Free Survivor Planet III by Juliet Cardin Page B

smack in the middle of our motley group.
    â€œWhat the hell?” Lourde suddenly exclaimed.
    His eyes weren’t on the monitor that he had attached to a strap on his belt just in case he had need of both his hands. He was staring at the ships. Peering through the darkness, which had grown gloomy thanks to a spattering of rain that’d begun to fall, I saw something huge creeping amongst the thickening fog. The Akkadians themselves were relatively large creatures; green, with long-limbs, hunchbacked, and long-faced. Ayres description hadn’t done them justice, the ugly bastards.
    Three Akkadians had disembarked from one of the ships, two had come out of the other one. I focused on the pair who appeared to be holding a long chain attached to a black creature twice the size of them. A giant collar was around its thick neck. The beast walked on two legs, was covered in shiny metallic-like skin, and had long front arms with giant claws—clearly visible even from a distance.
    â€œWhat is that thing?” I asked.
    â€œDamned if I know,” Lourde replied. “They must have picked it up from somewhere in the galaxy. What a hideous creature.”
    â€œCheck the monitor, see how the guys are doing now. Are the odds any better?”
    Lourde peered at his screen for a moment. “Appears they’re down another Akkadian.”
    â€œWith this group, that puts the enemy at eleven, plus a giant beast.” Hopefully no more enemy aliens would disembark.
    â€œI wonder what the hell they’re even doing here. They know this is prime Calixtus territory. They really have some balls.”
    â€œDo you think it may have something to do with the tournament coming up?” I asked.
    â€œPossibly. If they set up a base here and kept out of sight they could probably make a mess out of the game. Really stir things up.”
    â€œYou’d think they wouldn’t want to risk it.” The thought of anyone intentionally picking a fight with Roamyns would be sheer folly.
    â€œYes, well, they’re not known for their great intelligence.”
    Considering they had greater technology than humans I figured they couldn’t be as dumbass as Lourde suggested.
    â€œWe need to warn the guys.” As the newest mob began lumbering toward their cohorts to join the battle I bit my bottom lip in concentration. If only we could even the odds a little.
    â€œI’ve got an idea,” I said. “I need you to keep an eye on Kenix; can you tell the two apart on the monitor?”
    â€œI believe so. Ayres is the slightly larger of the two.”
    â€œOkay, you’ll need to see when he looks ready to fire. And I’ll need that coin in your pocket.”
    Lourde narrowed his gaze at me. “What are you planning?”
    â€œTrust me. It’s probably better you don’t know.”

Chapter 15
    I tucked the coin in my pocket and told Lourde to stay put. He argued of course, but I reminded him the prime objective was to keep the equipment safe. If the equipment survived but we didn’t, our plans would screech to a halt anyway, but I wasn’t about to remind him of this fact. No doubt he’d figure it out momentarily. By this point both sets of Akkadians had passed us, so before Lourde could object I pulled the long skinny ray gun off my shoulder and began to jog.
    Coming up behind the enemy I began picking them off one by one as quickly as I could. I focused on the group of three, considering the group of two had their hands full controlling the beast they led. I took them down, relieved they were as slow and clumsy as Ayres had said, all the while silently praying no other aliens had exited the new ships and would come up behind me. I had to have faith that Lourde would cover my back. By now the other two Akkadians had turned round and were fumbling for their weapons. The beast gave them a run for their money, becoming crazed by all the laser bolts flying around. In the