Agatha H. and the Fair Dinkum Blue, Pt 5

[maramcc]

Part four is here.

What: a fanfiction for Girl Genius, featuring my literary stand-in and stunt double Mara
Time: continuing after The Pauper Princess and the Way of the Trilobite

I recommend that you download the fonts "Bangle" and "AbottOldStyle."

The story so far!
--They've just crossed over into... The Friend Zone.
--INCOMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING

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Legal disclaimer stuff:
"This story is not approved by, sponsored by or affiliated with Studio Foglio LLC or Airship Entertainment."
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The Pauper Princess Fanfiction Theatre Presents:
Agatha H. and the Fair Dinkum Blue - Part 5!

"BATTLESTATIONS!!"

"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!! Upsilon Formation!"

Agatha and Gil had agreed before their little voyage to give Tarvek the first call on strategy, while retaining their right to question it. Now to see if there was any cause for that.

"Plans three, four and eight!" he said. They exchanged glances, then nodded. Tarvek called out the plans into his headset for communicating with Doctor Kratzenschnupp, who was onboard the ship and hopefully in the laboratory. Agatha likewise called into her headset and to Mara, who was, as usual, in the Heterodyne flagship's lab. Both Techmasters acknowledged the orders and set to work. Gil had no need to shout to his Techmaster, for Professor Óriásifej was right beside him. Unfortunately, this meant that neither of them was on the Wulfenbach ship.

They contacted the Professor's minion and hurriedly relayed the plans. "But Master," he said, "Isn't it too early to be resurrecting the dead?"

"Resurr-?" said the Professor. "You fool! That's Plan Nine! I said Three, Four, and Eight!"

"I'm sorry, Master! I've not memorized them! Do you have a playbook nearby?"

"Oh, for-!" growled Gil. "Let's go, Professor!"

The two hurried for the exit, berating the minion as they went.

"Gil!" Agatha called out. "Do you need any help? Anything I-?"

"We'll be fine!" he said, gesturing dramatically, which was not unexpected behavior when in the Madness. "We just need to get to my ship!"

"Use the SideSwipers," said Tarvek. "Fourth deck, midship, either side."

On their way out, the Wulfenbachs attempted to relay detailed instructions to the minion, but he was a visual learner and could not grasp the verbal steps being shouted at him. Plus, the fleet's playbook was coded.

"Forgive me, Master!" he was heard to beg. "Your Majesty! I am trying! I am- Who are you? What are you-? Stop that! I need to save the ship!" His voice became muffled. "Give those back, you... oaf!"

"Fear not, little man!" a voice boomed into the Wulfenbach communicators. Gil had heard it bef- No. No! "Well, now! Looks like I have to pull your fat from the fire again! Relay your instructions to me! I'll understand them!"

"Who is this?" the Professor demanded. "What have you done to my minion?"

"Noooo," Gil groaned. "It can't be! How can it be??"

"Time's a-wasting, Professor!" said the voice. "And buck up! If this fails, at least we'll have met our dooms fighting evil to our last breath!"

"Herr Wulfenbach, who is that??"

"Just tell him what to do!" Gil bellowed, and spent the rest of the journey to his ship groaning and covering his face.

The din on the bridge of the Sturmvoraus flagship had not subsided. All available fliers had been scrambled to be on standby for intercepting the incoming missiles, should ship's weaponry fail to stop the hundreds rocketing their way. Franz and the Guildern Guardians, the Sturmvoraus AeroSharks, the Wulfenbach 107th Shape-shifting Cephalopods... all those and other airborne defenses took to the skies. They flew to just outside of the ships' weapon ranges, and waited.

Gunners had taken their positions and attempted to lock onto targets, only to find their targets had other ideas. As soon as the sights found their mark, they were disrupted, as though the missiles were scrambling their signals. Shots were fired, anyway, from lightning guns, sonic weapons, and the ever-dependable death ray. But with no targeting and the missiles still too far away, dependability was greatly diminished. Only a handful of missiles were destroyed. Not a good start.

There was also the gun dubbed "Dar She Blows" by the Jägerkin. They had opened a cargo door on their airship and almost all portholes to set up their counteroffensive. The big gun pointed out of the cargo door and required a team of four to move, aim and fire it. Multiple straps had been attached to key positions to absorb its massive recoil. Dar She Blows was the weapon that had managed to take out that handful of missiles due to its wide spread and power output. But in spite of the self-sustaining, Heterodyne battery powering it, it needed ten seconds to recharge per shot. The fleet would be hit before they could finish clearing the skies.

Agatha and Tarvek called up their respective Techmasters for progress reports, and were pleased to find them working together smoothly. Imminent doom could motivate that sort of thing.

Tarvek briefly switched his frequency, making a note to himself to set up more effective conferencing with these things. "Talk to me, Gil!"

"You don't want to know..." he groaned.

"Why?" said Tarvek. "Are you on your ship? Do you need assistance?"

"Calm down, man," he said. "We've got-" He groaned again. "-Unexpected help."

"What are you-?"

"Mistress!" Agatha winced in pain. The Jägergenerals were unused to these communicators and had an unfortunate habit of screaming into them. On the other hand, it could have just been their voices' normal volume.

"Ahhh, what, uhh, General Khrizhan! And softer, please!"

"Sorry, Mistress!" said the General. "Iz dis bedder?"

If only. She pulled the receivers away from her ears. "...Just report!"

"Ve gots som more meessiles, but look outside! Haff hyu seen?" Agatha waved for Tarvek to follow her to the bridge's viewing ports. "Vatch!"

On the General's order, Dar She Blows let loose its ordnance once more. Its energy blast closed in almost instantly on the targets… which then swerved out of the way before resuming their formation and continuing their merry way to the fleet.

"Sonuva-!" said Tarvek. "Unbelievable. They're either being piloted, or they have excellent evasion tech! Still the guns! Send all fliers!"

"They can't take out all of them," said Agatha. The two watched the fleet's assembled air support take their formations and pour on the speed to meet their target. The Guardians had been clocked at "five times Sound" before, and pulled ahead quickly. They and Franz had the highest maneuverability and most powerful of the fliers' individual weapons. But their targeting was just as affected by the missiles' jamming frequencies, and needed to rely on personal aiming skills. Fortunately, they had been practicing.

Agatha was transfixed by the battle practically at their doorstep. The Cephalopods attacked using different forms and different ways, to varying degrees of success. Some managed to directly destroy a projectile. Some steered them off course, though that was a temporary effect. The most effective defense for the shape-shifters was to envelop as many missiles as it could with its own body, then absorb the explosion. They could only manage it a few times before succumbing to the damage. The Aerosharks were limited to taking small bites, which did not deter the projectiles enough, or swallowing them whole, which took out both enemies.

Franz had the highest personal score. Fully expanded, his wing span was wide enough to take out several dozen when he executed his Whirling Dervish maneuver. His indestructible wings became blades of death simply by reducing his forward speed and spinning. Anything daring to avoid his attack was chased until there was no escape. As for the remaining Guardians, their armor was still preventing damage no matter how many times they took a faceful of exploding missile.

Tarvek finally replied to her observation. "We're just trying to thin out the herd until our ships are ready. Speaking of which... Doctor?"

"Another minute, Sire!"

"We don't have a minute."

"I'm ready," said Mara. "Doctor, may I assist?"

"Not from your own ship, you can't!"

"Wait," said Agatha, tapping at the air as she thought. "Wait... She can! Tarvek, we can slave your ship to mine. Let our shield frequencies drive yours? Mara, are you following this?"

"You want to…?" she said. "Oh! I see what you mean!"

"Hold on," said Tarvek. "I'd have to drop my shields to do that." He pointed at the main viewing port. "See how close they are?"

"I'd need about ten seconds to sync them," said Mara.

"Good. We might have twenty," said Tarvek, squinting outside. "At most."

"Sire," said Kratzenschnupp, "I only need half a minute!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor. That's not enough time!" He nodded quickly to Agatha.

"Do it, Mara!"

Tarvek himself went to the shield controls and powered them down. A precious second later, Gil's voice crackled into his headset.

"Sturmvoraus!" he said. "We're ready here. Just give-Hey! Did you just lose power??"

"No," he said flatly, his gaze transfixed on the approaching destruction. "And the word is Go."

"Shield sync in place!" Mara shouted over Agatha's headset, but Her Ladyship did not reply. She and Tarvek, along with the rest of the bridge crew, silently watched their incoming Doom. Dooooom! Those who were paying attention might have noticed a subtle shift in the shimmering of the flagship's shields. Just for a split second, before returning to its usual transparency. If they did not notice, no one would receive poor marks.

Tarvek had given the order for all fliers to pull away from the front of the fleet. The Guardians and other airborne defenders got in extra shots on the way, including Franz, who managed to slice one last missile in half before flying to the sidelines.

The three flagships were in a triangular formation, with most of the fleet flying inside of the triangle. Some, such as the Jägerkin ship and the Wulfenbach medical ship, had their own shields up but were not quite inside of the zone. The first volley arrived. Now to see if shields running with all frequencies and none, all at once, would keep them safe. A wave of missiles slammed into the combined, randomized shields of the three flagships…and were knocked aside. Not destroyed, as was their preference, but they did. not. penetrate the shields. Agatha and Zeetha traded looks of relief, fear, hope, but also caution. Then Zeetha looked slightly down, and was perplexed by what she saw. Agatha did not notice this, and returned her attention to the next wave.

A horrible thing happened next. A single missile sheared the bottom of the medical ship, slicing it open, ironically enough, like a scalpel making its first incision. Personnel unfortunate enough to be belowdecks poured out of the open wounds, accompanied by equipment and other pieces of the ship.
Missiles slipped through the Jägerkin ship's shields, as well. The Jäger themselves managed to strike back against all but two of the missiles. Most defended the ship from their open portholes. Several more brave- or perhaps insane; it was difficult to say - Jäger stood on top of their airship, swatting missiles aside. But it was not enough. One missile squeezed past the defenders and struck a section aft and port. "Dar She Blows" had just powered up for a shot, when it was struck right down the muzzle. Both weapons destroyed each other, and a good chunk of the cargo deck went with them. Black smoke blew aft, and the ship began tilting and listing dangerously. Agatha watched in horror as it drifted downwards. She ordered her flagship's helm crew to follow it, but Tarvek belayed the order. That ship needed to stay put.

More deflections, some explosions. One missile managed to partially penetrate the shields right at the bow of the Sturmvoraus flagship, and was stuck partway. Its blinking nosecone meant that it was preparing to explode.

"Everyone, brace for impact!" Tarvek shouted, raising an arm for emphasis. To his surprise Agatha's hand was holding his, and she was just as surprised as he. They looked at each other wide-eyed, then at their hands. Agatha made a small gasp and pulled it away. Tarvek took a moment to rub his hand and stare in puzzlement before getting back to business. They had no time to ponder who had impulsively held whose hand for an attempt at comfort.

The embedded missile exploded. The brunt of the blast was taken by a single Guardian that had suddenly flown in and covered as much of the detonation as possible. The Guardian was propelled backwards and slammed into the front of the flagship. The suit was undamaged, but what about its wearer? Agatha could not tell in that split-second who had saved them, nor if there had been a sacrifice.

The final volley was on its way. Tarvek gave the order for "Phase Two." The shimmering of the shields became more pronounced now. More colorful, and brighter. Brighter than most of the crew could stand. Then, with a high-pitched whine that echoed the sound of a death ray powering up, the shields were propelled forward in a massive explosion of power that pulverized anything and everything in its path. The projectiles had no chance to evade, avoid, or even explode. Their demise was instantaneous.

The shields dimmed until their transparency had resumed. Their range retreated to former lengths, and the flagships moved apart to more respectable distances. By all appearances this threat was done, but cheering was quelled immediately. Their downed ships and their crews and passengers needed to be attended to immediately.

*****

Wulfenbach's damaged medical ship was still aloft. Personnel inside moved equipment to upper decks while repairs outside were affected. The Jäger ship was not as fortunate, and had been forced into a crash.

No Jäger were killed, but many had been injured. As for human crewmembers, there were two deaths and nine injuries out of a total of fifteen on board. The dead were placed in airtight containers for freezing and storage for the voyage home. No one pretended there would not be more by the time the war was done. Agatha personally led the medical and repair crews to the site. Besides the crews, accompanying her were Zeetha, Higgs, Mara, and a woman that took offense that no one remembered her name, nor that she'd been Agatha's secretary for years.

The Jäger airship had sustained substantial damage, but none in the superstructure. It was one of the few airships with a framework made of Guildern steel; more would have been built or at least retrofitted, but there had not been time. This was the reason that the ship had a good chance of being repaired rather than merely salvaged, though the former would take over a day.

Two medical tents were erected: one for the injured humans, and a larger one for the Jäger. The remaining, uninjured Jäger and Higgs took up positions around the tents and patrolled the area. Only Zeetha, Mara and Mamma Gkika were allowed inside the Jäger tent with Agatha, under the pretense of being her "assistants." Or rather, there was no pretense for Zeetha, since she was not a Spark and was unlikely to unravel the secrets of the Jägerkin from observing Agatha's work. And Mamma Gkika was renowned for her healing skills. The pretense was for Mara. There were too many for Agatha to treat alone, and the Jäger would only allow a Heterodyne - or Mamma - to work on them. The Jägergenerals were allowed inside, but no one expected medical expertise of them.

Upon first walking inside, Mara's knees wobbled. There were about twenty wounded, and they being Jäger, the sort of injuries that would put them in a hospital would either kill an unaffected human or leave one screaming in agony. There was some groaning, but they were mostly stoic. Mara quickly straightened up. This was no time for squeamishness. At the appearance of the Heterodyne Girls, the mood inside noticeably improved. Agatha scanned the tent and quickly found the Jäger with the highest need. He had a bleeding neck wound that had left him weak and pale, unless pear green was his natural color. Agatha had grabbed a portable surgical station on the way and was setting up while Mara applied pressure to the wound.

"You know that I haven't finished translating the Book," she whispered.

"True," Agatha whispered back, "But you've memorized the anatomical illustrations, yes?" Mara nodded. "Watch and assist me on these critical cases. After that you'll need to work on your own. By the way; well done."

"For what? I haven't done anything yet."

"I'm talking about the ships," said Agatha, not looking up from her work. "Getting the shields ready. Hemostat, there."

"Yes, Ma'am," she said, clamping off the blood vessel that Agatha indicated. "And thank you." Agatha only nodded. Mara watched the Jäger's face as they both worked. She would never understand their "matter uv honor" nonsense about refusing anaesthesia. She had a very high tolerance for pain, too, but did not seek it out over the alternative. Still, his stoicism was admirable, if nothing else. If her gentle assurances to him helped, so much the better.

Mara had had plenty of personal experience stitching wounds; mostly her own while growing up, after her father's rage had been spent. She had learned to suture like a seasoned physician. And she had seen the aftermath of more than one bloody battle. But until now she had not been the one responsible for patching up dying soldiers. But it went without saying that she was a quick learner, and after assisting Agatha with the three most badly injured Jäger, she was sent to find her own patients. Zeetha had been assessing the wounded, and motioned to lead her to the next in need. Agatha had asked Zeetha to act as Mara's nurse for two reasons: Agatha was more able to work on her own, and Zeetha had been unable to hide her disappointment in how "the talk" had gone during that fateful dinner. Agatha didn't need her stink eyes. This was War and there was work to be done.

Jäger reached out to Mara as she passed; she took their hand, smiled, and promised that she or Agatha would help them as soon as possible. Milling around the tent was the Jägergeneral Goomblast, apparently conducting triages of his own, but Mara could feel him watching her. If Zeetha was aware of the Jägergenerals' mistrust, she did not show it, and brought Mara to the next patient.

"Prinzess?" said Axel. She went to his side, then gasped. There was an open fracture on his lower leg. He grinned at her as though he were merely lying down for a refreshing nap. Her face flushed. She looked Agatha's way; The Heterodyne was reattaching somebody's arm; Mamma Gkika was assisting. Both quite unavailable to guide her through this.

"Hy gots a boo-boo," he joked, snapping her back to attention. "Ken hyu help?"

"Er... Yes," she said, patting his hand and forcing a smile. "You're going to be fine, Axel." She peered intently at the wound. In her mind she flipped through the Book of the Jägerkin and recalled every diagram that would help. She had read multiple medical textbooks, and now called upon her memory of those, as well. She asked Zeetha to bring a surgical station, then to help hold him down while she attempted the very painful task of moving the bone back into place. Axel himself wasn't sure how still he could be, and Zeetha promised to do her best, but... Then the walking mountain that was Goomblast appeared. He stared at Mara with an inscrutable expression, then held the leg completely immobile with one hand. She whispered thanks to him, then set the bone. From there the business of cleaning the wound, setting the splints, repairing damaged tissues, and finishing with sutures and bandages went smoothly. She smiled at her Jäger and thanked the General for his help.

"Next?" she said to Zeetha.

*****

Gilgamesh slammed a clipboard on the table, if for no other reason than it was louder than a mere fist, and less painful, too.

"How?" he yelled. "HOWWW?? And why my ship?? Why do you do these things to me??"

Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer, stood heroically with arms akimbo, and threw back his head to guffaw. Heroically. It was too loud and too long to possibly be real, but none could say how real the self-described Hero was about anything.

"Are you done yet?" said Gil impatiently.

Othar let out one last guffaw before slapping Herr Wulfenbach hard on the back.

"Ah, my young sidekick, I wish I could say that it's always good to see you, and this is, fortunately, one of those times! How have you been?"

"I take it,"said Tarvek, "That you'll only answer our questions when good and ready."

"What's to answer?" said Othar. "I'm here for the same reason you all are. To fight evil, defend the homeland, make the world safe for innocents, and rid the world of the scourge of Spark tyrants! Well, you two probably like those. We'll have to talk about that, boys. By the way, where is my spunky girl sidekick? When you two are around, she's usually not far!"

"She is not your-" Gil started, then sighed. "Agatha is away and busy, thank goodness. And you haven't answered how you got onto my ship!"

"Why, I walked on, of course!"

"It's an airship! You don't just walk onto airships!"

"It makes me sad how little imagination you have," said Othar, shaking his head.

Gil almost responded to that, then got back on track. A track submerged in sarcasm. "At least, oh Mr. Adventurer Sir, will you tell us where you'd been hiding all this time?"

Wonderful; another guffaw. "'Hiding!'" he said. "Ha ha! I was bunking quite openly with your men, of course!"

"I knew it!" said Tarvek, nodding to Gil. "Hmm? You owe me ten."

"Well, now, that's too much imagination, friend," said Othar, scowling. "I meant that I stayed on the barracks ship with your soldiers. Fine, upstanding people, one and all. If you'd bothered to visit them, you might have found me. Instead I had to step up and save your bacon again!"

"You did not. save. my bacon."

"Of course I did!" said the Gentleman Adventurer. "I'm sure that minion fellow meant well, but following directions wasn't his forte… eh?"

"What does he mean, Gil?" said Tarvek.

"Nothing," he grumbled. "Or... Yes, something. He got to the lab just a little bit before Óriásifej and I did. He saved us seconds of time, at best."

"Ha! 'Seconds…'"

"Maybe," said Tarvek, rubbing his chin. "Gil, I'd like to see him dead as much as you, but we didn't have much more than seconds. So... as much physical pain as it causes me to say this-"

"Don't you dare!"

"-Othar, we owe you our thanks," Tarvek finished.

"Don't encourage him!"

"I accept your gratitude, honorable sidekick!" said Othar, slapping his back. Or attempting to. Tarvek managed to sidestep it smoothly, then moved back to his previous spot. Othar wagged a finger at him.

"We can't all be your sidekicks, man," said Gil.

"Hmmm," said Othar. "For once, you're right! Why not a contest to decide?"

"Look, we're getting nowhere," said Gil. "Your cover is blown. You... sort of... helped... a little. But your quarters for the rest of your time with us will be my brig."

"Put me there if you like," said Othar, "But when you need more rescuing, having to escape might slow me down. Food for thought."

"Why do we keep arguing with him?" said Tarvek.

"Herr Wulfenbach!" a harried voice came from the corridor. A young officer appeared in the doorway. "Herr Wulfenbach!"

"Here, Lieutenant," he said, quietly relieved by the break. "What is it?"

"More incoming!" he said.

"Air?" said Tarvek.

"Ground!"

"Agatha," they both whispered.

The Emperors hurried to an imaging screen and flipped through the different views while the lieutenant continued. "They're almost at our position. We've been scanning the area for kilometers in every direction, and they came pouring in out of nowhere!"

"What did?"

"Those, uh, those creatures that the crew dubbed 'hoppers,'" said the lieutenant. "Scores of them! Possibly more!"

They finally found the imager that showed the incoming swarm of creatures. "Dammit!" said Gil. "Not from 'nowhere.' From-"

"Underground," he and Tarvek said at once.

"Has Agatha been informed?!"

"Oh, no!" said Othar. "Not my plucky girl sidekick?? How ungallant, to leave her unprotected!"

"Yes, we're poor excuses for Gentlemen Adventurers," said Gil, already on his way out the door. He paused to point at Othar and address the lieutenant. "Take him to the brig. Use everyone you've got, and Bohrlaikha."

"Really?" said the lieutenant. "Her? For this one man?"

"Just do it!"

*****

"Are you the Mistress?" said Mara's next patient, a Jäger named Holtz. She did not reply straight away. His voice had the same rough timber as the others, and his appearance was quite Jägerish, but his lack of their customary accent threw her a curve.
"I'm... Well, I suppose I'm 'a' Mistress," she said. "I'm not Agatha, if that's what you mean."

"Ohhh," he said, peering at her, "You're right. Sorry. My vision's fuzzy. I think I was hit on the head?"

"Ahhh, possible concussion, then," she said, feeling his neck carefully. "Just relax-" His arm snapped up and grabbed hers. It hurt, but Mara dared not flinch or risk her arm being broken, even if accidentally.

"Only she's supposed to help us," he said. "Only The Heterodyne."

"Releaze hor," said General Goomblast, looking down at the young soldier and glowering. "She iz Heterodyne, und hyu vill let hor help hyu!"

He released her arm. "Yes, Sir!" said Holtz, then to Mara: "And My Lady. I-I didn't know. Please forgive me!"

"No worries," she said softly, and resumed her work. "Just relax and let me help you."

"He iz new to de pack, Prinzess," said the General, then leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. Or whispered as much as someone like him could. "De Mistress found de Jägerdraught! Tenks to hor, de pack iz growink!"

"Yes, General," she said. "I'm aware of the Jägerdraught's properties."

"Oh?" he said. "Hyu... know its secrets?" She nodded.

"Some new addition I am," said Holtz. "My first battle with the pack, and I end up in the hospital."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," said Mara, smiling. "We can only do our b-"

The General shushed her. His ears pricked up. The other Jäger nearby, including Holtz, became just as alert. Seconds later, the ground began rumbling. Outside of the tent, distant shouting was getting closer... quickly.

"Get all the wounded inside the ship!" she heard Agatha shout. "Now!"

Clearly, this was not an earthquake, but a ground attack. Until she got outside, Mara had no idea what was coming their way, but the rumbling was broken up at times by loud THOOMs. Her guess was that large and heavy equipment was being dropped to the ground. She and Zeetha grabbed Holtz' cot and hand-carried him through the tent, in spite of his protests that he was "fine" and could fight.

Outside, most of the Jäger were taking battle positions. Others had been given evacuation duties and were carrying wounded, human and Jäger, inside any hole in the ship large enough to walk through. Mara and Zeetha looked towards the commotion as they carried Holtz. It was not equipment being dropped. It was creatures. Hopping creatures: natural or construct was impossible to tell at the moment. They had not reached the area, but per Mara's rapid calculations, they stood about four meters high each. Viewed from the front, they had a triangular shape to them. The lower half of their bodies was wide and long to accommodate the massive legs and feet that they were using for taking incredible leaps, followed by kicking attacks. The rest of their bodies were progressively thinner, ending in small heads with a camel-like snout and tall ears.

They got Holtz inside. Then Zeetha excused herself from evacuation duties, drawing both her swords as she did so. She spotted Higgs in the crowd and ran towards him, leaving Mara to find someone else to help her carry the injured.

"Prinzess!" she heard Piotr shouting to her. She waved him over. He glanced at the incoming enemy, clearly hoping to ply his skills against them, but ultimately obeyed and ran to her side.

"Axel's still inside," she said. "Come on."

THOOM. They were getting closer. Other Jäger were already plying their skills against their new foes. The creatures were armored in both metal and leather, and another glimpse revealed to Mara that the things had riders. Not just soldiers riding on their backs, but also sitting inside what could only be a stomach pouch of some kind. The creatures leaped and fought with their legs, and the solders fought with weapons, both melee and ranged. This was going to be a slaughter, but whose was unknown.

Piotr and Mara grabbed Axel's cot just as he was trying to get up and hobble his way out. Piotr pushed him down roughly and growled. On a count, they both lifted, then hurried away. He was much heavier than she'd expected, but she allowed no sign of struggling.

Outside, the way to the ship was clear. She saw Agatha directing evacuation efforts and conferring with the Jägergenerals simultaneously. She huffed and puffed... and then was blown down. With only a split-second of warning from a soldier, a "hopper" landed sideways, barely a meter from Mara and Piotr. Its attention was not on them, but the other enemies it was already engaging. It slid when it landed, sending dirt and other debris flying into their faces, then spun around to face its attackers. Its tail was the size of a man, and easily swept their legs out from under them. Mara and Piotr hit the ground hard, dropping Axel and sending him rolling away painfully. The hopper's tail then lifted up and slammed down on Mara before it leapt away again. The Jäger pursuing the beast had to turn abruptly to continue the chase.

"Mara!" Agatha called out as she ran. Piotr was already recovering and climbing back to his feet. He was torn between aiding his fallen blood brother or his fallen Mistress, then knelt by her side as Agatha slid over. She was careful not to move her cousin yet, but touched her face. Mara's eyes were closed. There was blood streaming from a head wound. She was not breathing.

"MARA!"

Part six is here.