Chapter 11: Run From the Fields Part 2

A gunshot rang out as a shotgun stun charge round flew out from one of the barrels of Mizu’s assault rifle. The shot went straight into Hamiza’s chest before the four-pronged device clamped down into the armor. He pulled the trigger two more times, causing two more rounds to slam into her. Like pronged tasers, the three devices emitted a powerful stun electrical charge that erupted into Hamiza’s body. She lost all control of her motor functions, causing her to fall limp to the ground.

“Yep! No turning back now,” Mizu exclaimed. His blood was running on pure adrenaline as he practically jumped behind the console. Putting the barrel of his rifle to his shoulder blade, he accessed the console controls. He keyed in the door of the prison and pressed the confirm button.

A small alarm was set off from the console. The unauthorized access caused it to emit a beeping sound that echoed in the room. He had to keep his guard up, as he knew that the armory station would respond quickly to the attempt to get into the prison.

“Fucking crazy ... this is fucking crazy...” Mizu said to himself.

The side of the prison box’s door snapped open. The man ran up to it so he could look directly into the cell in which Li’lo and Jenta were enclosed.

It happened in such a short time. Li’lo was already out of her bed. The look of distress could be seen on her face. Jenta was even more scared but curious at the same time. She was on her bed as her tail fell over to the side. Almost in unison, they both looked at the open slot to see Mizu looking at them.

“Mizu?” Li’lo asked him.

“They don’t plan on giving you a fair trial,” the man told them. “They’re going to count you guilty. I’m breaking you out of this and getting you to safety!”

“What!?” Li’lo replied in surprise. Her head feathers lifted up. Even Jenta’s reptilian eyes went wide as she got out of her bed. She seemed to stand upright, looking at Mizu closely.

“You got to get out. I can’t keep you safe here. I can’t fight them all.”

“Jenta, let’s go,” Li’lo replied, grabbing Jenta’s hand. They both ran together as they almost stumbled out of the prison cell. Li’lo jumped first, landing on the deck. Her digitigrade legs and feet seemingly held firm as Jenta was next.

It was the first time Mizu could see the actual size of both women. He forgot that the elevated cell box made them appear to be somewhat taller than him. Both Yutilians were obviously way shorter in appearance than he was. He now had two women who were looking up at him. Jenta was scared, but she wasn’t too fearful. Li’lo, on the other hand, looked over to Hamiza’s unconscious body.

“Is ... is she?” Li’lo asked.

“She’s unconscious. I shot her with ... forget it, let’s go!” he interrupted himself. “I got the lead. Stay with me and try to dodge the bullets if you can.”

Mizu knew that this was going to be rough. He ran up to the door and saw it open. He leaped out to see that the armorer had pressed an emergency alarm switch. He reached for a pistol as Mizu took aim and fired his shotgun twice at him. The gunshots rang out as one of the rounds hit the man almost in the throat while the other one missed and hit the wall behind him. The electrical stun shock radiated through the armorer’s body, causing him to drop his gun. The alcove door responded immediately to the attack as the sensors slammed the door closed.

“Come on!” Mizu called out. He could look behind him as he could see two small, little Yutilian women running together. Their small natural size made them more nimble and faster than him. His boots slammed on the deck as he made his way out into the open road, exiting the building from where he was.

Alarms were beginning to ring throughout New Sydney, a clear indicator that his actions were stirring up the hornet’s nest. He knew exactly where to go next as he ran down the pathway. People looked and could see a man running with his rifle. Right behind him were two Itrean women wearing prison outfits. Naturally, people began scurrying out of the way of the three, as Mizu knew that they needed to get to a more enclosed area.

“Hey! Somebody stop him!” yelled one of the pedestrians.

“That man has a gun. What’s he doing!?” yelled a random woman.

Mizu continued to make his run. There was an elevator that would lead up. It was his first locale that he needed to get to.

Before he knew it, two armed men dressed in a familiar black and red uniform came out. Both of them were armed with stun batons and M81 pistols. They came out from one of the pathways of two adjacent buildings. They were on half-alert as they saw Mizu and the two Itrean women.

“Halt!” yelled one of the men. “We have the authority to use any necessary force! Surrender n...”

He didn’t get a chance to say anything as Mizu, while moving, aimed at the two military police and opened fire. Running while moving proved difficult, but the police were still unholstering their guns when he fired at them. The semi-automatic shotgun section of the rifle fired out round after round. Despite firing five shots, only one of the stun rounds hit one of the police officers. He fell to the ground as his left shoulder and chest took a direct hit. He was barely moving but conscious enough to see Mizu and the other two getting closer to him.

However, the other police officer remained stationary, lifting his pistol and aiming it directly at Mizu. With a simple pull of the trigger, the gun went off as the gun unleashed a single caseless round directly into the center of Mizu’s torso.

“Ahh!” Mizu yelled in frustration, knowing he had been shot. He still had his shotgun and adrenaline pushing him as he moved and aimed the gun to point at the other police officer. He pulled the trigger twice as two more rounds hit the police officer, downing him.

“Everyone, run for it!” yelled another pedestrian. People were running for their lives to get away from the ensuing violence. Alarms continued to sound out as Mizu, Li’lo, and Jenta continued to move as fast as they could. Mizu’s heart was beating as fast as it could. He had no idea how badly he had been hit.

Mizu could see the elevator. Past a food stand with cowering individuals, he could at least see who the biggest threats to him were. He could see another pair of distant military police officers, but they were too far away from him. It was likely that if they shot at him, they could risk hitting the pedestrians by accident.

The elevator had just reached his floor as crowds of people were coming out. Some of them looked at Mizu and the running Itrean women. Each one of the individuals responded naturally, trying to get out of their way, with another woman screaming to get away.

The entire section had been reduced to a tiny battleground with four incapacitated staff members. Mizu ran into the elevator as Li’lo and Jenta came right behind him. Gasping for air, Mizu touched the elevator button panel, causing the doors to close. He set it for the third floor as the elevator started to rise.

“Uh!” Mizu said. “Insane ... this is all insane!”

“Are you alright?” Jenta asked Mizu.

It reminded Mizu of the very thing that happened to him. His hand went to the area where he had been shot. There was only a minor bruise. The bulletproof vest had absorbed the shot almost perfectly.

“Yeah ... I’m ok. Vest took the hit ... I don’t know how good it is ... at stopping anything bigger than this. I know ... they’re going to be bringing in heavier firepower...”

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this,” Li’lo told him with a hint of panting. “We’re supposed to go on trial ... aren’t we?”

“No...” he argued with her. “They forged the evidence ... you’re guilty no matter what ... both of you. They don’t care.”

“They will kill us?” Jenta asked, shaking.

“I don’t know, but ... it won’t be good. They don’t care anymore ... the people want violence. Batrice ... wants to fight the Itreans no matter what clan it is.”

“Why?” Li’lo asked.

“I don’t know ... but this whole bombing and attempted assassination ... I think they wanted to rally the people somehow...”

The elevator came to a stop. The door slid open, revealing a crossroads of dull gray passageways. It was way more enclosed than the open city below. There was a couple of personnel that saw the three. Seeing that this wasn’t normal, the bystanders also began to make haste and get out of the way.

“Where are we going?” Li’lo asked Mizu as they ran out into the passageway.

He was too busy and trying to catch his breath that he couldn’t answer the two women. He was looking at the various enclosed doors. He already knew the location well enough. There was one room that he was trying to get to. Meanwhile, the alarms began to reach this section of the station.

Mizu found it. Labeled “Spacesuit Fitting Room,” in both English and Chinese, he tapped the side panel as the door slid open. He ran inside as the two Itrean women were right behind him.

The fitting room was moderate in size, but it wasn’t in use. Thankfully, it was devoid of people. It consisted of large enclosures that would allow a person to dawn basic spacesuits to traverse open space. There were even lockers to keep personal belongings, along with primary maintenance stations to repair suits. Mizu walked up to one of the lockers, placing the rifle on it. The rifle’s magnetic pads stuck it in place as he began to grab the various gear to put on. He was finally able to catch his breath as both Li’lo and Jenta got acquainted with their surroundings.

“I don’t know how much time we have. We’re trying to get to a shuttle,” Mizu told them. “They placed the hangar bay back into regular status again. That means the shuttles are in open space again.”

“They’ll try to stop us,” Li’lo commented.

“I know they will,” he replied, grabbing his chest pockets. “I had a friend to rely on. She gave me these,” he said as he pulled out four small round disk-like devices. He tossed them to Jenta and Li’lo to let them sort it out.

“Yutilian wrap armor?” she questioned.

“Yeah ... I don’t know how they work,” he replied to them as he struggled to slip on the chestpiece of his spacesuit. “Snug against the body armor ... ugh ... yeah, I had a Yutilian that’s like you ... I contacted her, and she wants to help you. She didn’t want to be a soldier anymore, along with her compatriots. She gave me those ... said that it’s like my suit.”

“Yes, they would,” Li’lo replied as she sorted the disks. She gave two of the disks to Jenta and kept the two of them for herself. “Tell her... ‘Thank you.’”

“Don’t thank anyone yet. I don’t know how you use them. Put them on. Our pursuers may come at any time.”

“Attention!” yelled an overhead robotic male announcement on the overhead intercom. “Priority one alert. Two Itrean prisoners identified as Yutilians have escaped from Brig block 1-7b. The two prisoners are led by a male human registered as Petty Officer Mizu. If you see them, seek shelter and report them to the military police immediately. Military response is underway. Mizu is considered armed and dangerous. This is not a drill.”

“Yep ... totally nuts,” Mizu said as he got the pants of his suit on. It clicked with his chestpiece. “We’re most likely going to die. They don’t know where exactly where we’re going, but...”

He could see the two as Jenta was breathing hard. Her fear was there, but she apparently knew what she was doing. Li’lo was less scared as she slapped the disk armor to her chest. The device activated immediately as it started to stretch outward around her body. Jenta followed suit. Mizu could see how the wrap armor of the Yutilians worked. It essentially was a bio-like suit designed to encompass the body of the Itrean. Essentially, it was like putting on a layer of armored clothes. The green and light black shimmer glowed and enclosed their chests. A layer of body armor encased every section of their torso. In less than ten seconds, one area of their body was covered in elastic metal. The disk glowed blue and green before it stretched and reached the neckline.

“Wow...” Mizu said as he was putting on the extra space boots. He was busy putting on his suit but could tell that both Li’lo and Jenta’s basic military training from their clan had ultimately paid off. Every T’rintar clan member apparently knew how to engage in combat. They slapped the following disk devices to their lower torsos, causing them to glow. They began to stretch outward, encompassing their lower frames. They even grew along the tail and lower feet. Within ten seconds, both of the women had special armored skin layer suits, just like the shuttles’ guards. Only the colors were different as these were greener with light shades of black and brown to them. These must have been what the T’rintar clan soldiers looked like when they were ready for combat. Only their heads were still exposed as the layer of armor had utterly covered their bodies.

Mizu could still tell the two women apart by appearances alone. The armor overlapped the breasts of Li’lo, but Jenta was obviously flat chested. He could also see the white, almost albino head of Jenta poking out of her suit while he could see Li’lo’s green head at the same time.

“Are you sure you can operate in space with those things?” he asked them, hearing the clicking of the spacesuit gear on his body. The last thing he grabbed was a suitable helmet before trying to snap it on.

“Yes, they can,” Li’lo replied. She stretched out her arm as the mechanical armor flexed with her movements. Even the armor moved along with the tail, swishing around. The armor also added and protected the serrated claws that both of the women had. This would allow the women to even use their own talons in hand-to-hand combat if needed. The technology of the Itreans was incredible, but Mizu could almost see the flaws at the same time. The armor weave itself looked thin. It was similar to the meclevar body armor that he was wearing. It would stop pistol rounds, but anything more powerful than that would be too much. He already knew that the response to this escape was going to get fiercer and overwhelming at the same time.

“I’m scared,” Jenta said as she had her hands clasped together.

“I know, Jenta,” Li’lo replied. “Mizu will protect us. He’s trying to rescue us. You have to be strong. I know you can do it.”

“I’m doing my best here,” Mizu replied as he could hear the last click of his spacesuit gear put on. “Might have set a record on getting these things on. We’re getting out now and heading straight for the hangar. Expect resistance all the way...”

Jenta was doing her best to keep her composure. She made a series of quick nods while Li’lo was patting her neck. Deep down inside, Mizu felt the raw adrenaline of everything that had happened. He picked up the rifle and could tell that two shotgun rounds were remaining. Anything else that he was going to be using would be assault rifle rounds. He psyched himself out, knowing he was already over the edge on this case. There was a bullet in his body armor that served as proof to him that the military police or anything else wouldn’t hesitate to kill him now. He had to get these women out regardless of the cost.

“Alright! Let’s go,” Mizu yelled to the two. He could see that Li’lo and Jenta were not that far from him. He could even hear the metal clinking of his boots and their talon-clawed feet hitting the deck. With his spacesuit and rifle at the ready, he pressed the door panel and looked out into the hallway.

The passageway was devoid of anybody, but he could tell that the elevator doors were closed. This was a sign that it was currently in use. It was the nearest one available as he stepped out and had his rifle ready, aiming it directly at the doors.

“Be ready,” he told Li’lo and Jenta. “We’re taking this elevator to the main walking area. There’s going to be no gravity in that area all the way to the hangar bay.”

“We know,” Li’lo replied. She took hold of Jenta’s hand as they hurried along behind him. “We were brought to...”

The elevator door opened up to reveal two military police officers. Mizu was already prepared. These had to be the two men who were on the lower main city floor. He already had his rifle aimed at the entrance to see both men with their pistols aimed down range towards the three. Mizu fired his shotgun once but missed. The second shot hit one of them, causing him to fall. He then turned the gun towards the other officer. With adrenaline pushing him, Mizu knew the moment that he pulled the trigger that it was going to click. He was out of shotgun rounds. The other police officer hastily fired his pistol at Mizu. The officer missed the first shot despite the short range between them. Mizu had no choice but to hit the button switch for his rifle. The officer shot again, this time hitting Mizu in the lower torso. The spacesuit was not rated for combat as the round penetrated but came to a stop by the body armor underneath it.

“Dah!” Mizu yelled as he then pulled the trigger on his rifle. The other barrel of his rifle ignited and shot a round that smashed into the officer’s rib cage. Despite the officer having body armor, the shot was too powerful as it pierced into his right lung. The man screamed in pain before Mizu fired again. This time, the round went right through him and into the elevator wall. Blood began to fall from the officer as he fell to the ground.

Without hesitation, Mizu ran down towards the elevator. By now, the alarms had become background noise. By the time he reached the elevator’s interior, Li’lo and Jenta were right behind him and made it in.

The elevator became a mass of bodies as Mizu pressed the button on the elevator panel. The door closed, and the elevator started to ascend. He was used to this surge of adrenaline by now, but he realized as he turned to look at the two bodies. One was stunned and incapacitated, but the other one was bleeding badly. Blood was turning the deck red. He had seen the evidence that he had probably killed a man for the first time. He didn’t want to think about it.

“I ... I’m sorry that you had to see all of this,” Mizu told the two.

“It’s alright,” Li’lo replied to him. “I have seen what our wars and conflicts do to each other ... I don’t want to see this happen with your people too.”

“It ... it’s too late for that now...”

“I understand ... I know that ... hey ... Jenta, what are you doing?” she interrupted herself.

Mizu turned his head to see that Jenta had picked up both of the M81 pistols that the men had dropped. She was shaking as she went and quietly placed it on the side of her hips. The guns magnetized to the sides of her armor.

“You don’t have to fight,” Mizu told her.

“I ... I know,” she replied with a chatter in her voice. “Need to protect ... everyone.”

He had to admire the strength of her tenacity. He could see the fear that was in her, but she was still trying to put up a strong face. Perhaps he had misunderstood her character. There would only be one way to find out.

The elevator door opened up to see the spinning tube of the great center passageway. Fort Batrice was monstrous but had a straightforward design. He exited the elevator to feel the remaining momentum of being inside a spinning centripetal drum. Outside of this monstrosity was no gravity. There was still a suitable atmosphere, of course. The area was well-lit with blue and gray lighting. He grabbed the handlebars of the long tube, seeing Li’lo and Jenta doing the same thing. The sheer size of the main walking area consisted of two large escalator pathways mounted in the center of the large tube. One went to the northern section of the space station, while the other one went towards the hangar bay area. Using the handlebars, he situated himself onto the main pathway heading towards the hangar. These pathways were wide to allow the steady flow of people in and out of the city. With the ongoing alarm status, most of the people had already gotten into elevators to get out of the way.

“There he is, stop him!” yelled a group of people from behind him. The escalator was moving forward as his magnetic boots locked onto the moving pathway. Li’lo and Jenta were both on it as their armor naturally clamped down on it as well.

There was nothing Mizu could do for the people that were behind him. If they were military personnel that was armed, then he could face a crossfire with him in the center. The only hope was to keep moving forward. It was going to be a matter of time before resistance would get so strong that he, Li’lo, or Jenta would be dead before they made it to the shuttle.

“Alert,” announced an overhead male robotic voice. “Escaped prisoners have been located exiting elevator 2R-4. Two casualties reported in the elevator. Medical personnel are en route. All military police authorities are to respond. Use of deadly force is authorized.”

Suddenly, Mizu could see something activate from the tube’s interior structure. Small, tiny, circular devices began to activate. There were not many of them, but it seemed evident that these were sentry turrets. The circular enclosed tubes had small gray barrels attached to swivel mounts. The turrets turned and pointed directly at him and the two escapees.

Mizu pointed his rifle at one of the sentry turrets. A series of flashes erupted as it began to open fire at him. He returned fire, keeping his gun on semi-automatic only. Each shot had to count, and he had to make sure that it could adequately hit the target. With three shots, one of the turrets broke loose and crumbled from the ceiling. Another sentry turret was aimed at Jenta as it fired at her. The rounds were light as two of the shots hit her in the side armor. They bounced off it with ease. Jenta made a series of high-pitched clicks with her voice as Mizu aimed his rifle at that turret. With a couple of shots, the sentry turret was disabled.

“Jenta?” Li’lo called out to her.

“Smaller caliber rounds...” Mizu remarked. He could see that the escalator was still moving forward towards the hangar section. He aimed at another sentry turret that was coming out way ahead of him. He took aim at it and fired, but the shots were far. He was taking aim as the turret turned to point at him. It fired back at him, striking him by the armpit. The shot penetrated the spacesuit but wasn’t enough to even hit the body armor. After making the third shot, Mizu managed to destroy that turret as well.

“I think I got them all,” he said. “Jenta, are you alright?”

“Yes, Mizu,” Jenta replied with her dainty voice. He turned to see that she was alright. She had her hand on one of the pistols, but she hadn’t needed to use it yet. Any pursuers that were behind him were moving back due to the weapon’s fire. He could tell that they were no threat and were not armed. It was here that Mizu had a chance to take a breather for a few seconds. He could see that three women were on the other escalator. Caught in the warzone, the women lay on the deck with their hands wrapped around their necks. They were scared for their lives, something that Mizu knew was personally responsible. He sympathized with them as the cluster of women moved past him and behind him as the escalator continued to move forward.

“I can see the other side,” Mizu told Li’lo and Jenta. “We’re leaving the top portion of Fort Batrice and nearing the hangar midsection. We’re essentially getting closer to the midsection of the station.”

“It hasn’t been too bad, right?” Li’lo replied.

“Yeah ... that part worries me,” Mizu said. “They know we’re here in this section. We might end up facing more than military police at this point.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like marine teams. They’re way stronger and better equipped. I doubt even the assault rifle could make a dent in that power armor of theirs. Their weapons are quite strong. I don’t want to be hit by them.”

“Mizu,” Li’lo said to him. “ ... Thank you ... for trying to save us.”

“Hey ... what can I say? I can’t let two innocent women suffer like you did.”

“They will think that you are a traitor ... for helping us.”

“I’m trying to save Batrice. What do you think will happen if the military trial here found you guilty when your people know that you’re innocent?”

“Ummm ... They’ll try to attack this station and rescue us.”

“Said so easily ... yeah, that’s what I was thinking. The Olara’kon isn’t leaving. Your president or one of them wasn’t too keen about seeing you two arrested. Yep ... I’m making this a rescue mission. Fuck everything else...”

The escalator continued to move along. Mizu turned his head forward to feel a hand touch his. He turned to see that Jenta was touching the hand that was gripping his rifle. He could see that she felt a sense of reassurance in what he said.

“Thank you for helping us,” Jenta told him.

Mizu himself could feel a little bit of his adrenaline calm down a bit. He knew the fight was long from over. The next section was going to be rough. Resistance so far was light, and he was well aware of it. He turned his rifle and saw that he had over forty rounds in the gun. All the shotgun ammunition was empty. It was all that he had against whatever was going to be sent after him. He took a deep breath as the zero gravity made it easy for him to keep the gun pointed down range.

A few minutes passed as Mizu, Li’lo, and Jenta reached the great series of crossways and passageways in the center of Fort Batrice. This large section consisted of multiple bulkhead areas where breaches could be handled easily. The main center walkway was there, but the straight escalator stopped before reaching this spot. Passengers and bystanders had to walk the rest of the way, but zero gravity was hardly an issue with magnetic boots or shoes.

Mizu didn’t want to be in the central passageway. This was just asking for trouble. By now, everybody, with the exception of soldiers, marines, and military personnel, would be there to stop them from getting through. Alarms were still abuzz throughout the station.

“Alright ... let’s turn to the left here,” Mizu told Li’lo and Jenta. “We can reach the shuttles without having to use the main pathway.”

They continued to move as the sound of metal clinking made it evident that somebody was approaching. Mizu began to listen carefully. He could hear multiple footsteps from hiding pedestrians or somebody else heading straight towards him.

“Alert,” the overhead robotic male voice announced in the intercom. “Prison escapees have reached the central access point 1B. All military personnel respond.”

“They can track us?” Li’lo asked.

“They don’t have to,” Mizu answered as they made their turns and moved down the long catacomb of passageways. “They have numerous people watching where we’re going.”

Mizu considered using the spacesuit’s thrusters to zoom through zero gravity without walking on the decks, but it had its risks. He could hear the distant movements ahead of him. He decided against doing it as he could bump straight into a random police squad or marines with little time to react. He instead walked and used his hearing to listen to the minor vibrations and audio noises.

He could hear it ... he raised his fist up to indicate to Li’lo and Jenta to come to a stop.

“What is it?” Li’lo asked.

“Three coming this way ahead at the next right ... four more behind us ... I don’t think the people behind us can stop us, but we are heading straight towards the three. Use the alcoves for cover when we engage them.”

It was a problem right at the very start. Teams were coordinating with each other. The three ahead were much closer and were hoping to intercept the escapees. Unfortunately, it meant that they would have to fight them and hope that the four behind them wouldn’t close in quickly enough. Regardless, the odds were stacked against them.

In a classic move, the three came up from the first right-turn corridor. One woman armed with a rifle like Mizu’s came out and aimed directly down at him. The other two men armed with rifles poked their heads and immediately began to get into the bulkheads’ alcoves. These three carried the Meclevar body armor and were dressed in blue and red jumpsuits. They didn’t appear to be Marines.

Mizu tried his best as he took aim at the woman and fired his rifle. He already had the lead on her. She was not expecting to have a gun aimed at her, even from their distance. He pulled the trigger multiple times as two of the three rounds landed on the woman. She didn’t even get a chance to fire back as the rifle rounds pierced into her neck and torso. Blood shot out from behind her while her magnetic boots kept her anchored on the deck. She dropped her rifle as it floated in zero gravity. Her hand went to her neck as she tried to keep herself going.

The two men, however, had gotten behind cover. One of them began to provide cover fire as bullets were whizzing past Mizu. He had already gotten behind cover as Li’lo and Jenta had done the same. The alcoves next to each of the bulkheads were rated to stop explosions. They were more than good enough at stopping rifle rounds.

“Stay behind cover!” Mizu ordered Li’lo and Jenta. He could hear as the rifle rounds were focused on him, smacking into the hard metal. He was the bigger target, and it was easier to hit him.