Constanthos nodded. “I see. I may be a bit concerned for your safety.”
Now Denise was faking a frown. “My safety? I know I'm not a badass like you two so you'll just have to watch my back.”
Constanthos let out a short chuckle. “Okay. I'll just make sure Gladys agrees. Be right back.” She made her way back down the path and Denise jumped to her feet.
“You never stop, do you?” Nera asked as she also stood.
“Stop what?”
“Being so sweet.” Nera found that smiling was starting to suit her. “Cindy, would you like to join us?”
“Thank you for the invitation, but I need to nap.”
* * *
Constanthos peeked into the door of one of Gladys' labs. There were several view-screens up and she was working away on some problem. “Gladys?”
“Yes, Connie?” She answered without looking up.
“Denise wants to go down to the island to prepare for a party. Nera would be joining us.”
“That sounds lovely. Do be careful.”
“Always, sister.” Constanthos walked away thinking it was nice to see Gladys enjoying a project once again. She made her way back toward her boat to find the girls standing at the ready. They entered the boat together and were happily on their way.
“Connie, as your guide, I would like to introduce you to furniture shopping.”
“I had that same thought,” Constanthos replied. “Do you have somewhere in mind?”
“It's your boat,” Denise said. “We can start out by looking at some stuff on the internet.”
“It's our boat,” Constanthos corrected. “Frank has his boat. We can call this one the girls' boat and make it pretty.”
“Oh, I love it!” Denise was elated. “What do you think, Nera?” Nera only smiled and shrugged. She had no idea what it meant for a boat to be pretty.
“We'll land in under ten minutes,” Constanthos reported.
* * *
“The next round is on me.”
Deon had fumbled with the door handle as he made his way back into their work area from the vending machines. “It's all good, Wheelz. I know they don't make that shit easy for you.” He placed a soda and a bag of chips down near his friend.
“It's getting better. A couple of buttons are still a little too high but there's usually someone that doesn't mind helping out.” He backed his chair out and rolled over to a file cabinet. “Your phone was going off.”
“Cool, thanks. A floppy disk? Really?” Deon let out a chuckle.
“Like I said, Worm, I've been here a while. This is another old bit of programming I wrote back in the day. It won't hurt to try.”
“Shit, might as well. I have a feeling that tiny-ass program is way beyond me. I'm still trying to figure out why you even called me in.”
“I'm a dinosaur. You have the brain for all this new stuff.”
“I appreciate that and I will do everything I can to help. We're going to bust Lidseam one way or another.”
“That's the spirit. Don't forget to check your phone.”
Deon picked up his phone and looked at it. “Shit. Looks like we're about to have a new President.”
“Who told you that?”
“The President.”
“I don't get texts from the President.”
Deon shrugged.
* * *
“It looks like a storm came through,” Denise said as her feet hit the sand. She looked at Nera who was staring at Constanthos. The former artificial intelligence was staring at the ocean, captivated by the odd rhythm of its waves. “Are you okay, Connie?”
“Yes. This is just so...beautiful.”
Denise put her hand upon the taller woman's shoulder. “I know. This is my favorite place. I love everything about it.” She looked up toward the platform. “It looks like the building is fine but look at this mess.” She wandered away, picking up fronds as she walked.
Nera bent down and gestured her varitherm up off of her feet. “I like the way this feels on my toes,” she said with a smile before she too wandered off.
Constanthos looked down at the sand and smiled. She bent down and pulled her own varitherm up. Wiggling her toes as she stood up, she couldn't help but to smile at the beauty of it all. She looked over to where Nera was now marching off toward the north as if on a mission.
“What is this device?” Nera called out. Constanthos looked over at it and just then noticed the strange tracks in the sand. An odd emotion took hold of her and it didn't take long for her to realize it was panic.
“Denise!” she cried out before taking off in a sprint toward the steps.
“What is it?” Denise replied. She had ascended the steps and was just about to slide the door of the tiki bar open.
Denise disappeared in a flash of light. The shock wave sent Constanthos flying in a fiery heap.
* * *
“There it is,” Gladys said to herself. She stood tall to admire her work. Not only had she found the solution to the Gotes' Problem, she designed a tool for its implementation. Her elation was cut short as alarms started sounding off in her lab. Picking up a data pad and then quickly dropping it, she took off in a hurry toward the main corridor. Running as fast as she could, she burst into the garden and hung a hard left toward the door to her biotech lab where her husband was slumbering under the halo. She entered the chamber and quickly hit a few places on a control panel.
Frank slowly opened his eyes and focused on her. “Oh. Hey, babe.”
“A landing boat has taken on damage.”
“Huh?”
Gladys tried to gather her thoughts. “Connie took Nera and Denise to your island. Their boat is somehow damaged. It looks pretty bad.”
“Shit!” Frank jumped up and marched toward the door.
“I'll get to the control room,” Gladys said as they parted ways just outside the door. She veered right as Frank sped toward his boat.
Once inside, he began pacing around, trying to get his head straight. He located his belt and shuriken pouches and put them on. His newest sword was leaning up against the full rack and it quickly was relocated onto his back. As the door slid shut, he located his face-plate and affixed it to his shoulder as he had seen Constanthos do. “Tell me something good,” he said as a remote lifted from the shelf. The remote control was laying on the arm of the couch so he picked it up and set the input.
“We'll have a visual soon.”
“Step on it.”
“You are at maximum velocity. Any faster and I won't be able to stop you in time.”
Frank didn't respond. He stared at the screen until the image of the island came clearly into view. “Holy shit. I'll drop next to the boat. Cover me.” He ran out into the hallway, to the larger red circle, and stood in it. Within moments he was standing on the beach. An orb quickly appeared over his left shoulder.
“There's Connie!” Gladys exclaimed as the remote sped away. Frank followed to find Constanthos attempting to push herself up. The varitherm had been completely burnt off her body and her scorched skin was visibly healing.
“Connie?” Frank asked as he knelt down. He was answered with the most heartbreaking cry. She looked up at him, unable to speak. Her eyes were the only thing he could recognize. The mane of luxurious black hair was gone and her skin was shifting from blackened to pinkish. The sand that stuck to her was slowly being pushed away. Somehow she was able to lift her arm to point off to the north. Frank stood tall and spotted Nera.
“I'll be right back,” he whispered. Constanthos answered with a nod. He quickly covered the distance and was soon standing over Nera. Taking note of her even breathing, he scooped up his unconscious wife. “I need the ramp!” he called out. Gladys quickly re-positioned the boat and a ramp dropped before him. He carried her through the curved corridor and into the biotech room. Very carefully, he placed her into a stall and the stasis field took hold.
“There is a vessel inbound,” Gladys reported via the orb. Her voice did l
ittle to hide the pain she was feeling.
“How long?”
“Less than a minute.”
Frank sprinted out of the boat and back to Constanthos. She was trying to stand when he got there. “I'm afraid to touch you,” he said.
She replied with an understanding nod. Her pain could not be hidden.
Frank looked around, quickly scanning the glass-lined crater that created a void where his building had stood. “Denise?” he asked softly.
She shook her head.
Frank could feel himself being consumed by rage. He had to focus hard so his shield wouldn't push against Constanthos. “Can you stand?” She nodded. “Do you think you can be lifted?” She stood and nodded again. Her skin was starting to look almost normal before she was lifted away.
“I don't know what to do,” Gladys said.
“Get them to Main Ship.” Frank's tone was short. The orb flew around him and she could see that his eyes were completely white.
“You're not coming, are you?”
“No.” He pulled his face-plate and drew his varitherm over his head.
Gladys paused for a moment.
“I have everything I need,” Frank said as he held out his hand. She parked the orb in his palm and he carried it as he walked toward the damaged landing boat. He could now see the vessel approaching. “How bad is that boat?”
“It can fly, but it won't hold air.”
Frank's cloak was activated well before the assassin's vessel began circling the island. “I fear for Pock,” he whispered.
“I will move to have a look,” Gladys replied.
Frank looked back toward the crater and tried to center himself. “Can you do all of that at once?”
“Connie is piloting your boat. I will have a visual on the moon base soon.”
The assassins' ship was very elegant despite the ridiculous armaments that were fully exposed. It rotated as it landed and from in between two torpedo arrays, a ramp lowered to the sand and six aliens filed out. No two were the same and Frank didn't recognize any of their species.
“Sweep the area,” one said. He seemed to be in charge. Frank thought he looked like a horned skeleton with mechanical appendages who was somehow overweight.
“Nothing could survive that bomb, Fev,” another alien replied. Frank knew their language but he didn't know what it was called.
“Stay sharp just the same,” Fev ordered.
The remote gave a tug in Frank's hand so he held it up to his ear. “There is a strange vessel parked near the moon base. I'm certain it's pirates.”
Frank thought it over. “After I disable their ship,” he whispered, “take the broken boat up past the moon to draw the pirates away. Take it to the sun.” He walked a wide circle around the assassins and got himself into position. Having satisfied themselves that nothing was left living on the rest of the island, they had focused their attention on the landing boat.
“Fetch the recorder,” Fev said to one of the killers. He then started looking the boat over more closely. “I'm pretty sure this is Sessik tech. We could make a lot of money off of this.”
Any response was cut short when an explosion ripped a huge hole in the hull of their ship. Before they could react, the boat lifted with such great velocity, the wind knocked three of the aliens off their feet.
“He was in that vessel the whole time!” one alien exclaimed. “And now we're...” He exploded before he could finish his complaint. Two seconds later, another assassin exploded.
“Tighten up!” Fev shouted as the alien closest to him claimed a zone to cover. The other two started to sprint to their places in the formation but a blade appeared and quickly removed both of their heads. “There!” Fev began shooting in the direction of the blade and the other alien followed his lead, shooting a massive automatic weapon. The bubble of the shield became visible and they could see the sword stick itself in the sand. And then the human came into view.
From within the shield, Frank casually removed his face-plate and affixed it to his shoulder. He then retracted the varitherm from over his head and picked the sword back up.
“Hold,” Fev said as he stopped shooting. The other alien stopped and Fev reached inside his suit and pulled out a device. He pressed a button and then said, “Now.”
The larger alien started shooting again and Frank thought he could see the shield begin to falter. But he concentrated and it held.
“Hold,” Fev ordered once more. Reaching into his suit again, he pulled out a different device and tossed it out in front of him. As it hit the sand, Frank was surprised to see it sprout legs and quickly burrow itself into the sand. A few moments later, it emerged behind Frank's foot and quickly began climbing his leg. Its tiny legs were cutting into his flesh through the varitherm and it moved too quickly for him to knock it off. When it reached his thigh, it dug in hard and released a massive jolt of electricity. But Frank had plenty of time on Vera to adapt to such jolts. He simply reached down with his left hand and grabbed the thing, pulling it out of his skin. He held it up so they could clearly watch him crush it with his powerful grip.
“Enough,” Frank said as he transferred the sword to his left hand. Reaching into a pouch, he let a shuriken fly and it struck the larger alien in the face. He stood there with the throwing star stuck between his eyes and looked over at Fev. As it reached up to its face, Frank realized it was wearing some sort of armored mask. It removed the mask to reveal a terrible demonic face. It then turned the mask to examine the shuriken. The alien returned its attention back to Frank in time to receive a second star between its eyes. “It's just you and me now,” Frank said as the larger alien fell upon its back and died.
Fev drew two pistols and started unloading in a final attempt to kill the Monster. But the shield held and Frank charged in to remove both of the assassin's mechanical hands. The Mingrein metal of his katana met little resistance and the appendages hit the sand before Fev could react. Sensing a swing coming, Frank removed Fev's right arm at the shoulder. But Fev still wasn't ready to die, so Frank was forced to remove the other arm too.
“Who hired you?” Frank asked in an even tone.
13.
“Amoz, there is a vessel coming in hot.”
Amoz Nudek stood up from his chair. “Who is it?”
“We have visual.” The pirate looked up at a view-screen. “What is that?”
“I think it's Sessik technology,” Amoz replied. “The Monster must be making a run for it.” He looked at the scanners. “Fev doesn't seem to be in pursuit.”
“What do we do?”
Amoz gave it some quick thought. “Let's go after him.”
The other pirate began manipulating the controls and lifted the junker from the surface. “What about the bugs?” he asked.
“They know they are outmatched. We won't have any issues from them.”
As the junker left the surface, the power came back on inside the moon base.
* * *
“I'm not telling you anything!” Fev gave a pathetic attempt at a kick. Frank removed the leg and Fev spun around and landed on his back.
“You felt that one, didn't you?” Frank asked, noticing that it was the first amputation that actually bled. “Who hired you?” he asked again.
“Do you know who I am?” Fev struggled to ask.
“You're an assassin. What more do I need to know than who the fuck hired you?”
“I am the director of the Guild.”
Frank shrugged. “Is that supposed to mean something to me? Now, I'm going to ask you again, who hired you?”
“I will not say!”
Frank brought the blade down once again and removed Fev's other leg. He then reached down with his left hand and grabbed one of Fev's horns and lifted him up. Holding him up at roughly the same height he would stand had he still had legs, Frank said, “Last chance. Who hired you?”
“You're as good as dead. The entire guild will be coming for you.”
Frank sighed. “So,
you're really not going to tell me?”
Fev paused, his eyes shifting around as if he just now understood his predicament. “I will not,” he finally said, sounding most unsure.
Frank pulled his sword between them so that his right hand was just under his left armpit. “I'm pretty sure I'll figure it out on my own.” With one stroke, Fev's body was removed from his head and fell in a bloody heap at Frank's feet. Frank regarded the head for a moment before tossing it over his shoulder and walking toward the crater.
* * *
“The vessel is outpacing us.”
“Where is this course taking us?” Amoz asked.
The other Gurdik looked over the screens before answering, “Straight into the star of this system.”
“We've been tricked,” Amoz said. “Let's go see what's left of Fev and his team.”
* * *
Filn Dor Ranceal had been sitting motionless for quite some time before turning to regard Wold Dor Cellebrell who was watching a data pad intently. “I tire of this place, Wold.”
“Where else is there?” Wold asked, a smile forming on his face.
“Anywhere would be better than Hitakkita.”
“I agree the planet itself is mostly useless,” Wold started. “But the city of Hitakkita Bay has become something of a cultural hub.”
“I am well aware of the history, Wold. What you fail to realize is what a den of treachery it really is.”
“I am fully aware. And that is why we're here. I'm awaiting confirmation. And then we can get on with our lives.”
Filn shook his head. “I'm afraid you have wasted your money. The assassins at Rhoshe were being wiped out when we left. And I have a feeling we would have been too had we stayed.”
“Of that I am also certain,” Wold agreed. “But there are many more assassins in the galaxy.”
“I see.”
“Everyone knew the Monster would be returning the Champion to his home. But I feel like those foolish assassins were of a lower tier. The real professionals will find a way to kill him.”
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