“A what?”
“A doppel-bot, as in doppelganger. It’s a stealth-model droid that is used for infiltration and recon. It has a stealth generator and holo-skin deployment kit that allows it to create disguises based on other people or creatures that it has scanned.”
“It just took out those five initiates in one go,” he muttered. “Did it set off that bomb?”
“Probably, and also probably erected that barrier. I would imagine whoever ‘Katrina’ is was taken out earlier and replaced by the doppel-bot.”
The ace looked back at his teammates. “Neither of you is one of those body-snatcher bots, are you?”
His companions looked at each other before turning back and shaking their heads. “No, I do not believe so, though to be fair, I’m fairly certain neither one of us would admit to being one if we were,” the Tsuna said reasonably.
“Got me there,” Kaiden grunted.
“They are clean. I already scanned them. Those bots are good at masking their emissions but the hologram kit they use has a miniscule energy signature that can be detected if you zero in on it. Plus, I’m reading their EIs. Can’t construct EI signatures on a whim; they are too unique.”
“Good to know.” Kaiden sighed with slight relief. “You have any idea why those screens turned on? From what I heard, it made it sound like the bot turned them on.”
“Probably to sow distrust,” Chiyo suggested. “To make all the teams—or at least the ones in here—begin to question each other. The Director is playing mind games.”
“As if it wasn’t before,” Kaiden snarked. “Can you get Jaxon or Julius on comm again?”
Chiyo opened her holoscreen “Just give me a minute to—” Chiyo began before freezing in place. Her screen disappeared. “Genos! Throw out your EI device.”
“Chiyo, what’s wrong?” The Tsuna looked worried as Chiyo ripped off her helmet.
“Do it, Genos,” she demanded, as she threw her helmet down the ravine behind them.
The mechanist took out his EI pad and held it up uncertainly for a moment before she snatched it and tossed it into the ravine with her helmet.
“What are you doing, Chi—” Kaiden saw Genos’ pad light up and then erupt in a shower of sparks and jolts of electricity.
“What happened?” he barked and placed a hand on the back of his mask. “Is my implant going to explode too?”
“I don’t feel anything,” Chief responded. “From the looks of that, it appears the EI devices had their systems corrupted. They got infected by an ataxia virus.”
“Just like that? How did it get to Chiyo and not me? I would think her system is better defended than mine.”
“It is, but not everything can be blocked quickly enough. I at least got a warning and was able to transfer Kaitō into my secondary device.” She held up the tablet attached to her wrist. “But Genos…if that pad had still been in his compartment when it went off, his leg would have been fried.”
The alien rubbed his right leg. “Thank you for your quick action, Chiyo.”
“But what about his EI?” Kaiden asked. “Is it gone now?”
“Technically no, since we’re still in the Animus, but unless he has another device that it can be moved into, he won’t have it for the rest of the test,” the infiltrator explained.
“Is it too late?” Kaiden looked at the engineer, and specifically at the missing half of his helmet. “The helmet is the main dock for the EIs for most students. That’s gone, and now his pad is gone too.”
The Tsuna looked at the screen on his gauntlet. “I’m still reading Viola, but the connection is weak.”
“EIs have programs, fail-safes, and backups for these sort of emergencies. Let me take a look, Genos.” Chiyo began looking through the tablet on the gauntlet. “I’m beginning your EI’s reset process. It will take a while for it to come back online, but I can have Viola take control of your suit systems. I’m basically modifying your gauntlet’s OS to act as a temporary EI system. I’ll have to make some room, and it won’t work at full capacity when it does come back, but you’ll have some functions available.”
“I see.” Genos nodded. “That will be fine, it is better than—” The mechanist was interrupted by a scream, and the three looked up to see an initiate fall down through the shaft from the upper levels, followed quickly by a few more behind the shield in the distance.
“I am officially one hundred and ten percent done with this place,” Kaiden growled.
“They were probably knocked off when their devices erupted, or there’s a fight going on up above,” Chiyo reasoned. “But look at the shield! The circumference is shrinking.”
The ace hadn’t noticed before, but she was right. He also saw the light glow bright, and the humming grew louder. “Is that something we need to be concerned about?”
The infiltrator finished working on Genos’ gauntlet and stepped away. “We need to move. The shield is powering up. It looks like it’s about to erupt into a nova.”
“Fantastic,” the ace sneered. “New plan—first door available, we dive in and pray that it’s much more manageable than an exploding energy field.”
The three raced down the path. The lights around the tower began exploding or powering off, leaving only the illumination from the shield to guide them. The barrier itself began to fade in and out like a pulsating light. They descended another floor, desperate to find a way out as the shield continued to shrink into itself.
“There,” Genos shouted, pointing to a doorway on the other side of the walkway.
Kaiden charged ahead, slid up to the panel, and punched the opening switch. The doors slid wide and he waved his teammates through, running quickly after them as the alien closed the door behind them.
“We made it,” the ace said, breathing a sigh of relief. He heard a loud explosion, and the shockwave toppled him to the floor. When he looked up, the door was still intact, and his companions lowered their hands from their faces.
They were in a cavernous hallway with no sound and only a few glowstrips for light. Kaiden stood and approached the door they had just entered through. “You think it’s safe to go back in?”
Chiyo activated her tablet and held it up. “I’m not reading any excess energy. Any sort of explosion like that would usually leave large fields of dispersed energy for at least a couple of minutes, but there isn’t even a trace.”
“Open the door, Genos,” he ordered.
“The panel is offline. The blast knocked it out.”
“Crowbar it.” Kaiden walked to the right side as the Tsuna took the left. The mechanist slid his gauntlet’s crowbar into the sliver between the doors and pulled, cracking it open. The two then forced the doors halfway to peer outside. Nothing greeted them but a dark and empty room. The area they had been in had disappeared.
“Well, there goes the easy way down.” The ace huffed, stepping away from the doors. “I guess we’ll have to look around and see if there is an elevator or something to the lower levels.”
“That would be our best course of action,” Chiyo agreed. “I wonder how many made it out?”
“Can you sense anyone, Chief?” Kaiden asked.
“Nothing. Either everyone in there died, or they were teleported out. I can’t read anything in the immediate area. We’re all by our lonesome again.” The EI disappeared again.
“Guess we’ll see how long that lasts.” The soldier frowned as he looked behind him. “There doesn’t appear to be anything in that room, and there’s only one at the end of this hallway. Guess that’s where we gotta go.” He looked at Genos who was staring at a piece of the wall in the distance. “You seeing a face in the rocks or something?”
“No, but something looks a bit peculiar,” the Tsuna admitted. “Give me a moment, please.” He walked to the area that had caught his attention and dropped to one knee to inspect it. “Kaiden, might I use one of your grenades, please?”
“I gave the rest of them to Mack to take down that Goliath, remember
?” Kaiden stated as he drew his Raptor. “Still got some ballistic shots if you need something exploded, but mind filling me in?”
Genos took the rifle from his teammate and walked back a few steps, aiming at the rocks. “I prefer to show…firing.” He shot a ballistic round into the wall. Shards of rock and dust erupted around them. The mechanist shielded his eyes as Kaiden stood still with crossed arms, his visor automatically scrubbing any debris that would obscure his vision.
“What exactly are you trying to show— Is that a room?” he demanded as the dust cleared, revealing a hidden passage behind the rocks.
“Something seemed strange about the formation and look of the rocks. I had learned that smugglers and mercenaries like to keep caches of supplies or hide secret entrances using these sorts of tricks,” Genos explained, handing Kaiden back his rifle.
“Never figured you for a geologist,” the ace mused as he placed his rifle onto his back.
“I have picked up a few extra-curricular hobbies during my time on Earth.” The Tsuna placed his hands behind his back. “I used to collect various stones and minerals back on Abisalo. It was more for research and scientific purposes than as a hobby, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.”
“Few of my hobbies have practical use in the field.” Kaiden chuckled. “Let’s see what we got.”
The three looked inside the hidden room. It was rather small, but it contained three chests—cube-shaped and black with silver trim—and there appeared to be a hatch leading down at the end of the room.
“Jackpot,” he exclaimed as he walked over to one of the chests. “This is our first real chance to restock since we began.”
“Let Genos and me check them for traps before you potentially get us caught in an explosion,” Chiyo warned.
He nodded and backed away, leaning against a wall as his team members inspected the crates. “So, how many floors do you think we made it down?”
“By my guess it was about seven. I was slightly preoccupied during those last few minutes,” Genos said as he finished examining one of the boxes and moved to the next one. “That one is clear, Kaiden, if you wish to take a look.”
“When we’re done here, you guys wanna head down the hatch?” he asked as he popped open the locks.
“It will continue our descent, so we would be closer to our objective” the infiltrator stated, opening the box she had inspected. “I found some healing supplies.”
“Got some ammo and a couple of guns in here,” Kaiden said. “Some more ballistic rounds, too. Genos, you want one of these rifles? Give you other options in battle than only your cannon.”
“Are you sure you don’t want one?” his teammate asked.
The ace took out the rifle and tossed it to him. “It’s all good. Similar model to mine, but I got the deluxe edition. There’s also a pistol in here if you want it, Chiyo.”
“I have one, but I suppose a backup wouldn’t hurt. Is it kinetic or energy?”
“Kinetic, Karna Munitions model. Looks like a Series Three Scorpio.” He twirled the pistol in the air. “Light, decent fire rate, good punch, kinetic option for barriers and heavy armor.”
She nodded and handed him a few vials of various colors. He took them and traded her the pistol and a couple of magazines. “Those are two vials of healing serum, a vial of anti-venom, and a power-sip in case you start feeling tired, along with an injector.”
“Healing juice, snake de-fanger, and prep pop—good to have,” Kaiden quipped as he placed the items in his supply box.
“You sound like a short-order cook,” Chiyo teased, attaching the Scorpio to her hip across from the static pistol on her left leg.
“What did you find, Genos?” he inquired.
The mechanist straightened from digging into his box and held up a black cylindrical object with red lines down the side. “It is a box of explosives. There are some more thermals for you in there, Kaiden.”
“Cool, but what are you holding there?”
The Tsuna lifted the object so they could see it. “It is a disintegration grenade. It creates a small field of super-heated particles that dissolves nearly any matter within it.” He looked at his teammates. “Mind if I keep it?”
“It honestly sounds like it would be better in your hands than Kaiden’s.” Chiyo chuckled.
“You saying I couldn’t get good use out of that?” He grimaced.
“It’s a delicate and dangerous device, Kaiden. One slight mishap and you could disintegrate yourself instead of a target. Genos, as an engineer, is trained to handle various explosives,” she countered.
“Plus, you know you would use it the minute you saw a hostile instead of saving it for later just because you wanna see what it does.” Chief scoffed.
“Stop judging me,” he muttered, throwing up his hands. “Fair enough, Genos has earned a few toys through all this anyway.”
“I’ll be sure to use it responsibly,” his teammate promised and tossed him a container of thermal grenades. “There are some shock grenades in here as well. Would you like them, Chiyo?”
“Yes, please.” She reached out a hand as he passed her the container. Quickly, she clipped it onto her belt and looked at the hatch. “That seems to be it in here unless you happen to see any other irregularities, Genos.”
“No, it seems that was it.”
“Nice find,” Kaiden complimented him. “If it weren’t for the various dings and scratches on our armor, it’s almost like we just started.”
“Though a disintegration grenade is not usually in the standard loadout for initiates,” Genos added as he opened a slot in the container on his back and placed the grenade inside. “Shall we depart?”
“Allow me.” The ace led the way to the hatch, twisted the valve, and grunted as he forced it open. “It’s kind of a steep drop,” he muttered as he looked down the hole.
“The shocks in our armor should be enough to disperse the fall as long as it isn’t over a hundred feet,” Chiyo reassured them.
“Well, I’m not sure if— Uh-oh.” Kaiden pointed out of the room. “Incoming, guys.”
His teammates turned to look as the hallway outside transformed into a volcanic landscape, complete with a moho staring at them.
“Those things again? Are they pissed they lost their snack the first time?” Kaiden growled belligerently.
“Fight or flight, Kaiden?” Chiyo shouted, yanking out her submachine gun.
“I just got these thermals. Don’t want to lose them right away.” He huffed and looked down at the hatch. “Place your bets and follow me,” he ordered as he leaped into the hatch.
As Kaiden fell through the hatch, he saw glowing rings light up all through the tunnel. “Hey, guys,” he called up to his team. “New problem.”
“Beginning teleportation in three…” a synthetic voice announced, beginning a countdown.
“Teleport? Where to?”
“Two… One…” In a flash of blinding light, Kaiden and his team were gone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chiyo lay face down for a moment, her vision blurry and her mind reeling.
“Are you all right, Chiyo?” Genos asked as he helped her to her feet.
“Yes. Just give me a moment to find my bearings,” she wheezed. “Where are we?”
“We traveled through a teleportation field, madame. We have no way of knowing where it transported us without positioning,” Kaitō informed her.
“Where’s Kaiden?” she asked.
“Over here.” He grunted. He was bent over and balanced on his knees. “Giving my stomach some time to settle.”
“Do you suffer from teleportation sickness, friend Kaiden?” the Tsuna asked.
He coughed and sputtered. “I guess so. Never teleported before, but I ain’t feeling too hot. Remind me to apologize to Luke when we get out of here.”
The infiltrator rummaged through her supply box and retrieved an injector and an ampoule of pale orange liquid. “Hold still,” she ordered, driving the needle t
hrough the underlining of Kaiden’s armor into his neck. “This is a serum to help with nausea and dizziness. There was only one, and I didn’t think you would have a use for it,” she explained as she injected the liquid.
“Good thing you brought it anyway.” Kaiden rolled his neck around after she removed the injector. She helped him stand, and they surveyed their surroundings. “Well, this is certainly a change of scenery.”
They were in a jungle, damp with mist and fog, and heard animal roars and screeches in the distance.
“I’m not sure if this is better or worse than where we were,” Genos said thoughtfully. “How vast do you think this place is?”
“Chief, think you can get us an aerial view?” the ace asked.
“You won’t throw up from the height?” the EI inquired.
Kaiden retched. “Don’t display it in my visual. Just float up there and look around. See if you can find a door or something.”
“First time I get to contribute, and I’m a glorified telescope.” Chief sighed, floated above the trees, and looked around.
“You going to be all right, Kaiden?” Chiyo asked.
“Yeah, I’m feeling better. That stuff you shot into me certainly helped.” He stood and stretched. “Let’s try keeping teleportation to a minimum, all right?”
“Curious that you seem to have no problems integrating with the Animus, but basic teleportation seems to make you ill,” Genos noted.
“I guess it was nice of them to give me the full experience,” he grumbled. “Need to make a mental note to visit Laurie and thank him personally.”
“It is the point of the Animus to get you used to all potential combat situations. If you get a contract with the Navy or a space station, teleporters will be used quite frequently,” Chiyo remarked.
“So I should repeatedly throw myself into teleporters until I get used to them and achieve teleportation sickness resilience?” he asked sarcastically.
“That may work, but there are also medications. I believe those would be more beneficial,” Genos suggested.
Kaiden removed his mask to take a deep breath, frowning at the alien. “If you weren’t so precious, I would think you were mocking me.”
Animus series Boxed Set Page 84
