In Praetor

Chapter 10

It took a couple of days to find where Rise was being held. Zulu figured the military dogs had used aircraft to transport him, since that was faster and they could easily snake their way out of civilian restrictions. The place in question was Hygeno's Balte Air Force Base, located in the Khux Desert. It would be a small battle, eventually leading to an all out war with the organization she hated. 

"Now to find my way in," Zulu muttered to herself, scanning the base and surrounding land to form a 3D map. The best route was undoubtedly the old underground tunnels the air base personnel didn't even realize were right under their feet. She easily found the half-hidden entrance to the cave that lead the tunnels, hiding her Hover-Cycle in a separate cave. Zulu followed the tunnels, careful not to disturb the creatures within by using the night vision settings on her helmet's eye shield. Finding a tunnel that lead upwards, she climbed up using crevices and rocks jutting out. Reaching the top, she pushed a metal cover off the top and glanced around. 

After climbing out, Zulu found herself in an older part of the air base. It came as no surprise that it was unused. Scanning the hangar, she noted all the weak spots in its structure. Being in the center of the air base as it was, blowing it up would cause great damage. Going around to different walls, Zulu placed timed C4 explosives in the most unstable areas. Making sure each explosive was placed correctly, she went to the door and slowly opened it. Double checking, she saw no personnel in the vicinity. 

"Must be checking on the planes." Zulu tried to smell something other than fuel. Shutting the door behind her as she slipped out of the hangar, she crept through the shadows thrown across the air base by the multitude of buildings. Sneaking through the air base, she scanned for heat signatures and searched for evidence of Rise's presence. Picking up a scent trail, she followed it to the bottom of the control tower. Cracking the door open, she could hear voices. 

"Oy, Dante, what are we supposed to do with the prisoner?" 

"Hush, Julo, we'll find out soon enough." 

"Mph! Mph!" 

"Oy, quit your whining!" 

"Why don't you take the cloth out of his mouth?" 

"You guys are done for, you hear me!" 

At the sound of Rise's voice, Zulu threw open the door, knocking out the guard standing closest to it. 

"Dante!" The second guard's eyes went wide as Zulu came at him. 

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to take someone else's belongings?" she growled, punching him in the gut. 

"Zulu!" Rise exclaimed when he saw her, relief in his voice. 

"You really are an idiot," she mumbled, untying him. 

"I'm glad you made it here safely," he said, his eyes soft. 

"Worry about yourself," she sighed. Making sure he was alright, she decked him. 

"Ow! What the hell?" 

"That's for getting yourself taken." 

"You didn't need to punch me!" With a slightly irritated look, Rise kissed her. "Well that's for not getting killed on the way here." 

"What was that?" Zulu stared at him, looking nonchalant. On the inside she started falling apart as she tried to comprehend what just happened. 

"A kiss," Rise stated. He turned away to hide his reddening face, heart beating rapidly at what he just did. "Er, let's get out of here." 

Zulu was about to reply when a siren started going off. The guard called Julo had stopped writhing in pain on the ground and crawled over to the wall to trigger the alarm. 

"Dammit!" Rise kicked Julo in the head, causing him to collapse, and then grabbed Zulu's hand. "Come on, let's go!" 

Zulu pulled away from him and took the lead, not looking his way. She scanned the perimeter of the control tower and found no guards in close range yet. "All clear, but we need to hurry!" 

The two made a run for it, ducking away from a spray of bullets as a gunner shot at them from a tower. Zulu shielded Rise, firing back at the gunner. The two went into a rhythm of running and hiding behind whatever they could, Zulu shooting at anyone who came after them. 

"Get to the abandoned hangar over there and go down the hatch in the back!" Zulu ordered, pushing Rise forward. 

"What about you?" Rise asked hesitantly. 

"I'll be right behind you!" Zulu gave him an apologetic look that lasted only a moment. As he was about to turn away, she grabbed his arm and turned him back to her. She shoved something into his hand and punched him in the arm. "That's for kissing me." 

Before he could respond, she let go and turned away. Head down, he ran for the abandoned hangar. Slipping inside, he ran to the back and found the hatch. Pulling it up, Rise climbed inside and used a rope Zulu must have left for him to make his way down. Upon reaching the bottom, he heard a beeping sound and pulled out what Zulu had handed him. A map hologram appeared before him, showing him the way out. 

Zulu ran out into the fray, shooting left and right. Holstering her plasma pistol, she took a fighting stance. 

"Come at me all at once!" Zulu growled, her eyes cold and filled with contempt. The military guards rushed her, getting knocked down as she kicked, punched, and back flipped over them. Running up the wall of a building, she pushed off and crashed into three of her opponents. After clothes lining one opponent, she elbowed another. In the middle of fighting, Zulu pulled out a remote control detonator. Flipping the switch, she continued holding back the onslaught of attackers while counting down in her head. When it hit the one second marker, she smirked at the military guards and stood there as the abandoned hangar exploded, momentarily illuminating the look of pure delight behind the eye shield of Zulu's helmet. The force of hot air, flames, and debris appeared to travel in slow motion to anyone in its path. As it tore apart more than half of the air base, bodies went flying.