrors you and your men have committed.”

  “You never batted an eye when you were one of us,” Tigus challenged.

  Tigus sat up. He pointed at Kodiak. “You’re a conspirator against mankind. Both of us were approached by the Architect because of our cybernetic origins. She wanted us to help convince the rest of our men that becoming machine was the only path to survival. I, along with my lieutenants, rejected the Architect’s offer, but you didn’t! You killed my lieutenants, and all those opposed to your view, you—”

  “No more lies!” Kodiak raised his weapon to Tigus’ face and stepped on his knee, twisting his foot on the bloody wound as Tigus called out in pain. Kodiak shoved his rifle deep into Tigus’ mouth and pressed his head back, plunging his head into the freezing river waters.

  I noticed one of Kodiak’s men grimace as he shook his head.

  After several seconds, Kodiak let him up for air. Tigus took in a deep breath. “Tigus, give me those access codes to those military rifles, and I will kill you quickly. We both know how long I can drag this out,” Kodiak offered, stomping on Tigus’ leg wound.

  Tigus spat up in Kodiak’s face before he was dunked back into the water with the gun barrel.

  Tigus grabbed the rifle with both hands as his body jolted back and forth. Kodiak laughed. “Come on, Tigus! You can’t do better than that? We’re cut from the same cloth you and I! All that training and enhancements, this is all you got?” Kodiak taunted while laughing hysterically.

  After several seconds of Tigus struggling, Kodiak stopped laughing and turned toward his men. “Look at this,” he said with wide eyes.

  Tigus began to fight back, surfacing momentarily as he removed the gun from his mouth. He coughed. “You’re a fucking coward, Kodiak! The Architect offered you eternal life and you betrayed us!” Tigus shouted, putting the gun back in his mouth.

  Kodiak immediately fired the weapon, blowing the top half of Tigus’ head off. Bone and blood splashed into the water as Kodiak furiously kicked him, knocking his corpse into the water. I watched it drift away as blood filled the water. Kodiak slowly turned toward us and sighed.

  “Sire, just give us the word. This man is a traitor against mankind,” Leo asserted. Luther clenched his fists. I could hear the leather glove under his armor stretching.

  “Captain, the remainder of Kodiak’s nomads are approaching from our left. Seventy meters. Your orders?” Xena alerted me. I panned across and noticed the transport truck loaded down with two dozen of Kodiak’s men. The large truck dipped up and down through the snowy ruts, I could see Kodiak’s men staring at us.

  Luther looked at me and shook his head. He sat back inside the Mauler.

  “Xena, hold,” I ordered.

  “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. We need that AA tank and Kodiak is in our way,” Neona said.

  “We’re all nervous, Neona, be ready for anything,” Leo replied.

  The transport truck pulled in front of Kodiak as he walked next to the driver. I saw him glance at us a few times.

  “Xena, can you pick up their conversation?” I asked.

  “Negative, they’re keeping their voices low,” she replied. After nearly a minute of conversation, Kodiak stepped toward us with two men in tow. Both soldiers were armed but appeared calm. Kodiak slung his rifle over his shoulder by the strap and cautiously approached Luther’s side of the vehicle.

  My foot was grazing against the throttle petal as I sized up the situation. If things went bad, my first thought was to ram the transport truck full of Kodiak’s men. The transport was sitting profile to us, and despite its size, I felt I could get under its high frame and flip it over with a direct impact.

  Kodiak stopped five meters from the Mauler and stared up at Luther. I noticed he wasn’t normally his cocky self. “Engineer. A word,” he said respectfully.

  Luther slid open his firing port.

  Kodiak cleared his throat. “I want you to know that Tigus was a bitter man that had lost his way. If you were able to hear our conversation, I hope his delusional ramblings haven’t diminished the chances of our alliance working out.”

  Luther put his hand on the door handle. I gulped. “Kodiak, at this point, I’m unconcerned with your feud. I’m here for our part of the bargain,” he said, nodding at the AA tank.

  Kodiak looked over his shoulder at the AA tank. He paused. “Yes, of course. It’s a good thing to have General Haik out of the picture now. You know, he never told you who these men were for fear you wouldn’t help us. I disagreed with his plan to keep that information from you,” Kodiak said.

  “But you didn’t tell us the truth when you had the chance either,” Luther replied.

  Kodiak shook his head and stretched out his hands. “I wanted to tell you, and I would have, if I was in command then, but General Haik had already convinced you to come all this way. It seemed like your assistance would be for the betterment of both our colonies since you were already here.”

  “And now we’re all involved, and we’re an enemy of these raiders, because we were lied to,” Luther replied.

  Kodiak sighed. “I was a member of the Ghosts of the Red Army for many years. They’re skilled trackers, but I highly doubt they were able to positively identify you and radio back to their command headquarters.”

  “And who am I to hold responsible if they did?” Luther asked.

  Kodiak crossed his arms. “Engineer. The Ghosts will be a threat to our colonies, eventually. They’ll be a problem whether you decide to address them now, or later. We destroyed the only vehicles in their possession, that’s one of the main reasons we decided to stop their convoy. I suggest we unite as one and go back to the factory while we have the chance,” he said. Luther paused and looked past Kodiak.

  “Why?” Luther asked.

  “For the spoils of war. There are thousands of military laser rifles at that factory for the taking, we need to take possession of what we can and destroy the rest before the Ghosts find a way to acquire them,” Kodiak said.

  “You can’t use them, remember? You don’t have the access codes,” Luther reminded.

  Kodiak held up his finger. “I don’t yet. One of the raiders survived the ambush. He’s being treated in the valley for wounds. Soran will interrogate him now and he will give us the information we need. You want to help us torture him?” he asked.

  “I have other commitments,” Luther replied.

  Kodiak paused for a few moments. “If you would reconsider and help us recover the weapons, I’ll give you half of them,” he offered.

  “For now, my people need me. We’re returning to the Legion,” Luther concluded. His tone suggested he wasn’t interested in any further cooperation with Kodiak, but he left the possibility open to perhaps persuade Kodiak from taking any drastic measures.

  Kodiak gestured back toward Tigus. “Before you go, let me be very clear about what Tigus sai
d. I left the Ghosts of the Red Army because of the civilian killings. Women, children, it didn’t matter. I’ve done plenty of evil things, but that’s where I draw the line. That’s the real reason why I parted ways with these men, and I killed many of Tigus’ soldiers, but it was out of anger for their atrocities. Tigus was a skilled manipulator, and he’d like nothing more than to cause a rift between our two colonies by spewing lies. That’s what can destroy the Ghosts of the Red Army, our combined might, so associating me with one your sworn enemies, such as the Architect was an obvious lie,” Kodiak said.

  “Our sworn enemy,” Luther corrected.

  Kodiak’s eyes widened. “Yes, that’s what I mean. Humanity’s sworn enemy,” he replied.

  Kodiak looked back at the AA tank. “Well, there’s your prize. Take it.”

  “And don’t forget yours—the solar panels from the destroyed vehicles. Many men died for them,” Luther said. Kodiak glanced at the ground and looked away. Luther pointed toward the AA Tank and glanced at me. “Let’s go,” he ordered. I eased past Kodiak.

  I was still on edge. I could feel my heart pounding. At any moment, I felt like this whole situation could fall apart. I was unnerved by how calm Luther was. The only factor that suppressed my fears was Kodiak’s belief that he needed the Legion to fight off his former foes. Other than that, it felt like bullets could start flying.

  The nomads’ transport truck lurched toward us. It seemed to slow down as it neared, and all the nomads stared at us with vacant, murderous faces as I tried not to make eye contact. They had just killed their own men only minutes ago.

  We stopped beside the AA tank. Kodiak opened the passenger side door of his jeep and glanced at us before stepping inside. They slowly puttered away from us.

  I parked next to the AA tank. “Neona, take over for Xena on our machine gun,” Luther ordered.

  “On it,” she said. Luther and Xena exited the Mauler and approached the tank, looking it over.

  “Can you repair it?” Luther asked.

  Xena hopped up on the AA tank. She scanned the cannons and entered the vehicle’s hatch on the top. After several minutes, she emerged, sticking her head back out of the hatch.