He shook his head, realizing what he was doing wrong. He popped out from behind the pile of gold, levelling the Tellic at Thran’s chest, right at the glowing rune of the Rangers. He fired again and again. Thrane didn’t try to block, letting out a long laugh. He charged Rick, hurling another spear at the Ranger. At the last minute, he dove out of the way, firing until the last second at the legs and the chest again.

The Thrane threw a vicious backhand, catching Rick as he tried to lift his weapon. The Tellic went spinning off across the floor. Thrane tried to grab at Rick, but then his arm locked up.

“You see Thrane, the problem you have is that you had too much faith in the suit, like I did.” Rick walked over to the still form of Thrane, who was cursing in Martian as Rick leaned down. “The suit can only take so much damage.” Rick touched the suit, which started to break open like an egg. He pointed one of the tossed spears at Thrane’s neck. “I have won. Get out.”

“No, you will have to kill me.”

“I’m not going to kill you. I can’t.”

“Then you will die,” Thrane snarled, and his right arm snapped up, wrapping around Rick’s throat. “Humans are so weak. You can’t—”

Thrane’s words were lost as Rick jabbed the spear into Thrane’s armpit. As the hand relaxed, Thrane looked at him quizzically.

“I can’t kill you in cold blood. Defending myself is a different story.”

Limping to his feet, he pulled the suit off Thrane. He scooped up the helmet with one hand and looked at the entrance to the vault. There, Al’Kara stood, taken prisoner by the Green Martians. They stared at Rick, aghast.

“They want to know what you wish to do with me,” Al’Kara said. “You are their leader. What shall it be, beloved?”

* * *

Ten minutes later, Rick was on the deck of a skimmer, still trying to stand up. Al’Kara piloted the thing away from the fortress and the ensuing chaos. Without Thrane, and without Rick to lead them, the Green Martians were fighting amongst themselves already, a small civil war between three different groups. “This assignment is going to kill me,” Rick mused, watching the fortress grow smaller and smaller.

“What was that, beloved?”

Rick looked at Al’Kara in a new light. She was not the vile, scheming creature he had thought. She had been taking advantage of the Makay, but that would stop once he got her back to her people. His suit would need some time before it could fully repair itself.

“Beloved, come and watch the scenery.”

“What about the Thrane’s forces?”

“They will not catch us,” she said. She reached out, and Rick took her hand, smiling at her as he stood. He watched the scenery pass and smiled. “I said, I think this assignment is going to kill me.”

“You will be able to rest in Golgoro.”

“I had to go there anyway. Still, who knows what will happen there.”

Rick and Al’Kara flew over the red-orange soil of the lower Tharsis plains. The flitter’s cramped quarters pressed Al’Kara against him. She whispered in his ear, “You have freed me, beloved. You shall be rewarded richly when we reach the kingdom of Golgoro. You will live like a king.”

“But what about my assignment? I have the rest of the Solar System to go through before I get an assignment.”

She looked at him. “Would I be able to go with you?”

“Rangers usually go alone. Or rarely, in teams.”

“So, you would leave me?”

Rick pulled her closer. “I said usually. There might be a way.” He lied to her too easily, and it didn’t feel right, but he needed to prepare her, just in case. He did have an assignment to follow through on. On the other hand, the suit needed repair, and he needed rest. He pushed these thoughts aside and let her warmth comfort him for the moment. He could think about the assignment later.

“It is a pretty landscape.” He said, looking right at her.

She smiled back and kissed him. He didn’t pull away.