The Phoenix Fallacy Book I: Janus (23 page)

Chapter 28: Those Left Behind

The three were in a slight state of shock as the Longboats disappeared from view.  They had failed to get to the evac point in time and now were faced with the almost impossible task of getting out of the outpost and to the emergency evac in less than 35 hours.  Janus’ ribs would make it harder; at least some were broken.

Wouris pulled them back into the city, “We need a moment to come up with a plan, let’s take a breather in here,” her voice was calm as she steered them into the building just beside where Janus and Celes had been ambushed, a warehouse filled with empty wooden boxes marked ‘drills’. 

Janus took a deep breath to help him focus, and doubled over in pain.  After a moment of firm reassurances to Celes that he was fine, the three sat grimly upon the wooden boxes, thinking about their next move.

Wouris motioned Janus over to her, “Let’s take a look at your injuries.”

Janus winced as they pulled off his armor; Celes gasped and Wouris grimaced.  Janus’ chest was an angry purplish-black from the punishment he received from the S.T. and the Zeus.  “We won’t be able to move quite as quickly with an injury like that,” Wouris said.

“I’m fine,
” Janus lurched to his feet and immediately fell over, grasping his side and feeling woozy.

Celes smiled at him, “Easy now, no need to be the hero all the time,” she said gently.

Janus grimaced, “OK, so maybe we need a plan that doesn’t involve a whole lot of running and jumping.  Ideas?”

“Actually, I do have one,” Celes
said brightly.  Janus and Wouris both looked at her in surprise.  “Wouris, you’ve studied S.T.s more than I have; they’re not particularly bright about security are they?”

“No, they’re usually just good for taking orders.”

“And you’ve used an S.T. suit before, so you understand how they work?”

“Well, they’re not that hard.  I mean, look at the people who use them,” Wouris shrugged her shoulders.

Janus looked at Celes as if she were insane, he knew immediately what she was thinking.  “You want us to be prisoners while Wouris escorts us through the Titan defenses in trooper armor?” he said.

“Yes.”

“While you and I are completely defenseless,” Janus added.

“Why not?
  Then we could move you slowly. If we had to run, you wouldn’t be able to make it.”

“Where would we get a suit?”  Wouris asked.  “All the ones here have holes in their heads or no heads at all…someone would be bound to notice that.”

“Not you too, Wouris,” Janus said skeptically.

“Well, not every suit has a hole
in the head,” Celes motioned to the Ghostblade, “one of them has a perfectly good helmet.  And if we put that helmet on one of the suits that has a hole in the head…”

“We’ve got a perfectly good suit,” Wouris snapped her fingers.  “Good plan, Celes.”

Janus folded his arms across his chest, “You guys could just leave me behind.  I’m sure I could make it.”

Wouris rolled her eyes, and Celes said exasperatedly, “Oh drop it, Janus.  You’re coming with us,” she gave him a dangerous look, “one way or another.”

Janus coughed nervously, but said nothing.  Looking flustered, he made his way outside despite the pain to gather the suit for Wouris.

Getting the suit off of the two dead Troopers proved to be a much bigger chore than actually getting Wouris into the suit.  It was a loose fit; Wouris’ smaller frame was obviously not made for either suit.  Once inside, however, Wouris looked like a full-fledged S.T.  Slinging their weapons, which consisted of Wouris’ Skadi and pistol, as well as Celes’ pistol and Janus’ blade, over her back, she soon had Janus and Celes moving a smart, but slow march in front of her.

The rain had stopped as the three moved slowly through the ramshackle structures, leaving behind dripping roofs and walls, muddy puddles, and an ever brightening sky.  They passed small clusters of S.T.s, who ignored them.  It was odd, seeing them this way.  The S.T.s laughed and joked with each other, completely at ease and flush with success. 

Clutching his ribs, he tried not to glance back at Wouris, but instead look like a defeated, captured soldier.  It wasn’t particularly difficult, given his current condition.  Unfortunately, it also attracted the attention of a squad of Inferni, who approached the three with interest.  Wouris hastily gave Janus a particularly nasty shove in the back that sent him sprawling in front of the group of laughing Inferni.  He rolled over in pain, and Celes helped him up as he muttered, “I would swear she’s enjoying this…”

After they cleared the Inferni, Celes spoke reassuringly in his ear, “I’m sure she is just trying to make it look as convincing as possible.”  Then a hearty shove from Wouris caught Celes too in the back, knocking her into a puddle of mud.

A sopping, sputtering Celes came up snarling, “Oh, she is going to pay for this…”

Wouris whispered to them, “You shouldn’t talk so loudly, you might be heard.  I don’t want your plan to fail.”  The mirth in Wouris’ voice made her less than convincing.  Dark thoughts filled the two cadets’ heads.

Ahead of them, the Communications Tower rose up above the edge of the forest.  Wouris took them on a tack away from it, not wanting to be any closer than necessary.  With the edge of the forest in sight, Wouris suddenly shoved Janus and Celes down a side street, “Quick, this way, they’ve got a checkpoint up ahead and we need to find another way around.  Get down here before we’re…”

“Hey you!”  Janus and Celes made to stop, but Wouris pushed them further into the alley, keeping them moving.  A short, balding officer in a light green uniform was marching over to them, pointing a finger at Wouris.  Janus took a quick glance around.  The five S.T.s at the checkpoint watched the spectacle with mild disinterest.  Another platoon of S.T.s was marching by, and a few Titan Peregrines hovered overhead.

Wouris kept marching, ignoring the man.

“I said, ‘Hey you!’  Where do you think you are going?”  He leapt in front of the trio.

“Prisoners…”  Wouris grunted and glanced at the man’s chest, “uh, sir.”

The man muttered under his breath, “Thick headed…” and rolled his eyes, “It’s Captain Hodges, to you.  Prisoners?  Hmmm…” the man paused, “I didn’t think we were supposed to take any.”  Janus grimaced at the way he said it so casually.

“Just movin’em.  Orders,” Wouris mumbled.

The little man looked skeptical for a second, but then said, “Oh, all right.  Take them to the barracks for processing.”

Wouris saluted, “Yes, sir.”  She shoved Janus and Celes forward, marching the pair North, but stopped as the man cleared his throat.  Wouris turned to look at him.  “It’s that way,” he said exasperatedly, pointing to the west.  After a moment to appear suitably dumb, she responded, “Uh… Yeah, right.  Sorry, sir.”

The little man was muttering to himself again, “Where do they get...Well, get moving,” he said exasperatedly.

Wouris turned the group around and headed West.  “Wait,” Hodges said, his face smug, “let me take down your ID number; I want to
run this by command.”  The three remained calm, but Janus and Celes were anxiously looking around for escape routes.  The passing patrol marched closer.  “Uh, uh, command, sir?”  Wouris asked slowly.  Hodges smile grew larger, “Yes, I think they’ll want a word with a trooper of your… caliber.”

T
he Peregrine scouts shot off South, leaving the skies clear.  Wouris shook her head unexpectedly and sneered behind her visor, “Pathetic…”

Th
e little man seemed taken aback. “What?” he demanded angrily, “What did you say?”

“I said,” Wouris watched the passing platoon round a corner and disappear from view, “I’m sorry.  I lied to you earlier.  These two aren’t prisoners at all.”

The man’s anger fell away to confusion and then surprise as Wouris slammed her Zeus rifle into his head.  He collapsed in a heap.  The disinterested S.T.s sat bolt upright.  Wouris quickly slung the weapons off her back and tossed them to Janus and Celes, “I think they finally realized that something is wrong,” she commented dryly.

The five S.T.s fumbled with their weapons.  In a moment, Janus, Celes
, and Wouris had dispatched the five with hardly an effort.  Unfortunately, at that moment, a second patrol had rounded the corner.

“Oh, son of a…
nothing left for it now.”  Wouris tossed her Zeus, picked up Janus, who grimaced in surprise, and Celes in each arm and began bounding for the forest.  Janus grunted in pain.  The incoming patrol ran straight to the fallen S.T.s. They hadn’t seen the three yet.  Wouris ran straight through them, and was out of the group before they knew what happened. 

Janus counted the distance in his head.  Forty meters to the forest.  He could hear cries of dismay from the patrol.

Thirty meters, angry shouts.  W
ell, it was worth a shot
, Janus thought.

Twenty meters.  Rounds peppered the area around them and Wouris zigzagged.

Ten meters.  Sounds of pursuit – the Titan S.T.s were after them now.  They reached the smattering of trees that formed the fringe of the forest.

Five meters.   The trees were becoming dense now, the brush thickening.  Janus and Celes covered their heads as the branches cut into their faces.  Wouris’ long stride did not slow, the tough suit easily able to bull its way through the de
nse forest.

The Titan S.T.s, hot on their heels, easily followed the trail of broken brush and branches.  Peregrine scouts rushed overhead, blocked from view by the forest canopy.

Wouris broke from the brush into a large open field, and increased her speed.  She leapt over the small creeks and rivulets running through the dense grass, gaining distance on the pursuing Troopers.  No Titan soldier could match her foot speed.  But she could not escape the Titan Peregrines; now able to pursue their prey directly, they swooped into the clearing.  S.T.s dropped from above in front of the group, while the pursuing Troopers finally broke from the forest and fired on the group.  Janus and Celes fired their weapons from their awkward positions, unable to get clean shots from their watering eyes and bouncing ride.

Janus yelled to Wouris over the sounds of the Peregrines engines, “Wouris, we might be able to lose them if we can make it to the Phoenix ruins.”

“Right,” Wouris replied, as she broke right to avoid the incoming Troopers.  The three passed again into the forest; the Peregrines left behind, relying on the slower S.T.s to guide them.

The forest exploded in front of them; the Peregrines were eager not to lose their prey.  Wouris hurtled through the smoke and over the small crater.  Wo
od and dirt rained down upon them, and Janus and Celes covered their heads to protect themselves.

“Maybe we won’t need to lose them in the ruins, if you can keep this up Wouris,” Celes yelled.

“I could keep this up all day,” she panted.

A burst of flame torched the area in front of them, and Wouris was forced to do a quick hop around the area.

“Or maybe not,” Celes continued, looking grim.

Inferni crashed into the forest, torching the area with their flamethrowers, clearing paths for the pursuing S.T.s while attempting to corral the escaping trio.

Wouris was slowing, the breakneck pace taking its toll upon her.   An Infernus landed ahead of them, but Janus and Celes were ready this time, peppering the Infernus with fire as Wouris closed the distance. Timing their shots with Wouris’ loping stride, they zeroed in on the monstrosity’s helmet as it turned to bring its weapons to bear.  A loud crack sounded as the fiend crumpled just steps in front of them.