Invasion of Kzarch Read Online Free Page B

platoon moved into town.
     
    ***
     
    I don’t deserve this.
    That was Mayor Tho’mas’s constant refrain to herself. To be fair, it wasn’t like she did. She had led a blameless life –well, aside from a few minor items here and there- and had been quite proud of her mayorship. Indeed, she had been looking forward to the next election, where she confidently expected to defeat her opponent by an even greater margin than before.
    Then the pirates came.
    They had strafed her beloved city, and had threatened to destroy it completely unless she complied with their demands… which she had, if reluctantly.
    She had hoped that once they had what they wanted, the pirates would leave; but no, they remained on the planet like spiders on a web, occasionally jiggling a strand of it to provide what they wanted.
    Every day, Mayor Tho’mas had to wonder if it was going to be her last. To wonder if she could provide whatever new thing it was the pirates wanted. If she could survive disappointing them.
    I don’t deserve this, the mayor thought again, tiredly, turning to her secretary.
    “Tina, could you get me another cup?”
    “What? What? Coffee? Right. Right. Wait… Wait a second.”
    The mayor suppressed a shake of her head, as her assistant left the office that served as the center of the city’s operations. Tina had been one of those who hadn’t taken the pirates’ arrival well.
    It won’t take much to send the poor girl into hysterics again, the mayor thought, conveniently forgetting that the ‘girl’ was older than she was.
    Mayor Tho’mas was rustling through the papers on her desk, looking for nothing in specific, when she heard a sudden outcry.
    “WHA-! P-P -PIIRAATES ! PI- RATESSS! AAAAAAH!”
    Oh dear, what set her off this time? The mayor was heading to the door, when a figure appeared in it.
    The over six-foot figure, wearing a battlesuit camouflaged in city colors, was holding a weapon, which, the mayor noticed in sudden relief, was not pointed at her.
    “Who- who are you?” Despite her secretary’s outcry, Mayor Tho’mas highly doubted that whoever-this-was was a pirate. Few pirates could afford or use battlesuits, and the pirates had always commed before, whenever they had come.
    The figure cocked its head slightly, then its helmet split. A visor popped out, and slid up, revealing a slightly hard face, younger than it’d prefer to look.
    “I’m Lieutenant Harsmith of the United Federation Marines. Do I have the honor of addressing the, ah, mayor of this town?”
    Mayor Tho’mas went limp in relief.
    “You’ve finally come!”
    “Ah. So you knew we were coming?”
    “Knew? No. Hoped, yes. I am Mayor Tho’mas.” The mayor slid into her chair, as much as out of the release of tension as anything else.
    “Of course, after the planet’s governor sent the distress message aboard the Spacewind we knew that the military would respond eventually, but-”
    “Wait, Spacewind ?” The lieutenant’s puzzlement was obvious.
    “What? You mean you didn’t get the message?”
    “There was no specific message, as far as I’m aware. We received a report from a merchant ship, the Trudger , that they had heard pirates had been seen landing and hiding themselves on the planet. My platoon was sent to secure the situation.”
    “The… Trudger ? Wait, yes, there was such a ship here two months ago… And it was about then that the pirates arrived…” Then the mayor was suddenly struck by something.
    In a fearful tone, she asked, “Ah, you said… that you had a platoon? How… How many soldiers is that?”
    “Sixty-two, ma’am. Although we did lose a Marine on our way in, to a Blastfire.”
    “Sixty? Just sixty ?” Mayor Tho’mas’s voice sank into a whisper.
    “Is there something wrong , mayor?” The lieutenant’s voice was slightly chilly. Behind him, another battlesuited figure appeared; Sergeant McKain.
    “Captain-”
    “Lieutenant.”
    Ignoring him, the mayor continued, “-the pirates