Page 67 of Stalk the Sky

The other mechanics pushed to their feet. The injured elf crawled forward, then took Baragh’s place by the injured troll. “I will stay.”

Baragh stood, his hands stained red, as he grabbed a wrench of his own. “Let’s work our way to the left. We’ll block the entrance to the stairs before we attack.”

“And take these.” One of her mechanics passed out a few sidearms and boxes of ammo. “Sorry, this is all I found in the locker.”

Baragh waved a weapon away, pointing to Pip instead.

Stuffing the wrench into her belt, Pip swallowed and took the gun the mechanic offered to her. They’d had to pass basic firearm safety and shooting as part of their army mechanics training. It wasn’t quite as rigorous as actual army training, but they were living on an army base. They had to know how to use weapons.

With the handgun gripped in both of her hands, Pip nodded to Baragh.

Baragh led the way, edging along the wall. Pip kept pace with him, expanding her shield as they moved so that she could cover them and the fallen mechanics.

The other mechanics stalked behind her and Baragh, carrying everything from handguns to wrenches to hammers.

The Mongavarian soldiers glanced up, then spun to face them as they moved. They raised their guns but didn’t attempt to open fire again. They had learned something from earlier.

Baragh leaned closer to Pip. “Can you just…knock them over?”

“Maybe?” She’d never tried to wield her magic in a fight like this before.

She tried to call up her magic to blast a second shield outward, but she couldn’t seem to split her magic that way.

Not wanting to waste time fiddling with her magic, she switched and instead rapidly expanded the shield she was holding. It rammed into the first line of Mongavarian soldiers, bowling them over as if they were twigs.

She quickly lifted her shield over the fallen men. Baragh and the other mechanics rushed forward, knocking the guns from the hands of the stunned soldiers.

“What should we use to tie them up?” One of the elven mechanics glanced around, his hand glowing green. There seemed to be too much stone around him to use his plant magic.

“Here.” Pip grabbed a coil of wire off a nearby rolling cart. While the mechanics pinned the men down, she bound their wrists with the wire, using her magic to meld it together instead of tying knots. She then wrapped the end around one of the stone support pillars. Those Mongavarians wouldn’t be going anywhere.

The other Mongavarian soldiers aimed their guns at the shield, but they were shifting and glancing around as if they weren’t sure what to do now. They couldn’t attack Pip and the others while they were shielded, but they didn’t seem eager to retreat either. After all, they still outnumbered Pip and the other mechanics.

With the three they’d captured now secure, the mechanics who hadn’t been armed claimed those guns, and they moved forward again.

This time when Pip tried to flash her shield outward, the Mongavarians jumped back quickly enough to avoid being knocked over.

Hmm. What should she do now? They were at a bit of a standoff. The Mongavarians couldn’t get at them, but they also couldn’t attack the Mongavarians. If she dropped her shield, they’d end up in a gun fight for which they weren’t trained or prepared enough to win.

A roar came from the stairway.

Pip whirled around, raising the gun with both hands even as she closed her magic in tighter.

A battle formation of dwarves wielding axes and ball-peen hammers raced out of the stairway, led by Yamrarlig.

Well, that would work.

Pip ducked behind a nearby support pillar. “Take cover!”

The mechanics threw themselves into sheltered positions as she dropped the shield. The hazy, blue-gray shimmer across the hangar vanished.

The Mongavarians raised their weapons again, and Baragh and some of the other mechanics shot off a few rounds as covering fire.

Pip gripped the pistol in both hands, drew in a deep breath, and aimed roughly in the direction of one of the Mongavarians. She tightened her finger on the cold metal of the trigger but hesitated. Shielding during a battle was one thing. But actually pulling that trigger and shooting at someone was something else entirely.

Best not to think about it too much. She drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and pulled the trigger.

The handgun recoiled in her hand, bucking enough that her shot went high. The Mongavarian yelped and ducked behind a pillar.