ELDRITCH NIGHT (Rough Draft)

Chapter 47: Overt Operations

My search was over almost before it began. Even aircraft carriers are surprisingly small when you ignore minor details like 'stairs' or 'walls.' I instead choose the shortest distance between two points — a straight line.

Obstacles like the concrete barriers and a chain link fence hadn't slowed me down on the way in, and I was past the rain slickened pier in a half dozen bounding steps. Several turrets, certainly new additions, had caught my eye, but they ignored my infiltration. It was possible that they didn't see me as a threat, or that I was designated as an ally.

I didn't buy that for a second. Sebbit would murder me given half an excuse. Most likely the dome was interfering with the technology. I knew firsthand that the Peacekeeper communications disks were not always reliable when exposed to heavy levels of eldritch energy.

I had run past a dozen turrets and two abandoned watchtowers before reaching the ramp leading up into the labyrinthine aircraft carrier. Rather than search for a way through the confusing corridors of the massive ship, I activated mana shield and charged through walls like the Juggernaut.

I had three targets, and immediately aimed for the closest.

I crashed through several thin bulkheads before I found myself face to face with two peacekeeper guards. They were standing on either side of a closed hatch, behind which was one the areas that had been sealed off from my sight.

My chances were one in three, and yet I was still amazed to find what I was looking for on the first attempt. I couldn't be so lucky. Unless they had more than one prisoner?

The guards were even more surprised than I was. The one on the right stumbled back and smacked her head on the wall behind her. The other soldier was more alert but failed to use appropriate close-range tactics. She was already holding her rifle in a low-ready position, and her first instinct was to raise the gun towards me. The barrel never managed to rise more than a single centimeter.

I lunged forward, pushing Gun Girl's barrel down with the palm of my right hand. I spun and rammed my left elbow into the sternum of her clumsier partner. At the same moment that my elbow landed in the middle of Clumsy's chest, I reached up with my left hand and grabbed behind her shoulder. I pulled forward, dropping my shoulder, and tightening my core muscles as I did so. The clumsy guard was much taller and probably stronger than I was, but the element of surprise and my lower center of gravity proved to be enough to overcome her advantage.

Clumsy flew over my shoulder and collided with the wall on the other side of the narrow passage way. A new hole had appeared in the bulkhead, right next to the one I had made during my surprise entrance.

I didn't have time to see where Clumsy had fallen. Gun Girl had placed both hands on the barrel of her rifle and was trying to pull away. My new arm proved to be stronger in that competition, but her greater weight was enough to pull me towards her. She focused on controlling her weapon rather than striking or grappling with me. This was despite having a collapsible baton on her belt and being at least a foot taller than I was.

I hoped she hadn't been trained by Talith. If so, the old lizard was bound to skin and mount her on the wall as a warning to others.

This only solidified my original assessment of Gun Girl's skills. She was probably well trained but had developed bad habits. Her stats and skills levels were no doubt stellar, probably better than my own, but I doubt she'd ever faced a truly life or death situation. She had what Troy would have called "gym muscles."

This realization probably saved her a lot of pain. I could have kicked out her kneecaps or nailed her limbs to the deck with spikes of eldritch energy; instead I conjured a chain and used one end of it to bind her legs. I held the other side of the chain with my left hand, while the fingers of my right hand tightly grasped the barrel of Gun Girl's rifle.