They had finished loading their cargo as had the squad piloting the shuttle when the moment that Jared had hoped would not arrive, did.
The officer that had arranged their pickup came running from the terminal with a half dozen men screaming ‘stop them!’ at the top of his lungs to the contingent of guards who had escorted the prisoners and lingered to gawk.
It was unfortunate for the guards. The soldiers who had been waiting just inside the ship instantly burst through the open hatch and opened fire, mowing them down while they were still trying to figure out what was happening. Jared leapt up the gangplank, grabbed the weapons they had left by the open hatch, and pitched them to the men on the ground before he grabbed his own.
The drone carriers parked in front of Reuel’s ship shielded both the ship and the men for the most part, but it had the same benefit to the port authority on the other side. They had hit the tarmac the moment Reuel’s men shot the guards and were taking potshots at the men still frantically unloading the supplies and pitching them into the ship.
Jared’s squad and the squad from the Salvager’s shuttle rounded the carriers and lay down fire, killing at least three of the men with the officer immediately. They picked off the others as they leapt to their feet and tried to retreat to the building.
The first Jared realized that there were men on upper floors of the building shooting at them was when a laser guided projectile slammed into his shoulder hard enough it rocked him back on his heels. Before the pain could even register, a second projectile struck him in the thigh. His knee buckled, throwing his aim off as he tossed his weapon to his other arm to fire.
Kane and Damon both leapt at him, Kane to plant himself in front of him and return fire while Damon hooked an arm beneath his and hauled him to his feet. Reuel was bellowing at the four of them as they pulled back with Kane and Corin covering their retreat. “Get in the air, gods damn it! We are done here!”
Jared nodded groggily, too focused on trying to keep both feet under him when one leg seemed completely uncooperative. Damon pitched his weapon inside the ship when they reached the gangplank, hauled Jared over his shoulder and dashed up the gangplank with him. Kane and Corin charged up behind them. Kane leapt over Damon and Jared as Damon bent down to lower Jared to the floor.
“Do not leave him on the floor!” Kane bellowed. “Strap him into a jump seat!”
Nodding, Damon hauled Jared up again and dropped him into a seat. When he had fastened his harness, he caught Jared’s hands and planted one over each wound. “Hold them there until the nanos have slowed the bleeding. You are loosing too much too fast!”
Nodding drunkenly, Jared gritted his teeth and tightened his hands over the holes, counting in his head to try to keep from passing out. His stomach went weightless, alerting him to the fact that the ship had taken off. It began to buck almost immediately. “You never could fly worth a fuck, Kane,” he said drunkenly.
“He is wounded also,” Corin said, unfastening his harness and staggering toward the front. “Give me the controls, Kane! I am not wounded as badly as you are.”
The lander pitched and dipped from side to side as the two traded places and then the craft leveled out briefly. Kane made his way to the back and settled in the jump seat beside Jared, pulling the safety harness on.
Jared managed to lift his head. “You are wounded?”
“It has stopped bleeding. Lift your hands and let me see yours.”
Jared discovered he had to focus really hard to lift either hand. “The wound on your leg has stopped bleeding. Put your hand back on your shoulder.”
Jared studied his hands, trying to figure out which one he’d had on his shoulder. While he was trying to figure it out, someone clamped a hand over his throbbing shoulder and he passed out.
Kane studied him, glanced at Damon, who had clamped his hand over Jared’s wound and finally settled back. “Good! He will rest a bit and he will be a little better when he awakens. Were you wounded?”
“Nothing significant,” Damon said tightly.
“Chloe would say that anything was significant,” Kane said with a touch of amusement, then added a little hopefully. “You did not mar that lovely face? Or catch shrapnel in your dick?”
Damon made an obscene gesture at him. “It pains me to disappoint you, but no. I caught one in the arm and another in my side. They have stopped bleeding. I believe the projectiles passed through.”
“It is a very good thing that I was there to catch those that missed you,” Kane said wryly.
* * * *
Chloe jumped so violently when the com-link suddenly burst to life that she scattered chess pieces everywhere. “Salvager! This is Reuel. We are coming home with company! Salvager acknowledge!”
“Battle stations!” Chloe bellowed, leaping to her feet and charging toward the console. “This is the Salvager. Acknowledge receipt of transmission. Preparing a welcome!”
“Prepare to jump. ETA your pups, in twenty. We will rendezvous!”
“Acknowledged!”
“Computer. Prepare the Salvager for the jump ordered for 1900 EST.”
“Checking systems. Initiating drives. Calculating required speed.”
“Give it a kick in the ass, computer! We’ll need to jump in … estimate thirty minutes.”
