“This unit did not think you truly believed there would be any here,” ADIM said.
“I didn’t,” he said weakly, “but I hoped. Blindly, I hoped. So many lives could have been spared if only it were here.”
“’The weak will perish in the flames, and from the ashes of Earth, humanity will rise to claim their mantle,’” ADIM recounted.
Cassius turned to ADIM, his own eyes reflected in the android’s polished face. “I said that, didn’t I?”
“On the four hundred and eighty-fourth day of this unit’s existence.”
“Oh, ADIM.” He placed his hand on the android’s shoulder, his lower lip trembling. “Titan has failed us today, as it has continually failed my family. Are we ready to do what must be done now?”
ADIM’s head lifted. “The will of the Creator is what must be done. This unit was forged to be ready.”
“Well then.” Cassius took a step back to observe yet another disappointing venture. He shook his head. “We must leave this futile experiment behind.” He switched his bracer’s holopad on and keyed the commands to slowly power down the drill.
“Is it finally time to test the new weapon?” ADIM’s eyes began to spin rapidly.
“Yes. All of our preparation will now come to light.” Cassius stopped to take one last moment to admire the drill. There was some solace in knowing that now there was no other alternative to Earth. Then, as if suddenly reinvigorated, he set off toward the upper level in a decidedly spry manner.
“Come, ADIM,” he said. “You must help me complete all the preparations on the Titan Conduit Station before you return to Ennomos.”
“The Creator will not accompany this unit?” ADIM asked.
“How I would love to, but unfortunately, I must remain here to greet my Tribunal guests when they soon arrive. And they are coming. I promise you that.”
“This unit understands,” ADIM responded, surprising Cassius with his answer. He was rarely so easily convinced to separate for any long period of time. “If you are in close proximity to the bomb unprotected, or are caught in its blast radius, it is probable that you would contract the blue death. This unit would not risk your health.”
“It is appreciated, ADIM. We will be reunited soon after.”
They reached the hangar above, where the White Hand remained safely docked. Once aboard, Cassius powered it on and let ADIM guide it up through Edeoria: Shaft 23.
It was darker than when they had first come down to finish the drill, roughly a month before, and far quieter. As they ascended, it didn’t take long for Cassius to recognize what the drill, as well as all his other expensive ventures, had cost the people he was meant to protect.
The displaced Edeorians were severely emaciated. Many hired guards were positioned around the levels to keep a starving population at bay. Rations had to be limited to fund his work, and he imagined all the shafts of Edeoria were suffering. They would blame him as prefect, sure, but he could bear it. But they would blame the New Earth Tribunal as well.
And if Edeoria rebelled and the Tribune sent their warships to forcefully hold this colony, he would watch with a smile on his face as his plans to bring the Tribune crashing down came to fruition.
25
Chapter Twenty-Five—Talon
“Tal, we’re closin’ in on the intercept coordinates fast!” Ulson shouted back from the cockpit as he manipulated the holomap over the navigations console. Zaimur had scouts feeding them the location where they could hit the freighter.
Talon unfastened his restraints and hurried up to get a view of where they were headed. “Take us behind that asteroid,” he said, signaling to a lone fragment of floating rock that appeared no bigger than a thimble from their vantage. Then he moved to the passage between the cockpit and the cabin. He reached into his belt, removing a stim pack.
Zaimur had slipped it to him before they left. Something to take the edge off, boost his weakened muscles. Make him feel normal again. He raised it to his thigh, blocked from view of everyone in the cabin, then hesitated.
Vera was a prime example of what getting hooked on pharma like it could do to a person. Ceresian clans producing the stuff didn’t really care about regulations or safety. But addiction was hardly a concern of his now. He closed his eyes, jabbed the stim in, and felt a warm surge of energy roll across his body like a wave.
Then he returned to his seat and strapped back in. His index finger quickly tapped his rifle as the ship veered right. When he noticed Agatha was watching, he stopped and brought the weapon to rest on his lap. As nervous as he was, he couldn’t afford to let any of the team see it.
“You ready?” he said to her, but she either didn’t hear him or ignored him. She’d hardly moved since they left, falling into a sort of thousand-meter stare as if she were in a trance. There was no excitement or anxiety, just numbness. Talon figured he knew what was wrong.
“Was the man in the arena your first?” he asked.
“My first?” she replied. She hesitated to make eye contact, pretending like she was trying to listen in on the other quiet conversations throughout the vessel. He saw right through the act.
“Kill. Was he the first man you’ve killed?”
“No.” There was a coldness to her response, a sort of apathy that only comes from those who have seen more than their fair share of carnage. At that moment, he knew she wasn’t born with the hollow stare she wielded. Whether out of self-preservation, or to keep her mind at bay, life had taught it to her.
“First man with a rock to the head?” Talon said, lifting an eyebrow. What the hell kind of joke was that?
“Yes, actually,” she muttered. Her mouth creased into a feeble smile, which was gone as soon as it formed. Her gaze finally lifted. She hid it well, but there was so much emotion swelling in her eyes that the hairs on the back of Talon’s neck stood on end.
Before he could respond, Ulson shouted back again, “I got a readin’ on the freighter! Interference from this rock should keep us hidden long enough. You guys ready back there?” The ship banked hard again, a grayish mass of crags and craters passing across the viewport as they slowed.
Everybody answered right away with a grunt or a slap on the side of their guns. Everybody except for Talon and Agatha. He held her gaze and this time she didn’t look away.
“We’re ready,” he said, as if speaking directly to her. “Helmets on, boys and girl! Let’s make this quick.”
Each member of the squad hoisted their helmets and placed them over their heads. They went on with rasps, the necks of their armor latching on and connecting to an air supply located on their backs. Talon gave Agatha a nod before he pulled his own over his head, the HUD of the visor complicating his view with readings of oxygen supply and distance.
Agatha shifted a switch on her artificial arm, and plates rose like a conveyer belt up her back and neck. When they were all in place, a bowed amber visor slid down from the piece above her brow, connecting to the plating forming to fit around her jaw.
Who is this girl? Talon wondered, gawking. He’d never seen a combat suit like hers in all his life.
“Ready to go, Tal?” Ulson said. “On your signal.”
Talon took a few deep breaths and firmly gripped his gun. He reached up to his helmet and switched on comms, the whole team set to the same frequency. “Send us out,” he ordered.
Ulson keyed a few commands. Talon’s restraints shifted as the floor opened beneath him, his seat rotating to slide him into a narrow chamber known as a ship buster. It couldn’t fit more than a single person lying on his or her back, and Talon leaned up to catch one more glimpse of Agatha’s white armor before the transparent lids of their respective ship busters sealed over them.
“Remember, once we get in to stay together,” Talon ordered over comms. “Alpha, you’re on me. We’ll be shot in first and head to the command deck. Beta, you’re on Chavos. When Ulson banks around, you’ll be sent toward the back of the freighter. Secure the engineering quarters and th
e cargo deck.” Talon received a chorus of “yes, sirs,” though he heard no female voice amongst them.
“Don’t worry about breaking anything,” he continued. “We don’t want the ship, just the cargo. We’ll disable the freighter and any resistance, and that’ll be the end of it. Beta, you get that cargo hatch open for Ulson no matter what. We’ll load up and get out. Easy as taking you fools in a game of cards.”
“Remind me when we get back to take you up on that offer,” Vellish said.
Talon chuckled. “Will do. Everybody stay off comms unless it’s urgent. We’ll take these bastards for all they’re worth.”
Talon positioned his pulse rifle at his chest. His ship buster rumbled intensely as Ulson piloted them in. His finger began to tap his gun again as his pulse raced. He could hear the roar of the engines even through his suit.
Closing his eyes, he pictured Elisha’s face. Her smile as she ran toward his open arms.
I will see you again, he promised, and then cuffs rose to strap in his limbs and neck so that he couldn’t move.
“Alpha squad, bon voyage.” Ulson’s voice filled Talon’s ears before his ship buster shot forward like a missile.
Talon clenched his jaw as pressure ripped across his body. He squinted through his eyelashes through the viewport, only seeing blackness and stars rushing by in dizzying fashion.
It wasn’t his first time using a ship buster to raid ships in what his people called a splinter technique. He had, however, forgotten how much it hurt. It had taken decades to perfect the strategy enough to keep the impact from severely injuring or killing the passengers, but that didn’t keep Talon from doubting the ship busters every time he crawled into one.
His teeth chattered and the corners of his vision went dark, the g-force almost too much to bear. And then, just when he felt like his skull was going to explode, the pointed front of the ship buster did as its name implied—slicing through the hull of the Tribunal freighter. A coupling of mag-restraints, ablative plating, and a gravitum-induced pressure shift kept his body from breaking as the chamber came to a sudden and bone-chattering stop.
“Alpha squad, engaged,” Ulson said. “Coming around the other side to launch the rest.”
Talon’s restraints lifted and the front of the ship buster popped off. He stretched his legs, sore all over. He knew the pain in his joints would linger for days because of the disease, but he would live. The chamber suddenly lurched, launching him forward through the front and into the freighter.
26
Chapter Twenty-Six—Sage
“Beta squad, you’re a go,” Ulson said over comms after Sage’s ship buster plunged into the freighter and she was launched out. She tucked into a tight roll before coming to a low, battle-ready crouch, eye down the sights of her pulse-pistol.
The ship’s interior flashed with emergency red lights. An alarm wailed. Around her were only the five other members of beta squad, all of them scrambling to their feet after clumsy entrances. It might not have been the prettiest strategy of boarding a vessel, but it was efficient. She’d give the Ceresians that.
“Talon’s keeping them occupied,” Chavos said, the mercenary with a scar on his chin, who apparently was her squad’s leader. “Let’s do this quick. You three.” He pointed to Sage and two others with whom she wasn’t familiar. “Head down to engineering and start frying systems. We’ll take the cargo bay.”
Sage’s group nodded in unison, and one of the mercs took the lead. They moved down the corridor, weapons at the ready, in a staggered line formation with Sage taking up the rear position.
“Did you study the schematics?” one of the mercenaries asked as their leader peeked around a corner.
“I think it’s this way.” The leader waved them on when suddenly a group of Tribunal soldiers cut around the far end of an opposite passage and opened fire. A bullet burst through his visor, splattering his brains on the inside of his helmet.
“Fuck!” the surviving merc shouted as Sage pulled him back around the corner.
“Give me cover fire!” she ordered.
Without questioning her, the mercenary poked his rifle around the corner and fired. Steam leaked out as the walls were peppered with a spray of projectiles. Sage dove over the leader’s corpse, rolling safely to the other side of the opening and sliding down the wall with bent legs. She peeked out. Four Tribunal soldiers pressed forward in two rows through the steam. The two in front were crouched with the others standing at their backs.
Sage held up a fist to the mercenary to get him to stop firing. He looked confused, but obliged. All the gunfire stopped, leaving only the alarm and the hiss of leaking pipes. Sage listened for their footsteps, waiting until they were at the right distance.
“Beta squad!” Talon’s anxious voice rang over her comm-link. “We’re receiving heavy resistance at the command deck!” He paused. “Take out the defense systems! Auto turrets up here have already killed two of us!”
“On our way,” the mercenary beside Sage whispered as the footsteps grew nearer.
“My group is in a standoff at the cargo bay entrance,” Chavos added. “We should hold!”
“They were ready for us,” Talon said. “Use whatever means necessary. We’ll take this son of a bitch down with us if we have to!” Talon’s transmission cut out with a chorus of screams and gunfire.
His words urged Sage’s artificial finger through the trigger guard of her pistol. Then she froze for the first time since boarding the ship.
What am I doing? she thought.
The approaching soldiers were of the Tribune, serving the same faith as she did. She should have been helping them, but the executor order was far too secretive for soldiers on freighter duty to know who she was. To them, she was no different than any of the other Ceresian mercenaries.
She reminded herself that she served a just and righteous Tribune. Talon and his crew were not responsible for the other attacks. She couldn’t allow them to be blamed, for then the Tribune would remain in danger from the real culprits. All she could hope to do was make it out alive and continue her infiltration of the Ceresian underworld.
For the good of the Tribune, she thought as she slowly exhaled. Then she went to work.
She nodded to the other mercenary, pointing at his gun. He fired blindly to draw attention again.
Just as the soldiers unloaded at him, Sage snapped around the corner, firing four succinct shots as she rushed into the haze. The soldiers aimed toward the ceiling as they fell back, each having been shot in the leg. Sage wove through all of them, smashing heads down with her artificial hand. The last raised his gun enough to shoot at her, but she leapt out of the way, clasping his head with her thighs before flipping him into the wall.
“Clear!” she hollered back.
“By the Ancients!” the mercenary marveled when he saw the four unconscious soldiers. He raised his rifle to execute them, but Sage grabbed him.
“No time. You heard Talon, let’s move!”
He listened, or was too scared of her now to argue, and they began to move at a faster pace. She was no stranger to the layout of a Tribunal freighter, and Talon was right—no transport should have as many defenders as they faced. The Tribune had baited whoever had been raiding their ships to attack again by sending more freighters through this region, and they’d fallen right in the middle of their ploy.
Only, Talon and the rest of them weren’t who they were looking for. Criminals deserving punishment, sure, but not the target of her assignment.
Sage slid leg first around the next corner, bullets whizzing over her head. The two soldiers collapsed from shots to their knees before she sprinted to incapacitate them, challenging the other mercenary to keep up. As long as she stayed ahead, none would have to die. These men had nowhere near the training she did.
A turret sprang down from the ceiling around the entry to the engineering bay. Sage threw herself into the wall, the bullets zipping past her and cleaving the mercenary in half. As it turned
on her, she used her artificial arm to deflect the first few rounds so she could get a shot at the exposed circuitry on its back side before it turned. The turret sagged, disabled.
Turrets by engineering? This ship has been outfitted to hold out, she realized. The door to the engineering bay was sealed, and an expanse of frosted transparisteel beside it was too opaque to see through. She hurried to the retinal scanner.
Emergency procedures had locked the door, with only ranking members of the crew able to override, but an executor could bypass such systems. She placed her eye before the scanner. The door shot open and she crouched at the side of it. A soldier peeked out for a second before she elbowed him in the temple, stole his rifle, then cracked him across the head with it.
“Raiders!” men inside the room shouted. They fired at the open door, but she was already back outside it. She squeezed her artificial hand into a fist and slammed it through the bulletproof transparisteel.
Using the stolen rifle, she fired aimlessly through the break in order to distract them. Shrieks rang out as she ditched the rifle, then rolled back to the door. She pressed through with her pistol up, disarming all resistance inside with ease.
“Any progress back there?” Talon shouted over comms.
Before answering, Sage ran over and tossed an engineer away from a console before sitting down. Even as an executor, she couldn’t disable the Vale Protocol safeguarding control of the ship itself. She was, however, able to power down all the automated defenses and CCTVs. She also switched off the primary lighting systems, so that only the red strips of emergency illumination remained. The darkness would make it harder for both sides, and hopefully keep Talon and the rest of them alive long enough for her to help.
“Automated defenses deactivated! Hold on up there. I’ll try to give you a gravity lift,” Sage announced through her comm-link. She sped out of the engineering bay.
“Sounds good.” Talon wheezed heavily. “We’re pushing into the command deck.” A barrage of loud blasts was followed by bloodcurdling screams. Sage cringed until he spoke again. “A mech has us pinned down! Shit, it came out of nowhere!”
The Circuit: The Complete Saga Page 18
