The Arctic Incident Read Free Page B

warlock medics and backup.”
    Holly dropped through the hatch, rappelling to the tunnel floor. She ducked behind a statue of Frond, the first elfin king. Chix was lying on a mound of rubble across the avenue. It didn’t look good. The side of his helmet had been bashed in by the jagged remains of a low wall, rendering his com-set completely useless.
    She needed to reach him soon, or he was a goner. Sprites only had limited healing powers. They could magic away a wart, but gaping wounds were beyond them.
    “I’m patching you through to the commander,” said Foaly’s voice in her ear. “Stand by.”
    Commander Root’s gravelly tones barked across the airwaves. He did not sound in the best of moods. No surprises there.
    “Captain Short. I want you to hold your position until backup gets there.”
    “Negative, Commander. Chix is hit. I have to reach him.”
    “Holly. Captain Kelp is minutes away. Hold your position. Repeat. Hold your position.”
    Behind the helmet’s visor, Holly gritted her teeth in frustration. She was one step from being booted out of the LEP, and now this. To rescue Chix, she would have to disobey a direct order.
    Root sensed her indecision. “Holly, listen to me. Whatever they’re shooting at you punched straight through Verbil’s wing. Your LEP vest is no good. So sit tight and wait for Captain Kelp.”
    Captain Kelp. Possibly the LEP’s most gung-ho officer, famous for choosing the name Trouble at his graduation ceremony. Still, there was no officer Holly would prefer to have at her back going through a door.
    “Sorry, sir, I can’t wait. Chix took a hit in the wing. You know what that means.”
    Shooting a sprite in the wing was not like shooting a bird. Wings were a sprite’s largest organ and contained seven major arteries. A hole like that would have ruptured at least three.
    Commander Root sighed. Over the speakers it sounded like a rush of static.
    “Okay, Holly. But stay low. I don’t want to lose any of my people today.”
    Holly drew her Neutrino 2000 from its holster, flicking the setting up to three. She wasn’t taking any chances with the snipers. Presuming they were goblins from the B’wa Kell triad, on a three setting, the first shot would knock them unconscious for eight hours at the very least.
    She gathered her legs beneath her, and rocketed out from behind the statue. Immediately a hail of gunfire blew chunks from the structure.
    Holly raced toward her fallen comrade, projectiles buzzing around her head like supersonic bees. Generally, in a situation of this kind, the last thing you do would be to move the victim, but with gunfire raining down on them, there was no choice. Holly grabbed the private by his epaulettes, hauling him behind a rusted-out delivery shuttle.
    Chix had been out there a long time. He was grinning feebly.
    “You came for me, Cap’. I knew you would.”
    Holly tried to keep the worry from her voice.
    “Of course I came, Chix. Never leave a man behind.”
    “I knew you couldn’t resist me,” he breathed. “I knew it.”
    Then he closed his eyes. There was a lot of damage done here. Maybe too much. Holly concentrated on the wound. Heal, she thought, and the magic welled up inside her like a million pins and needles. It spread through her arms and ran down to her fingers. She placed her hands on Verbil’s wound. Blue sparks tingled from her fingers into the hole. The sparks played around the wound, repairing the scorched issue and replicating spilt blood. The sprite’s breathing calmed, and a healthy green tinge started to return to his cheeks.
    Holly sighed. Chix would be okay. He probably wouldn’t fly any more missions on that wing, but he would live. Holly lay the unconscious sprite on his side, careful not to put pressure on the injured wing. Now for the mysterious gray shapes. Holly upped the setting on her weapon to four and ran without hesitation toward the chute entrance.
    On your very first day in the LEP Academy, a big, hairy