Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller Brandon Ellis (ebook reader for comics txt) 📖

sliding in by its side, putting two shots into its brain, then quickly stood, pounding her fist into another Kelhoon making its way past another recently killed Atlantean. The Kelhoons fell back, toppling over a downed fellow soldier.

Rivkah jumped and landed a knee on its chest, then pounded her fist against his face. He grabbed her and tossed her like a rag doll, then pulled out a jagged sword. It reared back. The sword sliced through another Atlantean Dut Team member coming to help, dropping the woman. She flopped to her side, holding her stomach.

Rivkah placed a well-aimed kick into the Kelhoon’s groin just as he came down with the sword. A blast rang out, hitting the Kelhoon in the head, and Rivkah spun away, the sword penetrating the ground where she once was, the Kelhoon falling forward, breathless.

Rivkah popped into a defensive crouch, waiting for the next enemy, seeing that the others from her team were ready to pounce as well. Yet, everything in the alleyway was strangely quiet, the echoing of the distant battle bouncing off the dome walls.

She gathered herself and glanced at the damage done. “Five of us dead, fourteen of them.” Not bad. These Atlanteans knew what they were doing. Trapped, and they still came out on top.

Rivkah walked forward. “Bogle, no more screw ups. Where now?” Somehow it felt like a trap. But why would Bogle lead them to their deaths? It made no sense. She shook away her suspicion.

“More Kelhoon coming, so get out of there as fast you can. Race to the domes in Koptic End. Await instructions there.”

Rivkah rushed to the end of the alleyway, the rest following her. She peeked around the corner, seeing a blood bath take place down the way, the Atlanteans taking the brunt of a battle they didn’t want.

A hand grabbed her shoulder. “You get in the middle of the pack,” said Grenik, greenish-blue blood splattered across his golden chest armor. “Where to next?”

“Koptic End.”

“Excellent. We go now.”

A few soldiers pushed Rivkah into the center of the group, surrounding her the best they could with five less warriors on their team.

They entered a scorched and blackened forest, smoke trailing off tree branches, the ground blanketed in ash. They ran for ten minutes, brushing past dead tree after dead tree, a few Kelhoon and dozens of Atlanteans were strung around the trees, lifeless. Rivkah did her best not to inhale the smell of barbecued flesh.

“Koptic End is up ahead,” said Grenik.

They pushed passed the edge of the forest, entering a meadow filled with dome upon dome, also beaten to shit, their walls caved in, their roofs collapsed, and many more dead lying in the streets.

“Bogle, we’re here.”

“The Kelhoon HQ is moving. It must be a ship.”

“Is it taking off?”

“It’s too far away now.” Bogle sighed. “You will never get there from here. I’ll call in a transport.”

Rivkah leaned against a dome, eyeing Grenik. “She’s calling a transport. The HQ has left its current position.”

Grenik smiled. “We may need to attempt this at another point in time, Rivkah. Let’s fall back. We’ve done too mu—” He winced in pain, his breath expelling quickly. He looked down, grabbing a sword thrust through his stomach, blood dripping across his hands and down his stomach armor. “So much for double-gilded armor.” He turned around. A Kelhoon raced toward him. He lifted his spear, sending a smearing of shots in its direction, hitting the alien bastard, then more shots blanketed the Kelhoon from the rest of Dut Team. The Kelhoon and Grenik both hit the ground, never to breathe again.

Rivkah looked at the fallen warrior, Grenik, her mouth gaped open. That sword came out of nowhere. Almost as if they’d been sent into a trap. It had to be. The second one in less than twenty minutes. “Bogle, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, Rivkah. I’m not here to defend the demons that killed Star Warden and have taken you, me, Jaxx, and Fox prisoner. I’m here against my will, Rivkah. I’m here against the will of God.”

“I’m your God Damn Captain, Bogle. You take orders from me.”

“I’m sorry. Bogle, out.”

“Bogle?”

No reply.

“Bogle!”

Nothing.

“That piece of shit. Does anyone have any loyalty?” She lifted her rifle. A swarm of Kelhoon came out of domes, their weapons aimed at Rivkah and what remained of Dut Team. Dut opened fire and several Kelhoons fell. Rivkah knew this wasn’t a winning battle and backed away, firing her PR-8 on auto, red-tracer fire, ripping apart Kelhoon after Kelhoon. If she had to die, she was going to take as many of them with her as she could.

A bolt sliced into her thigh and she dropped to the ground, picking off more Kelhoons as they filed out in droves. An Atlantean slammed into her, knocking her over. She pushed the Atlantean away, only to see he was dead.

She crawled backward, butting up against a dome, the PR-8 starting to burn her hands from the continued auto-fire, practically melting her skin to the rifle.

She took a quick survey, still firing wildly, doing her best to keep the Kelhoons at bay. She was the only one on her team left alive, and although Dut Team had killed a lot of Kelhoons, a lot wasn’t enough.

A boom erupted overhead and a flash lit up the sky. A ship descended, dropping at what seemed to be thousands of miles per hour, then stopping on a dime, hovering a few inches off the ground a bit in front of her, taking the brunt of Kelhoon fire.

It was a dropship. In fact, it was Fox’s dropship.

The ramp hissed and Fox jumped out, full striated-ebb nebula titanium exo-suit on, and a cannon hanging tightly from a strap around his shoulder. He pulled the trigger, letting the cannon blast expel, hit a target, then repeat.

A dome went up in flames, crystals and rocks splintered from it, a slight miss by Fox, but nonetheless it crumbled onto a Kelhoon who thought it wise to use it as cover.

Rivkah pulled