The Aurigan Republic

Chapter 9

AG crawled on his stomach towards the source of the sound. After a couple of seconds, his brain finally registered the sound of gunshots. The sound still puzzled him, who wasn't aware of any wars or conflicts. The chances of a mercenary group targeting this town were highly unlikely based on what he observed. If there was anything valuable in the town, he would have noticed or suspected something during his surveillance. Risking a peek, AG got on his knee to get a clearer sight of the attackers. What caught his attention were the black uniforms worn by the soldiers. These uniforms belonged to professional soldiers who were loyal to the faction in charge of the planet. The fact that they were attacking a town supposedly under their control baffled him.

The townspeople were slow to respond initially. AG could only imagine the confusion they had as they were in the thick of the action. Yet, it was surprising how quickly the townspeople managed to go from panicking and confused individuals to an organized fighting force. Many locals found high ground returning fire at the incoming soldiers. AG could see that the familiarity of the town was slowly turning the tide for the defenders. The soldiers approached from open fields that provided them with hardly any cover. Their equipment could only do so far as protection against the well-armed locals. He could also see the locals fighting with a ferocity that wasn't present during their daily activities.

When victory seemed assured for the defenders, a noise from the skies got the attention of both sides. Anyone who looked up would see aircraft flying over the town. Shortly afterwards, their dropped cargo hit the town. Multiple explosions shook the ground itself, followed by screams from the townspeople. The bombing had an immediate impact on the battle, with many of the defenders abandoning their positions. The opening was all the attacking soldiers needed to push towards the town as they quickly closed the gap between their position and the outer buildings. With the flames spreading throughout the town, it seemed like a forgone conclusion regarding who would come out victorious in this battle.

AG was relieved his preparations were completed. He doubted that any of the attackers would notice him slipping out due to them being preoccupied with the battle at hand. As he packed up the last few containers, his ears picked up a sound close to his location. He immediately grabbed his dagger and crept towards where he last heard the sound. A minute later, he found himself directly behind a soldier armed with a scoped weapon. The soldier was very focused on the town and showed no signs of noticing him. Taking no chances, AG closed the distance and thrust his weapons at the soldier.

The soldier noticed AG's presence before the blade found flesh. He turned around with a pistol hastily pulled out. Despite the soldier's best efforts to point the pistol at AG, AG's blade found the soldier's throat first. AG gripped the dagger tightly until the light left the soldier's eyes. Only when he was certain the soldier was dead did AG let out the breath he held. Despite being a mercenary for a seemingly long time, AG had never killed anyone with a melee weapon. There was something impersonal about shooting targets from afar. The fact that he never saw the face of his adversary made killing feel natural. This time, he felt vulnerable despite being the person wielding the dagger.

The expression of the soldier also disturbed him. Here was a complete stranger who was pale white before he died. If AG faced some crazy monster, he wouldn't feel any ounce of remorse or regret. Yet, he felt that way towards the man who probably had a family or even kids. He stared at the blood on his hands and quickly wiped them on the soldier's uniform. He pulled out his dagger before running back to his backpack of supplies. As he put on his backpack, the sound of children crying got his attention. He peeked in the direction of the cries and saw a handful of women herding a bunch of children away from the town.

Behind them were soldiers who shouted for them to stop. When the women refused, the soldiers opened fire on the women and children. One woman and a few children fell in a pool of blood. The scene triggered an anger AG never thought existed within him. Channeling the anger within him, he raised his rifle and opened fire at the pursuing soldiers. The earlier deaths had already frozen the women and children. Therefore, the pursuing soldiers thought their job was done and the remaining task of rounding the prisoners up would be easy. They were completely caught off guard by the rifle fire while being in the open with no cover in sight.

AG then called out to the women and children to hide in the bushes. His shout unfroze them and the women got to work promptly. A minute later, the group hid in the bushes with AG. The adults had varied expressions varying from fear to sadness to relief while the children had stopped their crying.

"Do you have a plan of where to go?" AG asked the women.

AG focused on the town for more pursuing soldiers as he waited for an answer. When he didn't get any, he repeated his question. After what seemed like several minutes, one of the women spoke up.

"We didn't expect to get this far. We were expecting either capture or death."

"Well, think of something then," said AG coldly. "We cannot stay here all day."

Now that the anger within him had dissipated, AG kept asking himself why he allowed his emotions to take over. He could have slipped away during the chaos and be on his way to safety. A group of children could serve as a great distraction, concealing his escape without anyone being any wiser. Instead of taking hold of a golden opportunity handed to him on a silver platter, AG somehow took the chance to be a hero. He didn't even know if they could flee. Their large group greatly increased the chances of them being spotted. He didn't even know what the soldiers hoped to achieve by capturing the women and children.

"There's a cave we can head to," said one of the women, jolting AG from his internal thoughts.

" Lead the way then! I'll be covering the rear."

AG took one last look and, after confirming the coast was clear, ran after the group. He could still hear the occasional gunshot from the town but he was certain that the battle was coming to a close. The last bit of resistance would be brutally crushed. If they could hide from the soldiers before that happened, they might be able to wait out the attackers.