Lasher gestured to Tarot, “The train is going to hit top speed soon, we need to close the door.”
Tarot obliged, slamming the hand panel on the wall. The blast door slid back into place with a slam followed by a series of clicks. A rush of air filled the car after it pressurized.
“The car is now sealed against the environment. The following species may now remove any atmospheric assistance devices.” The automated message ran down its litany of choices for those able to breath in oxygen rich environments. The automaton continued to list safety measures for riding in the tram but that was largely ignored by everyone.
Lasher opened the engineer's compartment to find Ziella at the helm.
“Sorry I couldn't stay and trade blaster fire with everyone.” Ziella coughed into her hand, using her once pristine shirt to wipe the blood from her palm. “I figured once you kicked everyone in the teeth you'd want a swift exit.”
“And you knew we'd win?” Lasher reached out through the Way, sensing the extent of her injuries. She was hurt badly, but if they could get her back to the Baby Doll, there was a chance she could make it.
“You have a reputation for getting out of tough spots. Especially when it's you and the panther.”
“Where are we going?” Lasher asked.
“Outpost-2. It's been stripped and mostly reclaimed by the desert. Good news is that they left the tram rail intact. Here are the coordinates.”
“Is there an Outpost-1?”
Ziella activated a map holo showing the current position of the tram. A flick of her wrist and the map tracked to another section across the planet. “Arctic region. Tram doesn't go there. It was the first to be set up because they figured the predators wouldn't go there. Raastrider built it as a refinery. After the company left, quite a few crews went in to salvage and never came out. Locals say the place is haunted.”
“What do you say?”
“We Vosi have a saying. 'Never call something magic because you can't explain it today, or you'll look like a fool tomorrow.' Didn’t know if you knew that one seeing as you’re only half Vosi.”
“Thanks for pulling us out of there, Cayadona. When I didn't see you for a minute, I thought you might be figuring a way to sell us out.”
“The thought crossed my mind. But I hate them more than I love money, right now.”
“Good to know,” He said, patting her shoulder on his way out of the control station.
Lasher crossed back into the cargo car. He took a moment to appreciate Fluff talking to the Card Arkana. They were all still, probably conferring with each other over a shared network. Lasher sometimes wondered why Fluff didn't go off to be with more of his kind. The answer was always obvious, but it didn't stop him from thinking about it. A simulated life is no life at all.
“You want to tell me about it?” Lasher asked Tarot.
The merc didn't immediately respond. Lasher could only guess she was factoring in what to actually tell him. There are some truths you share exclusively with those you trust. Sometimes that one is yourself, and in those times, a mirror will do, unless you think the room is bugged. Regardless, Lasher knew there was some heavy thinking going on under that helmet.
“I wasn't always this,” Tarot said eventually. “I was soft and easily taken advantage of. Then everything was taken from me and all I had left was myself. Someone took pity on me and gave me a second chance. I was brought to the Dreadmarr for training. In the Frontier, they're the elite. They were founded during the Exodus Wars, so they may not have been around very long, but in that time, they've fought themselves into legend. The person who trained me was named Hera, after one of the Old Sol gods. She said that once you were taken in by the Dreadmarr, you were one of them. If you keep their ways, they'll keep your secrets. The only ones this doesn't apply to is the Fallen.”
“And the soldier with the death mask helmet was one of those.” Lasher let the thought hang between them.
“They're an abomination. Rabid dogs to be put down whenever possible.”
“I found it strange that he had a phase sword similar to the knives carried by the Triton hit-team that swamped the hotel.” Lasher dropped one of the mysterious knives onto the bench near her. “Phase tech is expensive and dangerously unstable, but the stuff we saw today seemed on another level. Is that standard tech?”
Tarot activated the blade, letting it shiver more than a standard vibro-blade. She flicked it, the blade sounding like wind through an open shutter. “Phase blades are the tip of a very large iceberg. It's also part of the reason the Fallen were expelled from the family.”
“Expelled as in exiled?”
“You're talking the Exodus Wars.” Tarot extinguished the blade, dropping it back to the bench. “This is part of the history they taught us. Supposedly, the Dreadmarr was started by Exo defectors as a way to smuggle their kind away from the fleet. Origin or Exile didn't matter. When the wars were over, they changed their focus by becoming mercenaries in the Frontier, sometimes sneaking over the Outer Boundary. At some point they went underground, only surfacing for very select clients. Exile or not, the Fallen were forced out because they turned against their family, taking precious secrets with them to be sold to the highest bidder.”
“What kind of secrets?” Lasher asked.
“The kind that made the Exos so dangerous. The kind that gets you kicked out of the family. No one likes it when you go outside the family.”
Lasher hung his head. “Isn't that the truth.” He left the mercenary, making his way over to one of the bots standing beside Savoya. “Mind if I have a word with her, Morpheus?”
“I find it odd that you can so easily tell us apart, already.” The studious bot observed.
“He's not the typical meat sack that thinks we're the same as a spatula. I'm proud to call him my friend.”
“Thanks, Fluff. You're the best.” Lasher walked by his mechanized friend to kneel beside the former corporal, Yasmine Savoya. He hadn't seen her since their encounter at Striker Main. Some of the scars on her face had healed nicely. From the way she kept herself huddled away from everyone except those who were supposed to be guarding her, Lasher guessed that the scars on the inside were still fresh. “How're you holding up?”
“Why do you care?”
“Yep. You sound just like I remember.” Lasher's comment seemed more to himself than her. “I care because we'll have a better chance of making it out of this if we have more people up than down. That includes you, regardless of the role you're playing in this.”
“Good to know.”
Tarot tapped Lasher's shoulder, “I could use a hand with my friends. The ones we can't help, we can re-skin once this is over.”
“They're amazing,” Lasher said, leaving the corporal to follow the mercenary toward the back of the car. “They have to cost a fortune. Business must be good.”
“We do what we can,” Tarot said softly.
“Did we win?” Justice asked as he powered back to the living.
“Easy, old man. We'd call it more of a draw than a win,” Morpheus said to Justice.
Jester called for Tarot's attention. “Madame, we got big Justice up and running but the Vortex gun is slagged until we can get a new power line. Merlin's leg is damaged but he can probably still make a good sandwich, or run a drone or whatever. The gods did not favor Priestess as she has gone to the great junkyard in the sky.”
“You might want to think of a new name for this one. Calling him Jester implies that he's funny,” Fluff said with his nightmare grin.
Tarot patted the cat. “It implies he tells jokes. It says nothing about him being funny.”
“Fair enough.”
“Words hurt, ya know,” the bot said, cupping his hands in the shape of a heart.
Seventeen
The hum of servomotors straining against motion under a heavy load worked in time with the tapping of falling debris settling to the floor. Ennix shifted his weight, maximizing his hold on a downed support beam. “Are
you injured, sir?”
Singh walked around Kilmartin and Phoenix to the downed mech. “Armor and shields took most of it.”
“You have shields?” Kilmartin acted jealous.
“Mr. Ennix does, too. It's the only reason we're not dead.” The wraith moved one of the girders blocking the Kangal's shoulders. With the obstruction gone, Ennix stood to his full height, shrugging off the rest of the wreckage from the ceiling.
“Hey!” Kilmartin yelped.
Phoenix pulled the mask from his face. It took the brunt of the damage from the molten stone, although there were streaking burns across the side of his face. Despite their failure he appeared serene. He had the look of a bird of prey surveying landscape with eyes that took in everything so it might have a broader choice of meal.
Two of the soldiers he’d brought with him approached, hunched over in supplication to their master. He nodded to them for their sincerity. There was appreciation in the simple gesture he gave them. Singh admired such loyalty from superior to subordinate. He remembered being the junior to a master. That fear of approaching to report a failure. The cold draining from the face through the chest into the pit of the stomach felt like drowning in a cold lake.
Phoenix raised a hand. His sword across the room hissed to life. The blade skittered as he parted the veil across the Second Sight. It flew through the room, the rushing air cooling the blade back to an inert state. He took hold, swinging it to the face of the ones who reported to him.
“A single failure is a sword. It takes a cut to change the perspective of the novice to a swordsman. If that swordsman becomes great, the scar is a badge of honor. If he doesn't remember the scar, the swordsman will continue to get cut until he takes the handle. This was my failure to own. I must die to my old self and be born anew in the wake of new knowledge. I charge you with holding me accountable for it. You will be the spark to raise the Phoenix from the ashes. Will you help me with the eternal work?”
The subordinates bowed in answer to their master's question.
Phoenix sheathed the sword.“I know my next steps, mercenary. What are yours?”
“Devil and the Phoenix fly together.”
A hologram of a floating skull faced robot appeared next to the wraith. “We've made contact. They're heading to Outpost-2.”
“Thank you, Ingram. Do we have a crater for the phoenix?”
“Excuse me?” Venger asked.
The wraith held a hand to forestall the wrath of the Steel Devil beside him. “You're not the only phoenix.”
Ingram continued his briefing. “Yes, sir. It seems that the crater is at Outpost-1. Smart to have it there. Based on what I am seeing, emergence is in an hour from the fall point.”
“Thank you, Ingram. Bring the ship.”
The hologram faded. Venger asked, “I take it you'll be moving to the outpost then?”
“At least one of them, for now. I'll bring the rest of the Black Cyphers with me. I'm almost positive Lasher will be there at some point.”
“What's at Outpost-1?” Venger asked.
The ghoul stopped to regard the triad enforcer. Apparently, Chen had not deigned to tell him the grander designs of the undertaking. It was a shame that such a talented commander was left out of the loop. When he took Norris into the Array, he had seen their plans. It was a complicated overarching plot which was thrown into chaos after the death of Marshal Seladriel Ferrand. Lasher had exploded into the middle of things, further throwing the timetable out of place. Luckily, Kenner and Norris found a way to salvage their work but that would require capturing the Mongrel. The very thing attacking the undertaking would be the one to save it. It was smart to limit the knowledge of the entire scheme to all but a few.
The wraith ran a functions check on his armor, giving him a moment to think up an appropriate response for the Steel Devil Commander. “That's a question for someone else. I understand you have a Work-Captain running the Tianshan Forest in your absence.”
“The Forest is the Captain's ship. I am merely here to keep things progressing until we can take Orin Lashra. But what is there to progress with Chen dead?”
“You don't sever the hand when you break a finger. The undertaking is still in play. You still have work to do. Good hunting, honored sir. I'm sure our paths will cross again.” Singh dropped his chin in a fraction of a nod, concluding their business.
Venger gave a curt bow for Singh's equally short nod before gathering up the two men on his way to the elevator. He turned in time to watch Singh, Kilmartin, and Ennix stalking into the service tunnel. Venger pulled the cell-com from his belt. “Mr. Huang, we are on our way to you. Please ready the shuttle for departure.”
Kat flew through the side door and slapped the plunger on the wall, triggering door closure. There was barely a loss of momentum as she stowed her rifle case among other strapped down cargo boxes before taking a seat beside Kel.
“Traffic?” Kel asked.
“You have no idea. Our guys just had an epic dust up in the main ballroom of the hotel.”
“There's more than one?”
Kat stopped her systems check of the cargo bay. “What are you talking about?”
“You said the main ballroom. That means there are not-main ballrooms.”
“Don't make me hurt you.”
Kel toggled switches, bringing the system's power online. “How long do I have?”
“Not long. I got here just ahead of them. How they got by the lancers is beyond me.”
Kel dropped out of the pilot's chair and went to the back of the shuttle. Little more than a flight capable cargo hauler, the shuttle they were piloting was a large box with repulsors underneath and two large drive engines over the bay. There weren't a lot of places to hide things. He hoped that the Chen space wizard wouldn't notice his addition. He dropped the ramp to the waiting trio of Phoenix and his two guards. “Sorry, Honored sir. I hope you weren't waiting long."
“You were right on time. Thank you.”
The new arrivals took the folding cargo netted seats on the side walls. Kel secured the ramp and checked all the indicators that the ship had sealed. He gave a quick kick to each of the strapped containers to check their condition on his way to the flight deck.
“Mr. Huang?"
The blood in Kel's Veins froze. “Yes, honored sir?”
“What are you bringing back to the Tianshan Forest?”
Kel took the cell-com out of the pocket of his flight suit. “My apologies, sir. It's been a long time since I've seen this. I figured I could pick these up and no one would mind.”
He floated the cell-com over the case to give Venger a peak at what was inside. Row upon row of sealed containers held what seemed to be dirt. Venger looked quizzical.
“They're plum trees, sir. Or at least they will be when they come out of the case. My family has the most excellent recipe for wine made from the fruit. It will take some work but I believe if I can get a good enough picking, I can make some homemade wine for us, the crew I mean. Of course I would offer you some, sir, if you were still with us.”
Venger removed the mask, letting Kel see his face. It was pleasant. More a philosopher's jawline than what Kel would have thought for a warrior monk commander type. Venger smiled at him. “There are times when I am pleasantly surprised, Mr. Huang. Not at all what I expected. Please get us to the Forest.”
“Thank you, Honored sir.” Kel said in his best groveling tone. He slid into the pilot's compartment, shutting the hatch behind him.
“That was close. But at least now you two are drinking buddies,” Kat said playfully over their private channel.
“I can't wait till he asks me to lick his boots after I tell him how great he is.”
“You mean you haven't done that already? You're slacking Mr. Durado. Or should I call you Mr. Huang.”
“I'll Huang you.”
“Promises, promises.”
Martel dropped onto the cracked stone floor. Dovai was beside him on her knees but she hadn't
moved or tried to say anything since they snapped the collar onto her. He'd heard of the lancers but never had dealings with them. So far, he wasn't excited about their first meeting.
“Lance Sergeant Zane,” Truveau said.
“Here, Marshal.”
“What am I looking at in this hole?”
“There are multiple levels beneath the hotel built into preformed tunnels, possibly made by burrowing animals. They've got a few here that can make holes this big. Hotel probably came in and widened them, then threw up some supports so they could run a train through. According to the computer system we sliced, we know there are two more levels beneath this one. One is a lab and the other is restricted. Not sure what kind of zhuuva…. what is the word Frazier uses? Voodoo! I'm not sure what kind of voodoo the hotel is doing, but unless they're coming up with new ways to crisp the sheets or make an exceptional plate of eggs, there's no need for anything like that.”
“Send a detachment into the lower levels.” Mara ordered. “I want to know what's underneath. Any luck with the hotel staff?”
“All KIA except for one. The manager is missing. She's a Vosi. Niomara Ziella. Brasson thinks she went with Lasher in the elevator. Lots of commotion during the fight in the ballroom. He's trying to clean up the video now." The Lance Sergeant turned on his men like an angry rhinosaur. “Sergeant! I need a batch of shooters to clear the basement!”
Mara turned to address her prisoners, “You both are charged with conspiring against the citizens of Tythian by obstructing our investigation into the Surando-Hidek massacre. You've not given us any account for yourself or your actions here today. I take your refusal to answer my questions as a sign of guilt. I, Mara Truveau, Marshals Templar and a Lion of Athalon, hereby sentence you to death for conspiring against the people of Tythian and by extension, Elysium.”
Martel screamed, “What? You have no right! This is Alliance space! You have no jurisdiction!”
“The Hagen Accords allow me provision to track criminals into Core Space. The Outer Boundary is technically contested. Neither side seeks ownership nor control. It's just a line drawn on a map so some plump politician on Mylos or the Spire can tax you. Okay, I'll give you a choice. You can have one of my lancers gun you down quick or you can have a fighting chance against me. You win, you go free.”
The Revenant: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Hunter's Moon Book 2) Page 22
