Page 10

Fight or Flight

Flander selected the weapon that would be used to take out the headquarters for the Blues. This bomb would take out the building and everyone in it with minimal damage outside that area. The building was not in good shape and would have required rebuilding anyway. As far as they could tell, several volatile materials were inside, which they considered innocent. Their mission was on, and it would be completed tomorrow. The rest of his squad would go to the base and work for the day. He and Ranni intended to complete the mission because launching the weapon didn't take many people.

His boss would fly over the target, and he would press the button, and at that point, it would all be over. The location was already programed into the guidance system. All the mini drones had returned and would be dispersed again after the weapon discharged and the dust settled. They needed to know if the Ortegas attacked the remaining Blues. If they did, the Blues would have two choices, fight or flight. There were a few ships on the surface, and leaving was possible for those who could access and fly a ship. That would only be a handful of people.

Flander woke with his mate and his arms, and that made him feel so good. They'd made love all night long, and he should be tired. Instead, he was ready to go. This mission was not the kind that he liked because he would kill hundreds of people, and they wouldn't see it coming. Some said that was better that way, but he had always believed in looking someone in the eyes when he killed them. That way, he knew that they were truly his enemy, and they had a chance to run away. He didn't want to kill women or children, especially not the innocent. Today, he wouldn't be sure who he killed, and it wouldn't matter if all went as planned.

After breakfast with his squad, he gave them their marching orders, and they would head to the base. Once they left, he met Ranni in their meeting room. They would go over the mission again before they left. It didn't take long–just long enough for his squad to be off the ship so they wouldn't know what was going on. They entered the bay and headed to a small, streamlined ship made for no more than four people. Today, it would just be two, and Ranni would be flying.

“It's good to take one of these out occasionally. They changed so much from year to year since these are always the most updated.” Ranni observed.

“This is the latest model. This is considered a test run. We need to evaluate the systems when we get back. I hope there are no problems," Flander admitted.

They got on the ship and settled in. A good run was all they wanted, and they hoped everything would go smoothly. As they headed toward the surface, the X on the radar began to flash. It was funny how many human things were integrated into their military and their general lives. X marks the spot where the bomb would be dropped. It was best not to think about anyone who would accidentally be in the zone when he pushed that X. There was no way to account for people who strayed into the area. It was only minutes before they were directly overhead, and Flander leaned over and pushed the button. The bomb was small and headed directly to the building that they had determined to be Headquarters for the Blues.

The explosion was small and well defined. Buildings right next to it weren’t touched. Flander had never seen such a thing. It was obvious when the building exploded, but it immediately pulled back on itself. There wasn't even a fire left once it was done. All that remained of a building looked more like a wrecking ball had destroyed it than a bomb. Ranni turned the ship and headed back. Flander couldn't see that there would be much to say about it except that it was done. The next step would be to see how the other groups on the planet reacted to it and how the remainder of the Blues handled it or were handled because of it.

They landed on their main ship and got off, period. It was time for the meeting to summarize what had occurred and see if there was any information on what was happening next. With the Ortegas attack, would chaos rule as the others waited to see if a similar attack? One little bomb could cause so much trouble. As they headed into the meeting room, he saw a couple of warriors watching screens. Some focused on the demolished building, while others focused on areas where the other gangs gathered.

“There's nothing to report yet, Sir.” One of the warriors announced.

Obviously, that was true, but he didn't think it would be true for long. The Ortegas were gathering in large numbers, and he suspected they would be marching and searching for those Blues that were still alive. They would either assimilate them or kill them. It was hard to say which. Other gangs had figured out what had happened and were running to hide. Their lives had shifted, and they would never be the same once things settled. He also suspected that as the Ortegas searched, any gang members found from any gangs would also be dealt with.

All they could do now was watch and listen, and once they saw what was happening, it would be time to devise a plan to finish things. One thing was for certain; these gangs could not be allowed to stay on this planet. If they chose not to leave, they would have to be dealt with so the people could return to their homes. It was true that every building on the face of the planet he had seen needed some work, but some were not so bad that they could not be repaired. Others would have to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. The places that seemed to be the least damaged had been the facilities owned by Mercury.

That was a good thing because, in the past, Mercury had been the biggest employer on the planet. They would be that once again once the planet was freed from its current difficulties. Purgatory was lucky because they had a business that could come in and immediately start paying workers. Mercury’s accounts had been frozen, and the money was still available to pick up where it had left off. Sometimes, on a planet that had gone through this kind of destruction, getting anyone to come in that would employ people was difficult, to say the least. At least this would not be a problem.

Flander watched a small group of screens and saw that Ortegas were searching for what they considered their enemies. Some were given a choice, but most were just shot dead on sight. That may have been a mistake since the word was spreading, and the other groups were coming together against them. They viewed it as their only hope of surviving. He didn't believe the Ortegas could take on all the gangs and survive. The tide began to turn as more of the other gangs joined forces, and soon, the Ortegas were the ones being hunted. It didn't matter because the attack they had initiated had led to complete chaos among the gangs.

It would be amazing and unfortunate if they could reorganize after this. It would also require that they take another action they hadn't intended to. At that point, they would have to target another gang headquarters, but first, they would have to find one. Ranni decided they had seen enough, and it was time for them to quit for the day. Those working on surveillance would continue until the next shift took over. By tomorrow, they will have more information they need, and they might know what they will do next. It was too early for his squad to have returned, so he went for lunch and thought about what he might do with the two hours he had to play with.

After lunch, he took a shower and decided to try to take a nap because his mate seemed to love them. The problem was that Majuri didn’t require the sleep that a human did. It was still unusual for him to lie there even though he wasn't sleeping, trying to relax and think about good things. He tried to fight the dark ones about killing so many people with the press of one button by hoping that they were all bad people or, at the very least, enemies. Relaxing wasn't working, so he pulled up a video and watched two guys try to beat the stuffing out of each other. Those were the kinds of videos he liked and the kinds of things he liked to watch. Even Hel didn't seem to mind watching a good fight.

After the video was over, he noticed the time, so he went to take a shower and get ready for supper. He was barely finished when his mate came in and jumped into the shower to get ready. Maybe he should have been a little slower and could have taken his shower with her. The problem with that is they might not have gotten to supper on time. Would that have been such a bad thing? He didn't think so but wasn't sure what Hel would have thought. She was ready now, and he escorted her to the cafeteria. This was where they ate most of their meals even though, as officers, they could have gone to the officer's dining room. His squad was special and the only squad with more than one officer because everyone was an officer.

He was the highest ranked officer, and Hel was the lowest. They were all highly rated and capable in multiple areas. His squad was sent in when it mattered the most. When the risk was high, then the need was great. Flander was rethinking having his mate on his squad, especially if he ended up moving up and was no longer on his squad full-time. She could be carrying his child even now, and she should know that meant that the dangers she faced daily were too great. They've not spoken of it yet, but he knew he needed to. Normally, he was a courageous warrior, but when facing his mate, things were different. He wanted her to be happy and knew that being dropped from the squad would not make her happy.

Her hands lightly moved up his chest, and he thought he must have fallen asleep. It wasn't like he hadn't done this to her and probably would again. It felt nice just to have her touching him anyplace. Flander needed to feel closer to her, so he pulled her into his arms and on top of his body.

“That bad?” She asked.

He didn’t respond because he couldn’t admit how much it had bothered him. Warriors had to be strong and couldn’t show weakness. Hel knew what was happening and ignored what he didn't say, reacting to what she knew he was feeling. She gave him a soft kiss and a hug. Flander needed comfort, and she recognized that. This wasn't so much about sex as it was about knowing that there was someone who loved him and cared about how he felt.

They lay wrapped in each other's arms and fell asleep. A few hours later, at the time they would normally have gone to sleep, both woke up. Hel changed into a nightgown, and he changed into a pair of shorts, and they lay back down, holding each other and talking.

“You know you'll have to slow down on active duty since you could be carrying a baby.”

“I know. There are other jobs that I can do that will help as much as what I am doing now, but in a different way," Hel admitted.

“Just so long as they are not dangerous, you can pick any job you like.”

“You mean as long as I qualify?”

“I can't imagine anything that you would want to do that you wouldn't be able to do," Flander observed. “We'd best get to sleep since we'll be busy in the morning.”

Sleep found them eventually, and he hoped it would be a good day tomorrow. At least his mate had handled what he'd said, and she'd be looking for another job to work. That worried him a lot, and it was one less thing to worry about. As much as he'd thought about what he'd done when he pushed the button, he worried more about working things out with his mate. She was his priority and the most important thing in his life. She would have to come first even when they had a child or several children.

Maybe she was beginning to understand that because she seemed to be softening toward him. He'd not really understood what Ranni and Kasey had gone through as they had worked their mating out. Maybe he should have paid better attention or understood it better than he thought because his mate seemed to be giving him a chance. That was really all he could ask for. He finally got to sleep, but it seemed like there was no time before he woke up, just before the alarm rang.

“Wake up, Sleepyhead.”

“Go away. It can't be morning yet," Hel moaned.

“Ah, but it is. The guys will be waiting for us, and you won't have too many more times like this when you get your new job.”

“You don't need to rub it in.”

“I wasn't trying to; I only want you to wake up and get ready," Flander admitted.

It was a relief when she got up and dressed. They headed to breakfast, where they met up with the squad. This would be one of the last times they would gather like this when they were about to go on a mission together. Ranni had heard that he was getting the chief slot in this area, and as soon as he took charge, Flander would get the sub-chief position. Even if he occasionally ran with his squad, he wasn't sure his mate would ever be able to do that again. All he could do was hope that she would find a job that would give her as much satisfaction as working with the squad had.

No one would be going to the surface until things settled down. They would be going to Base Kasey, where they would do the work they normally did. Most of Hel’s work would be office work, where she would organize and determine where the refugees would go. The rest of the squad would be working in construction, which was going well and would be going better once they arrived. Majuri warriors were particularly well suited for construction, and all of them were trained in it when they first became warriors. His squad didn't mind the hard work. Afterward, it would be easier to sleep.

It would probably take several days for the chaos on the surface to settle, and by then, several buildings might be built, and the refugees might be settled. Hel was especially good at finding refugees that could be put to good use in the jobs that they needed people for. The hardest part was finding warriors. Since these people were human, they had to be careful who they trusted. The emperor continued to mess with their numbers. Warriors were getting time off, and no other warriors were being sent in. Obviously, some of the Lords who had sons serving in this area were concerned that they might all be wiped out because their numbers were so low. They might mention it, but none of them would take action because they feared that the emperor would take their life as well.

Using as many locals as possible helped, but they were still shorthanded, and while others were getting time off, they worked long shifts to make up for it. Getting the refugees settled and finding every possible worker for their positions was all they could do now. Some of the work, as far as calming the surface down, was being done by the intense battles occurring on the surface. The sad part was that many locals would be killed during all the battles that were going on. None of them wanted that to happen, but there was no way to prevent it. The only ones safe were the ones that they had already removed. Flander worried about what was happening below, but it was out of his control. Once they were done at the base and returned to the ship, he would go to the viewing area see what was happening below. They had removed thousands of people from the heavily populated areas, but there were still many more. Hopefully, those left will try to hide and let the battle play out.

Much work was done today, but there was still so much more. Flander had set high goals, hoping several large buildings would be built by the end of the week. With so much fighting happening on the surface, he knew that a large group of their troops from the ship were down here working. That was making all the difference, and once everyone at the base was in proper housing and all the buildings that were intended to meet their needs were complete, they would return to the surface and finish the battles that were going on there. This was something that needed to end soon, or Ranni’s father would give him grief, and that wasn't acceptable.

It was lunchtime, and they would eat, and then they would come back, and there was a building he had his eye on that they would finish. It was a large building, and the final level needed to be completed. The reason wasn't just because it was a large building. But it was because everyone would see that it was complete, and it would lift morale because working on ten other buildings and not getting anything complete looked bad. Lunch went quickly, and he wasn't sure where his mate was because she didn't join them. Flander worried about her because she would work through lunch and not get anything to eat until the end of the day when she saw someone she knew would ask why haven't eaten. She was a workaholic, and when doing office work, there wasn't a clear beginning or end to what she was doing.

He knew she was getting work done because people kept coming to the construction sites and joining in. That was what she was doing, finding people to complete the work. A few of the guys she had found were big and capable, making him pleased with the new workforce they were acquiring. Because many of the buildings on the planet had been completed and there had been little construction going on at the point of the attack, it had been hard to find builders who could help them complete their work. Some were more maintenance workers, but he found they could do some of the required work. Finding workers that did similar things was a talent that his mate had.

Getting this work done was a passion for his mate, and it obviously meant a lot to her. Once they were done there, they headed to the ship, where they met up with his mate, who arrived just a little after they did. Everyone was hungry but filthy, so they cleaned up first and then met up in the cafeteria for supper. All he could think about as they ate was getting to the room so he could see the screens that showed what was happening on the planet. He knew he was impatient and that this fighting could carry on for weeks or even months, but he just wanted it to end.

His mate watched him carefully. He knew she wanted to be involved but realized he couldn't let her. The problem would be when they returned to the planet because she would want to go. There was no way to know yet if she was with child or not, but just the possibility was enough that he did not want her there. Hel would be chomping at the bit to get down there, but he couldn't allow it. What he needed to do was find a support position that she could do where she would have the information and know what was going on without actually being in the extreme danger that the rest of the team would be in. Flander just couldn't think of a position like that, but he was sure something would come to mind, and maybe it would be something that Kasey would be doing as well, and that would make it easier for her.

Supper was done, and everyone was leaving. Hel would go to their quarters while the other guys did whatever they felt like doing to relax and then sleep. He would be the only one who would be checking out the activity on the planet. Gods, he hoped things were winding down so that they could begin to take action. He headed into the room where the screens were and was disappointed to see the things were still as crazy as they had been a couple days ago. The fighting slowed, but that wasn't good because that meant that many gang members were still alive and causing problems. At least it appeared that the locals had gone underground where they would not be targets of the gang fighting.

He suggested targeting another gang and removing their headquarters, but they didn't know where they were. A small number of the insect drones had been left on the planet, but they weren't getting any valuable intel. They were small and often mistaken for insects and swatted at. An educated guess could be made about where some of the headquarters for the other gangs were, but what if they were wrong and were a target filled with locals hiding. Maybe he should suggest that they head back to the planet looking for refugees in locations without much fighting. Flander wasn't sure his boss would agree to go along with it. There was no point in making suggestions that wouldn't be accepted. As a warrior, he knew he shouldn't be so impatient, yet he couldn't help himself. Getting this dealt with was mostly for his mate, but he also wanted to see the planet return to the glory it had once had.

Nothing could be done until he talked with his boss, and they devised a plan. They needed more information before they could plan, so for now, nothing would happen. He returned to his quarters and wished he had some good information to give his mate, but there wasn't any. His mate was asleep, which was a surprise because it was early. He stripped naked and slipped into bed beside her. Wrapping his body around her, he could tell that she was tired and not going to wake up. Clearing his mind, he managed to go to sleep as well. Maybe in the morning, he would get a little love.

Flander woke up with a wonderful feeling. Looking down, he saw the top of his mate's head, and his fat cock was in her mouth. He moaned as she tightened her mouth around him, and her mouth moved up and down. She could go all the way down, and she swallowed, driving him crazy. Hel was amazing, and he was getting closer to his climax as she moved her hands lower to cup his balls and tug on them. By the gods, he was fighting his orgasm, but he just couldn't continue. He exploded and sent hot come down her throat as she swallowed every drop.

He lay back, breathing heavily, and she moved to fall beside him. The alarm went off. Neither of them had paid any attention to it, so he rolled over and pressed the button to turn it off. It was time to get up and ready for breakfast, but he would make it up to her later. His day was off to a great start, and he hoped it would continue. Hel smiled like the cat that had gotten the cream, and he hoped that she had enjoyed giving him pleasure. They made it to breakfast, and all the guys were already waiting for them. It wasn't late, but he was usually earlier than the others. Today would be another day like yesterday, and they would go to the base to work construction while his mate worked through the refugee lists.

Time was of the essence, and as soon as breakfast was done, they hurried to catch the shuttle. Construction was the word of the day, and they would finish another building already close to being done. Housing was going well, and the boss was pleased. Hel could take a lot of credit for that since she had found large numbers of refugees that could work on the buildings. She had also found some good at cleaning up and preparing for residents to move in. Even security was full now, with refugees covering most of the work under the supervision of a warrior. They were doing well, which helped relieve some warriors of those duties.

The way he'd been woken up had his mate on his mind, and it was hard to think of anything else. It was good that his work required little thought because all he could think about was making love to Hel. Flander hoped she was thinking of him as much. He put his shoulder into his work, hoping they would finish this building by lunch. With hard work, they managed to get to lunch a little late. It was a surprise that he found his mate eating at a table. They joined her and had a great lunch. When they were finished, he kissed her and then returned to work. Later, he would give much more than a kiss.

His men didn't mind the hard work, and they worked the hardest of anyone there. They had completed the last building and were working on the next one. Things were really coming together, and he knew his boss would be pleased. Eventually, the base would be a bustling town, and those living here would be happy. If the planet below was straightened out, he knew many of these people would return to their homes, but the base would find new people to take their place. It was obvious that plenty of people were looking for a safe place to live, and this could be it.

They finished up for the day with a lot of work completed. Flander still worried about what was going on below. While the base was necessary for now, the planet below was his true concern because that was what his mate would be the most worried about. They headed to the shuttle, where Hel was waiting for him. Everyone loaded, and the shuttle headed back to the ship. His mind moved to the surveillance room and what he might see on the screens. If only things would settle down. They would be able to act. Normally, he wasn't impatient, but he knew this would mean so much to his mate.

As soon as they arrived at the ship, they all cleaned up. After that, they ate supper in the cafeteria before dividing up, and everyone went their own way. As he entered the meeting room where the screens had been set up, he began to look at the screens to see if he could get a feeling for what was going on down on the planet. The less populated areas were beginning to settle down, but the chaos in the larger populated areas was worse than ever. Death was everywhere, and he wondered how so many could die and still leave so many behind. Many of the gangs were covered with tattoos or wore certain colors. That was how he could see that most of the Blues had been wiped out. Ortegas had also lost many people. Flander suspected they didn't have enough people to take over the planet.