Jack's Righteous Gig

"Thanks!" Jack said as he watched the hall begin to empty. They were moving quickly, and some were glaring at Jack as they passed.

The drone suddenly shot from between Jack's horns to fly out the doors. People ducked as it passed by in a blur.

"Rikki?" Jack asked internally.

"Tik are triangulating on me. I think it's the Nareshk. They are attempting to open a Gate from somewhere outside the Gate Terminal to me. As long as I'm moving, they can't..."

When Rikki stopped talking, Jack's neck began to get hot as the slave collar tingled.

"Rikki? Buddy? Are you there?"

Nothing.

Jack looked to the others. "Rikki left as the Nareshk were using his location as Gate coordinates. I think they were going to do a site to site Gate. Now Rikki's gone silent. That worries me."

"Ambassador Danner! Why are the Humans trying to get us to leave? We haven't finished our study!" the largest Kwua complained. "Why do they assault our hearing with that awful noise?"

Jack looked up at the three upset giants. This would require delicacy. "It is most unfortunate timing that a matter of imminent danger is interfering with your study of the art. The noise is an alert to indicate everyone should leave the building. We should go too." He finished with a slow bow. When he looked at them, they weren't happy, but they were calmer.

Rikki's voice finally came back but very slowly, as if the connection was terrible. "Jack. You need to get out of the building. I've lost control of the drone. It's going back to your location. Run."

Jack looked at his group. "Dammit, Rikki said the drone is returning on its own, which means we have to run." He turned to the Kwua, who were beginning to rock on their feet in agitation from the noise. "We shall leave by the front door this time."

The Kwua immediately set off towards the lobby in haste to escape the noise. A few straggling Humans were almost trampled in the Kwua's haste. Jack, Eve, Gee, and Bal followed in their wake and assisted the bruised and battered people outside. They made it to the top of the steps when a large mirror ripped open half on the sidewalk and half on the road ahead of them. As the silver armored warriors marched through, two were struck by a fire truck responding to the pulled alarm. It skidded to a halt just short of the mirror surface, but the struck warriors were tossed back through the Gate. The shocked driver threw the truck into reverse and backed away from the Gate until it was out of sight.

Nareshk Balance warriors poured through to cast around looking for the opponent who'd struck their comrades so violently. Soon, ten warriors were standing before the gallery, two of their group being injured and three others wearing armor that looked very shot up. The final two stepped through. They had Tik roughly welded to their backs. Their armor had cables running from their shoulders into the tops of the Tik.

Rikki's drone suddenly appeared and rushed up the steps to take its usual position between Jack's horns. Jack looked up, but it remained in his blind spot. "Rikki?"

"So much power... incoming Jack. Incoming..."

The Gate on the street snapped closed, and the warriors turned to face the Gallery. They spotted Eve almost glowing in her white gown under the light before the doors. Arms came up to point at her as Jack pulled her behind himself with the two Altarians.

The air was ripped apart from the storm of accelerated slugs fired at them from close range. Windows within view blew out from the shock waves, and the warriors were knocked back and battered by the backsplash of the raw energy released in the confined space. The glass facade of the Art Gallery exploded and rained glass pebbles over the local area. When their weapons ran dry, the warriors lowered their arms to see a faint blue dome of energy fade over the four, still standing at the top of the stairs. The warriors shifted uneasily.

"Jack... can't contain it," Rikki whimpered.

Jack stood inside a circle of glass shards on the top step, blinking in shock. He heard Rikki's desperation. "What, Rikki?"

"Collectedkineticenergy," Rikki ground out.

"Give it back to them," Jack said.

Rikki screamed as blue-white light leaped from the drone to punch completely through the closest Balance warrior and knock six others from their feet.

Rikki went silent as quickly as the lightning ended. "Jack... incoming..." he sighed.

Jack looked back at Eve and shook his head. What was incoming?

The Balance still on their feet extended blades from their forearms and began to charge towards the stairs. The ones able to get back up followed with their weapons.

The stairs around Jack suddenly spawned ten mirrors, and Ishilon warriors leaped through, spears ready. The Nareshk slowed then rushed forward to meet the enemy, confident in their righteous fury.

The Ishilon warrior were not to be underestimated as their spears pierced the ultra-hard armor and sent lightning into the interiors. They also knocked the feet from under the warriors with their muscular tails.

One of the Nareshk warriors managed to take out one of the Ishilon with a vicious upwards slash of his blade, which gutted the large male. As he turned to face another, a spear tip punched through his faceplate, and he fried in the discharge.

Through the battle, Jack caught motion from the back of the group of Nareshk, where one was holding back. He wasn't as tall as the others, but Jack thought he saw him press something into his gauntlet. Reloading! Then the arm pointed up the steps towards Eve.

Jack moved without thinking and tackled Eve.

The sensation of hugging her soft fur distracted Rikki for a split second, allowing the first accelerated slug to get past the force field to strike the back of Jack's jacket. The massive impact threw him violently through a partially shattered window.

Rikki felt the flash of intense pain and Jack's consciousness receding, and its grip faltered on the force field, allowing a second slug past to punch through the drone's protective shell. The force field failed as Rikki fell to the ground, its gravity control shutting down as well.

Eve was still tucked into Jack's arms against his chest when they finally landed on the cold marble floor of the lobby. She spilled out onto the glass littered floor as Jack flopped loosely onto the surface.

The Ishilon went into a rage when they saw Jack struck down. They slashed and stabbed their way through the Nareshk without care for their own safety. Two more were lost before they ripped through the remaining Balance warriors to confront the last one on his feet.

The last armored warrior shot and killed an Ishilon in mid-leap but was driven to the ground by the body. The next Ishilon slashed her speartip entirely through the elbow joint of the Nareshk armor, severing the limb and preventing him from shooting others. The armor automatically sealed the wound, but he was unconscious by then.

The remaining Ishilon rushed up the steps to see two black-clad Altarians and Jack's mate gently examining their Shadeem. "Does he live?" Dennesh asked desperately.

One of the Altarian's nodded, but her eyes were worried.

The drone suddenly leaped off the floor and stopped with a spray of sparks.

"Rikki?" Eve called out, but it ignored her and moved outside in almost frantic surges. Eve looked to Gee and Bal, but they nodded to her. They'd watch over Jack. She followed the damaged Tik outside and down the steps. She watched it extend a tentacle and pull the helmets from each of the Nareshk. She didn't know what it was looking for. It spent some time with the two Nareshk welded to the unfortunate Tik.

Dennesh joined them, and Rikki gestured to the welds. The Ishilon just looked to Eve.

"I think Rikki wants you to break the Tik free," Eve said.

The female Ishilon stabbed the welds and split them with her spear tip. The Tik didn't fall to the ground as Eve expected but hovered in place, silent.

Rikki disconnected the cables running between the Tik and the fallen Nareshk. Then it carefully connected them to itself. It moved over to the last Nareshk, and the Tik followed along like tethered balloons. It pulled the helmet off, and the Nareshk tried to surge up to his feet, but Rikki hit it with a jolt of electricity as Dennesh surged forward with her spear.

Eve blocked the Ishilon with an outstretched hand then lifted the other towards Rikki as she'd never seen a Tik inflict violence before. "Rikki?"

As the fat Nareshk struggled to breathe, Rikki turned to Eve in short jerks.

"Eve... this... is 4321 and 0029," Rikki struggled to say. "Not much left. Their files... say this one... is you- father."

She looked at the Nareshk, glaring at her from the ground and felt... nothing. This was the male who raped her mother then killed her, leaving her baby to be taken by the Allsa Komanae. She expected she'd feel rage, but it all felt so distant. He... didn't exist for her. She turned her face from him and looked to Rikki. "Are you ok?"

Rikki watched her for a moment. "I see- Jack's love for you... You are... best... of Nareshk," Rikki managed, though its voice was beginning to fuzz out. "I must leave... Power cell rupture... When explode... many die. We go- Nareshk. As message."

Eve gasped, and Dennesh moved back from it. The Nareshk on the ground was staring at Rikki in fear.

A Gate suddenly appeared. "Is one way. We... take this one." The two damaged Tik ripped the rest of the armor from the Nareshk until he was naked. Then they wrapped coils around his ankles just above his hooves and squeezed until bone broke. This Nareshk wouldn't be running away.

Rikki hesitated then turned to Eve. "Tell Jack... thank... you." Its voice was almost lost in static. Rikki moved through the Gate with the two Tik dragging the terrified and wailing Nareshk, whose voice cut off the moment he passed through the mirror. The Gate collapsed, and they were gone.

Eve looked to Dennesh. "You need to take your dead home. Now."

"We must assist the Shadeem," the female stated.

"You will assist him by leaving. I'm grateful you arrived to protect Jack, but this is Earth. You are not welcome here. We are not welcome here, and you've just made it harder for Jack. Take your dead. Take the Nareshk as well. This will help Jack as he is going to have to deal with the fallout of your arriving here without permission. Go now and go quickly before the authorities return."

Dennesh blinked at her, then nodded. The surviving Ishilon rushed to her side, and they began opening Gates to move the dead back to Callosephia. The moment the dead were through, the Ishilon slipped through their own Gates. Eve was alone with Gee, Bal, and Jack. Approaching sirens could be heard.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked as she arrived at their side once more.

"Broken bones. Quite a few. I think his spine was hit, but I can't tell how severely. His suit absorbed most of the impact, but the damage was significant, none-the-less. We need him moved by gravity lift to his doctor in Altaria.

"Ambassador Danner is hurt?"

The deep rumble of concern made them turn their heads in surprise as none had heard the Kwua's silent approach. It was one of the children.

"Yes, badly. We can't move him without gravity assist to protect his spine. We need to get him back to Altaria," Gee explained.

The Kwua spoke quietly into its comm. Then it looked at Gee. "My parent is at the Gate Terminal. He will send assistanc-"

Someone began yelling at them from outside over a loudspeaker. Gee and Bal shared a worried look.

The voice was angry, but they couldn't make out what they were saying as a deep rumble began. One of the older buildings across the road from the art gallery had taken enough abuse and collapsed from the damage it sustained from the Nareshk's attack. The debris covered one of the police vehicles. As the dust settled, the police scrambled to extricate their colleagues.

"Excuse, please."

The police stumbled back as the Kwua stepped closer and dug his claws under the pile of bricks. It stepped back as it tugged on something, and the partially crushed police car was tugged out from under the rubble. It swept an enormous paw over the car's hood and roof, pushing clear the debris. Then it broke the windshield with its claws and peeled the roof back to see the two terrified officers staring up at it.

It turned to the others, nodded, then climbed back up the steps of the gallery once more as the stunned police watched. None had the nerve to stop it.

The captain arrived and began shouting at his men and gesturing at the steps for them to charge up the stairs.

A louder voice called out for them to stop. A silver-haired but fit man in a dark business suit made his way over to the captain. He was followed by two commandos in full battle gear who were continually scanning the area.

"Brigadier General Rosseau! What are you doing here? This is a civilian concern," the captain sputtered.

"Not when every Gate on Earth shuts down and the Tik operating them converge on France's Cargo Gate! They're on their way here! I was the closest senior official they could summon here to find out what's going on!"

The police captain looked around at the destruction. "There was a small war fought in our streets!"

"Yet, where are the combatants?" He gestured to the steps, sidewalk, and roadway where an unknown dark liquid was spilled. "I see what could be blood, but there are no bodies," Rosseau said, and the captain could only shrug as they had met no one fleeing from the neighborhood as they arrived. "I will speak with the ones in the building," the General said.

With that announcement, he turned and walked towards the building, leaving the captain with his mouth open. The commandos took the lead.

As they climbed the steps, they could see a group gathered around someone on the floor. Rosseau recognized Altarians. They stood to face him.

"Brigadier General Rosseau. It is good to see you again, sir," Gee said.

"Gee! Bal! What happened here?" he asked.

The two Altarians shared a weary look. "We just came to enjoy Joseph Danner's exhibition at the art gallery," Gee said with a pained smile. She then gave the General a concise and complete report on the events of the evening. "In the battle, Jack was injured. He needs to be taken to Altaria, but we can't move him."

"I believe assistance is coming, as all Tik on Earth are coming here," Rosseau explained.

Gee and Bal exchanged surprised looks. All Tik?

-=-

Leo quickly guided the group of nervous human kids, one Chuuruthian female, and one older gentleman through the alleys and across avenues, putting distance between the art gallery and them. Maxim was bringing up the rear, ensuring none of their charges went astray.

When the thunderous roar erupted behind them, the ground shook, and Emily screamed. She immediately tried to run back, but Nathan wrapped his arms around her. The buzzing roar went on and on, bouncing off the buildings, but there was no mistaking where it was coming from.

Leo's eyebrows went up as he spotted Joseph struggling to run back to the gallery as well, but he was trapped in the arms of one of the other kids. She was a little taller than Joseph and slim, but she had muscular arms covered in full sleeve tattoos. Leo could see Joseph's temper beginning to show.

"Stop! Jack needs you to be safe. What will you do?" Leo barked over the noise. Emily and Joseph stopped struggling as they looked back at him. Nathan and the girl released the siblings. Rasha was watching her two friends with wide, worried eyes.

"We must get someplace safe where we can reach out to our contacts to get a situation update," Leo stated.

"We're a block from my apartment," the older man said, pointing to the right. Leo nodded to him and got the group moving again, following Nathan's father.

Maxim shared a look with Leo and kept an eye on Emily and Joseph to ensure they didn't try to slip away.

Soon enough, they were ushering the group into the lobby of an apartment building and taking two elevator loads up to the penthouse. The apartment was tastefully appointed, and Leo ensured all were accounted for before looking to Maxim.

"Reach out to the Major. She has more contacts here in Paris," Leo said, and Maxim nodded as he dialed.

The kids were all sitting on the sofas and chairs before the TV. The news was filled with speculation as none of the camera drones were able to get close yet as the police had their blockers running.

Maxim walked close. "The Major says she'd heard Rosseau is on the way to the scene."

"Rosseau? Brigadier General Rosseau?" Adrien Beaumont asked incredulously. Maxim nodded.

The news cut to a story about the Tik abandoning their posts at all of Earth's Cargo Gates.

"This is why Rosseau is on site. The Tik are coming to Paris," Maxim explained.

Faces turned to Emily and Joseph.

"Why are you looking at us? We're here with you!" Joseph asked.

Adrien answered for the group. "Why are all of Earth's Tik coming here? I think it is not a coincidence."

"Someone got a camera in!" the tall brunette with the tattoos exclaimed as she pointed to the TV. She sat on the armrest of the sofa next to Joseph and put her hand on the back behind him. He was a little overly conscious of her closeness until he became absorbed with the image on the TV.

The screen showed the devastation left behind after that roaring noise. There was a collapsed building, a crushed police car with its roof peeled back, and the front of the art gallery was utterly destroyed. Emily was covering her mouth with her hands as she watched the screen. Joseph was stunned.

Tik, lots of them, began to descend from the sky before the gallery, and Rosseau stepped outside to speak to them. He stood aside as one of the Kwua, Eve, Gee, and Bal joined him on the landing. They quickly descended the stairs and moved away from the building. Then they disappeared from view. There was still no sign of Jack. The Tik streamed inside the broken vestibule until they were all gathered in a tight group.

"Mom looked worried, but she wasn't distraught," Joseph reasoned aloud. Heads nodded as they'd seen her expression too.

The remains of the vestibule, the metal structure that held the glass panels, suddenly bulged outward and crashed to the steps as the Tik rose as a giant orb and pushed their way outside. In the middle of their group, a large, man-shaped shadow could be seen floating in a gravity-free field. The Tik rose up and flew away.

Emily choked back a sob. Nathan immediately put his arm around her.

Rasha had her hands over her face, and one of Nathan's friends was talking to her quietly.

Leo's comm beeped. He glanced at it in relief. "Is Gee. Tik are taking Jack to Altaria. He is alive but badly injured."

Maxim looked at his partner and nodded. "We take Emily, Joseph, and Rasha back too?"

"Da."

Joseph activated his comm in his hand. He wanted to speak to his mom, but she didn't carry one. He'd talk to her when he got to Altaria.

A hand plucked his comm from his fingers, and he looked up in surprise to see the pretty brown eyes of the woman who kept him from running back to the scene of that battle. She was tapping something into his comm. His mouth dropped open to protest, but she handed it back with a grin.

"Now you have my name and number. Sierra Valkyrja. I'll be expecting your call," she said boldly.

His jaw closed. "What makes you think I'll call?" he blurted.

"I saved your life. Now, you're mine. You have to listen to my wishes. Call me," she said with a crooked smile, and Jack struggled to feel outraged or even annoyed. He stood to follow Emily to the door, and for some reason, he looked back at the frustrating woman. Confused by what he was feeling, he shook his head slightly, but her grin just got wider as she nodded. An amused snort escaped from him, and he frowned at himself as he left the apartment. What the hell?