Angry Jasper: Twenty-two

Two commandos scrambled down the ramp, their weighted footfalls shaking the ship. They quickly took up positions behind broken mounds of charred asphalt and brick. The rest remained inside, hidden from view. Kate felt impotent to prevent what she was certain was some treachery. The Commander must have noticed something behind her darting gaze.

“Not a sound out of you,” he growled. “Got me?”

She looked him up and down, in a diminishing way only a woman can do, and smirked. “Take a better man than you to get any sound out of me.”

What she could see of the man’s face burned bright red with a mix of humiliation and rage. He sort of raised his rifle, reaffirming his grip on the phallus like object in an obviously threatening manner. Kate scoffed.

“If only, honey,” she remarked, suggestively. “A boy can dream though.”

“Move along,” The commander shook as though he might explode.

With a wave from the commander each hostage inched nervously down the ramp one at a time. Kate stepped onto the ramp and paused a moment. The setting sun was warm on her face and hands. A purple layer of dust at the horizon rose to meet that fattening golden disk. Closing her eyes, Kate turned her face to it. There was no telling when or if she would enjoy that simple blessing again. Instead a familiar voice yanked her right out of that moment of serenity.

“Sorry to intrude upon your moment,” Buzz shot, his mechanical mouth turned downward in a frown.

He was beside her. His mechanical pupils dilated grudgingly in the light. They gave an annoying whir that reverberated hollowly in his head. He’d have to scrounge up a new pair of eyes somewhere, though he had no clue where he would find any on this god forsaken rock. He hoped they wouldn’t give out before then. Buzz could navigate by radar well enough, but it was a real pain in his alloy ass.

“If I wasn’t tied up,” Jasper shouted from the ruins struggling against his binds, “I’d open a barrel of whup-ass on all of you!”

Kate looked up just as Jazz was shoved into the street. He tripped and very nearly went down. When he came up his eyes met Kate’s. Perplexed Kate shook her head. She might have guessed that with something this screwed up, Jazz would find himself in the middle of it all. Even still, a part of her was glad to see him.

They were in it deep now, she thought. Deep enough they might just die on that rubble strewn, rat picked over street. They were in it so deep that dying would have been the easy part. But neither of them had much intention of dying, least of all on that dusty planet, and certainly not without a fight.

This wasn’t an exchange, but a ruse of some kind. She had little doubt the Corporate guys were going to kill them all anyway. That thought seemed confirmed as the odd prisoner stepped from the ship behind her with a satisfied sort of expression. He slid past her and quickly crossed the open ground where several rebel fighters hurried him to cover.

Kate’s eyes swept the steadily darkening street. They found Jazz’ again, and could just about read his thoughts. They were saying the same thing as hers-although his thoughts, as usual, were in cartoons. They nodded knowingly to one another. If they were gonna die on this street, a fair number of these other mooks were going down too!

Buzz did a double take as he noticed Kate’s expression change to deadly resolve. He gave a mechanical groan. “You’re gonna do something stupid aren’t you.”

“Just get yourself clear,” she whispered. She looked around without drawing attention, getting a fix on exactly where everyone was. There was just one way to even the odds against the Corporation Commandoes, and that was surprise and confusion. There would no room for error. Buzz shook his head, imaging his wires and digital guts strewn across the avenue.

“Just don’t screw this up,” he remarked.

“Zero defects, pal.”

Kate sort of nodded, first one way and them the other, leading Jazz with her eyes. It took him a terribly long moment to catch on, the block-headed mope. Through the open hatch of the Corporation ship Jazz spied two Corporate troopers moving into firing positions. He looked again to Kate and knew what he needed to do. Why wait for the inevitable, he thought. Comes a time when a man has to take the initiative. He blew a kiss Kate. At that instant the Corporation guys were up and pouring through the breach.

Kate kicked backwards instantly, skewering one of the guys in the nuts with the spiked heel of her boot. With a stunning roundhouse kick she dropped another off the ramp to the ground. She somersaulted off the ramp and rolled behind a pile of debris, snapping the neck of a third commando.

Gunfire erupted from every direction. Suddenly the air was filled with Mercury rounds. A Corporation battle cruiser dipped low overhead, blasting rebel positions with huge explosive rounds. Jasper, caught in the open, knocked one of his guards off his feet, while the others were cut down in the shooting. He dodged a volley from Kate’s side. Behind the soldiers a man dressed in rebel clothing slipped from the ship and disappeared in the confusion. Jazz had seen him, but was helpless. His hands were still bound as rounds exploded around him.

Buzz was caught in the open on the ramp with nowhere to go. He turned and lumbered over the edge on those stubby little legs landing like an old oil can as he hit the ground with an awful bang. A rebel round banged through the back of his thigh, but missed anything vital. Buzz gave a yelp and prayed for a quick and painless end.

Jasper heard a cry behind him and turned to find a man rushing forward with an upraised samurai sword. Jasper threw up his bound hands in a vain blocking motion, turning his head and closing his eyes in anticipation of having his skull cleaved in two. Instead, the blade neatly sliced through the binds. Jazz opened his eyes one at time, not quite believing he was still alive. He looked up at the would be assailant who was just as surprised.

Jazz reacted first and swung sideways. He brought his elbow into the man’s throat and caught the sword in the air. In a move that a trained dancer would have envied, he brought the blade down lopping off the hand of another rebel just as the man raised a weapon.

Rounds were coming in fast and furious from the Governor’s ship now. They cut down a hostage next to Jazz as he bolted over open ground for cover. Jazz swore and raced through a hail of Mercury rounds to where Kate crouched between two low walls, the remnants of an old gangway. She had picked up a weapon off of one of the dead Corporation guys, but it wasn’t of much use at the moment, except to provoke more fire. She could muster only the occasional un-aimed shot, each time bringing punishing return fire. It had taken a glancing round to the muzzle and was all but useless. They were taking fire from both sides now. It chewed at cover that wouldn’t last much longer at this rate.

“We gotta get out of here!” Jazz cried above the din.

Kate ducked an especially furious volley. “I’m open to suggestions.”