Apocalypse Before Finals by Julie Steimle (electric book reader txt) 📕

Dural Hendron blinked in disbelief, the words not understood at first. He balked at the pair with disbelief. "No, she isn't."

But his eyes set on Zormna, transforming into shock, as the entire room full of people dropped behind the bench-backs while nearly everyone pulled out a gun.

"Drop your weapon if you do not wish to die," Jeff said in a low voice, pressing the nozzle of his newly acquired weapon to Dural Hendron's head.  

The entire eight-man squadron shuddered, pulling back. They were outnumbered and the weapons pointed at them were just as effective as their rifles.

"Rren'kai ne'eme dal[3]!" Closing his eyes, Dural Hendron ordered, breathing hard like he had been hit in the stomach.

Every one of the eight dropped their weapons.

Zormna and several others took the rifles, handing them out to the weaponless people in the seated crowd. Then, at gunpoint, they forced all the People's Military officers to the right-hand corner of the room, making them lift their hands above their heads. From here, Zormna took charge.

"You five, come here and watch these men while we deliberate," she said pointing to the sternest looking FBI agent in the room.

"Impossible," Dural Hendron murmured. He stared after Zormna as she marched across the room back to Jeff, who was instructing the others in his little band of rebels.

Agent Sicamore stepped into this group, accompanied by his loyal agents from the Mars Project. Jeff took one look at them, shrugged and let them into the circle.

"So what's your plan now? They still have the building surrounded," Agent Sicamore said, glancing back once at the eight captives and the man in green who was watching Zormna fiercely while muttering in his own tongue.

Jeff peered back at the uniformed soldiers from Home and let out a breath while thinking. "Zormna and I still need to get back Home. And you, no doubt, need to get your dignitaries to safety, if I am not mistaken."

Agent Sicamore nodded, noticing the men now climbing out of the jury box to join them. American generals didn't like to be left out the big decisions either.

"Fine," Sicamore said, though not pleased. "But how do we do that? If these men are a sample of what we are to face, we can't just walk out. We won't make it very far."

Jeff nodded. Noticing General Gardener squeeze into their circle, he smirked. The man peered over Zormna's companion, interested in any plan that was being formulated. Looking past him, Jeff said to Zormna, "Any suggestions?"

Zormna looked up and nodded. "For us anyway." She saw Agent Sicamore's pained grimace. "I'm sorry Sicamore, but I have to think about getting Home. I can't be stuck among PMs screaming Tarrn after me."

Jeff nodded to her. "Ok, you keep thinking about our escape, I'll plan theirs."

Zormna nodded and glanced back once again at the eight captives, her eyes narrowing on them. An idea was already forming.

"We'll need to get you out of the building without being seen," Jeff thought out loud, now noticing others from the jury box leaning in. He turned to one he knew he could deal with. "Sicamore, you need to get all your generals to lose their military coats."

One of generals huffed.

"If they don't, they'll be making themselves into targets." Jeff stared directly at the man who huffed. "I know the PMs pretty well and how to avoid them. The first trick is not to make yourself a target. The second is take advantage of knowledge they don't have." He looked up at one of the bailiffs. "Do you know this building well?"

The bailiff nodded. "Perfectly."

Comforted by this, Jeff said,. "Good, then can you think of any back routes or tunnels out of this building?"

The bailiff smiled. "There is a tunnel from the service elevator that leads to the parking garage under the street."

"Any stairs?" Jeff asked.

The bailiff nodded.

"Take the stairs. The PMs usually watch elevators. If you go down stairs quietly, you'll probably get out without being spotted," Jeff said.

The bailiff and Agent Sicamore nodded once more.

"But what if we are spotted?" one of the military figures gruffly asked, trying to hide his anxiety.

Jeff looked up at him. "Run."

This made the head FBI agent gasp.

"That's it?" Agent Keane exclaimed, disbelieving what he just heard.

Jeff nodded, taking in the young-looking FBI agent who had long annoyed him. "Yes. I find running the only solution in such matters. Staying to fight a People's Military officer only results in death, and that death is usually your own."

The men in the circle blanched.

"They could have some people in PM uniforms," Zormna cut in.

They all looked back at her.

"That way it would look like they were being moved rather than escaping. Have an Arrassian go with them wearing a PM suit and a helmet - so if the PMs speak Arrassian to them they can answer back without being suspicious."

They all gawked at her and her perfect solution.

Jeff nodded. "Good." He turned back to Agent Sicamore. "Your plan is solved. Go to it."

The FBI agent didn't move. "What are you going to do?" Agent Sicamore spoke like he didn't want Jeff or Zormna to leave his sight.

Jeff grinned back at him. He then turned to Zormna. She nodded.

"We're going to dress up in PM uniforms as well and steal a ship when we get out of the building. How we get out is up to him," she said, nudging toward Jeff.

Jeff looked flattered. He grinned back at Agent Sicamore as if that ended it all.

The agent didn't look at all pleased.

Smirking, Jeff patted Sicamore on the shoulder. "Think of it this way. We'll be out of your hair from now on." He patted Agent Sicamore's shoulder again and rose.

 Zormna and Jafarr marched over to the eight People's Military officers without another word to him, ordering the armed guards to make the PMs strip.

"A Tarrn!" Dural Hendron shouted now, saying it not to be heard but as if her identity was an insult to his feelings which were writhing inside him like worms. "You foul...! You seductress! You vixen!" Zormna flared up and flushed hotly at his remarks as she worked on getting their costumes, struggling to ignore him. "...And to think I defended you from Dural Korad. You dog! You flea! You insignificant little mite! You er - "

Jeff grabbed the PM in green and slammed him against the wall. "Le gas'om kak sa apat, ee al' nas an'thorn'orn neem.[4]"

Dural Hendron stared viciously at Jeff, yet narrowed his eyes tighter at Zormna. He remained silent though. 

The guards forcibly stripped all eight soldiers of their uniforms and helmets. Dural Hendron was deprived of his once Jeff let him off the wall. They did it only to take away his dignity, though, and not to use his uniform. It would have obviously stood out as stolen, as green-suited PMs were important, well-known people. Once they bound and gagged each of the People's Military officers, they added to them the two that were already tied up and re-gagged. All the uniforms and helmets were passed out to the Martian spies that had infiltrated the FBI hearing. Jeff tossed the smallest suit and boots to Zormna.

She lifted one of the boots and stared at it mournfully. Zormna peered up at Jeff who smirked at her.

"A bit big?" he asked, pulling off his sneakers.

She glared at him and held the boot next to her foot. It was definitely too big. Big enough that she could place her own foot with her shoe on inside the boot, still having room in the toe. Zormna shrugged and dropped the boot to the floor. She resigned herself to putting the whole uniform over her jeans and tee shirt since the uniform was also too big. Once it was on, she tugged at the sag at the crotch, and glanced back at Jeff with incredulity. "A man's suit... and I am too small."

He laughed. "If we move fast enough, no one will notice."

Zormna smirked and reached over to pull on the boots.

As it was, Jeff also wore the uniform over his clothes. It took too long to strip and dress again. Luckily the uniform stretched and it wasn't obvious. Once they were all dressed, Marc decided to help escort Sicamore's group out. He had pulled on one of the People's Military uniforms. Watching Marc exchange his suit for the uniform sent a tremor through Agent Sicamore. Those who had worked with Marc in the office found it scary how he looked the part so perfectly once in PM blue. His sandy brown hair now appeared as Arrassian blonde as Alex's.

"How could you?" Agent Sicamore murmured just above a whisper to Marc.

Marc patted him on the back as he whispered back, "Like you can talk. I am one of the few who know your secret."

Agent Sicamore recoiled.

"But I won't tell." Marc then nodded to Jeff with a signal that he was ready.

Jeff slipped on his helmet and adjusted the straps. He had Zormna do the same.

"How do I look?" Zormna said, standing back for the assessment.

Jeff laughed again as he looked her uniform over. "Like a tiny Surface Patrol flymite stealing a PM uniform."

"I can't help the fit of the suit, Jafarr," she said, pulling on the waist so the crotch wouldn't drop so low. She tried to roll it up but it looked absurd.

He reached over and took her helmet off. "It's not that. It's your hair. Your mourning strands are hanging out."

Zormna chuckled at her stupidity and pulled the two long strands of hair that normally fell in front of her ears back behind her head. She twisted them together so they would hold. Then she replaced her helmet. "Better?"

Jeff's helmeted head nodded. "Much better. Now you just look short."

She punched him in the arm - but not hard enough to hurt him.

The entire group shoved the tied-and-gagged PMs into the judge's chambers and closed the door, placing furniture in front of it as a barricade.

"That should give us enough time for us to get away," one of the bailiffs said.

Jeff and the FBI agents nodded.

"Ok, let's go," the boy rebel leader in stolen uniform announced, nodding at Agent Sicamore who looked about as tense as a cornered animal.

The FBI agent nodded back, his eyes skittishly peering toward the exit.

"Good luck," Zormna said, opening the door. She boldly walked out into the hall.

The hall was deserted except for the occasional PM who was guarding a door. It was harder to get to the stairs near the service elevator than they had thought, but the bailiff led the way as if he were under orders from Dural Hendron. Soon all of them parted ways with a silent nod. So far, no one stopped them.

Jeff and Zormna took a different route than the bulk of the party, which Sicamore soon realized they did to draw attention away from the his group - an idea he had not entertained until his entire party of escapees reached the parking garage. They watched the PM guards at the base of the stairs suddenly get called to the service elevator to help contain a disturbance.

The disturbance turned out to be in the prison cellblock. Jeff and Zormna both rode the elevator they had taken up to the courtroom back down to the cellblocks to release the prisoners for a diversion. No one saw them except some passing PMs who didn't suspect them opening the cell doors. All the drunks, all the prostitutes, and all the other petty criminals scattered as soon as their doors opened, scrambling for any way to escape. To contain the matter, several People's Military officers were called in to stop the stampede. Assured of their success, Zormna and Jeff rode the elevator back up to the main level where they walked out the main doors of the building, past all the poor stuck lawyers and court