“Chimera have the Tower surrounded. They broke in before I could get past them and I had to hide in the lower rooms. Just as I was about to break out, they sealed themselves in in on the first floor. SenSec reinforcements had arrived on their tails.”
“Then what the hell are SenSec waiting for?” Harnuck growled.
“By the time I sneaked back to my post, Chimera had pushed up onto the third floor and collapsed the two lower floors. There’s no way for SenSec to get up here, and Chimera still control the air.”
“They collapsed the floors?” Harnuck said thoughtfully. “But that explosion just now sounded much closer?”
Alia shook her head and looked to the young Shanti boy.
“They crashed…a transport into the floor below us,” Manx said, still struggling to catch his breath.
“Shit, they’ll hem our forces in from both sides,” a nearby human guard muttered.
“No, they’re coming for the Ministers,” Harnuck said, waving his arms and giving orders. “Secure those doors. Topple that desk. Move those book cases to the back to the room. We’ll take cover there.”
Grimshaw shouldered his rifle and helped a Tower Guard officer stack furniture against the left wall. The other guards did the same, erecting their own makeshift barriers.
Harnuck instructed them to take up positions. Grimshaw took cover behind the furniture pile, kneeling next to a Tower Guard officer, a Yalore female. She held a heavy rifle against her shoulder and aimed at the doors.
Harnuck waited behind two overturned book cases against the far-right wall, while Manx and Alia took up positions in the back corners of the room with the remaining Tower Guard.
The sounds of battle in the corridors grew louder still as the fight drew near.
“They’ll be here any second,” Harnuck said on the short-band vox. “Shoot anything and everything that comes through that door.”
Another explosion rocked the room and the gunfire outside grew to a crescendo. Someone cried out in pain, his scream muffled by the thick tower walls. The screaming suddenly stopped, and the commotion subsided.
Grimshaw took a deep breath and steadied himself. He considered activating his implant. Only as a last reserve, he thought, remembering the Aegis doctor’s warning about permanent brain damage.
As they waited, the tension in the room was palpable. Beyond the doors, complete silence fell.
21
An Old Friend
Taza pressed his back to the wall at the corridor intersection on Sentinel Tower’s fourth floor. While navigating the catacombs, he’d found the old tunnel he’d frequently used in the past had collapsed. It took him longer than he would have liked to trace his way along the secondary route onto the fourth floor. Going by the explosions and sounds of fighting on the level below, he figured that the claustrophobic climb through the narrow fissures in the Sentinel’s superstructure had been well worth it.
He glanced down the adjoining corridor, glad to find the coast was clear. So far, he hadn’t met anyone, but without his TEK’s ghost-drive, he wasn’t taking any chances. As things stood, he would have settled for a phantom-drive, or a standard exoframe for that matter. He’d told Clio that he would be fine with the mobile shield unit Zora had gifted him. The kid needed to focus on her tasks and claiming he would be fine gave her one less thing to worry about. In truth, however, he felt exposed without a full TEK. Then again, the climb through the catacombs would have been almost impossible if he’d worn one.
He sprinted between pillars, advancing his way to the secondary stairwell: the quickest way to the safe-room on the seventh floor with the elevator and walkway systems out of commission.
The closer he got to the front of the Tower, the louder the sound of fighting grew. He hoped he would make it onto the next floor before the battle reached him.
He cautiously passed through a doorway at the end of the corridor to find it was too late for such hopes. Twenty feet ahead, at a T-junction framed by marbled pillars, two Tower Guard and a robed individual fired down the passageway to their right.
Sparks sprayed across the junction as the enemy returned fire. One of the guards fell on his side clutching his throat and squirmed before becoming still.
Taza wasted no time in hurrying to the opening. Perhaps there was still time. He skidded next to the gray-robed man as he leaned back behind cover, startling him.
“You scared the living shit out of me,” the bearded, old man growled. Something about him seemed familiar. “It’s about time Captain Harnuck sent help. Where are the rest of you?”
“Captain Harnuck?” Taza asked, surprised.
The last guard fell and Taza dragged him behind cover by his feet while the robed man provided cover fire. The mess inside the boy’s helmet showed it was too late. Taza fetched the guard’s semi-phase-rifle and checked it was loaded. To his relief, the battery was more than half-full. He preferred manual rifles. They tended to be more accurate, especially without a tactical exoframe to help keep the weapon steady.
The bearded man pulled behind cover again and turned his attention to Taza.
“Wait you’re not one of Harnuck’s—” Realization registered on the old man’s face, and his eyes widened. “Taza Arkona? Can it really be you?” The old man threw back his hood.
“Assad! What the hell are you doing here?” He shielded his face as sparks splashed from the adjoining corridor.
“I was about to ask you the same question. I mean…You’re supposed to be dead.”
Taza ducked low and glanced around the corner, his semi-phase-rifle ready. He fired two shots, blowing a leg out from under one Chimera Varg and punching another from his feet. Three more Vargs ducked back into a side corridor and Taza drew back to reload. “By the looks of things, we’ll both be dead, if we don’t figure something out soon. Save the small talk. What’s the situation?”
“A Chimera squad made it through before we took out the primary walkway. We aren’t sure how many.”
Taza leaned out and blasted another daring Varg in the head, dropping him like a concertina. He pulled back when the others refused to show themselves. “Where are the rest of the Tower Guard?”
“Harnuck took the Ministers to the seventh floor. We had three units down here, but Chimera broke is up.”
“I guessed as much.” He looked at the two dead guards at their feet. “And we’re the only two left down here?”
Assad shook his head. “I sent a small detachment to fetch reinforcements and guard the secondary stairwell.”
“Good,” Taza said. “Because that’s where we’re going.”
Enemy fire sprayed the opening again, sparks splashing dangerously close.
Assad didn’t look too pleased by the idea. “Even if we were both wearing armor, we wouldn’t make more than a few feet before they cut us down.”
“I hope you’ve got a shield unit at least.”
“Of course, I’ve got an MSU.” Assad tapped his chest. “But it’s not going to help much against their weapons.”
“That’s what this is for,” Taza said, retrieving a fist-sized canister from inside his coat. “Ready?”
Assad nodded, though his face couldn’t have looked more uncertain.
Taza pulled the pin and waited several seconds before tossing the grenade. He pulled a second from his belt as he counted to three. “Run!”
The explosive detonated, sending a cloud of plaster tearing through the corridor.
They sprinted left into the smoke and hurried toward the other end of the corridor. Taza twisted and threw the second grenade back toward the Vargs. A moment later, a second explosion erupted.
Still, enemy fire rang out behind them. Taza felt his shield absorb two shots, but the rest missed their mark.
Taza turned a corner and twisted to pull Assad after him.
They stopped a quick moment, both breathing hard.
“You’re getting old, old man,” Taza mocked.
“You’re not far behind me, kid.
” Assad punched him in the shoulder, clearly still unable to believe Taza was actually there. “Let’s get moving before the bastards come after us.”
They half-ran through rooms and walkways, Taza happy to let Assad lead the way. Sentinel Tower’s interior hadn’t changed much in the past decade, but he couldn’t remember all the short cuts. “I don’t suppose you know if Captain Grimshaw’s around?”
“He escorted the Ministers from Sentinel Square. They wouldn’t have made it to the safe-room without him. How do you know Grimshaw?”
Taza dismissed the question with a wave. “It’s a long story.”
“I expect a full recounting over a beer when this shit-storm clears up.”
Taza eyed his livery. “It looks like we’ve both got stories to tell.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s strange seeing you in an ambassador’s robes, though I always knew you’d be more suited to politics than the agency.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“What do you know about Chimera’s forces?”
Assad tugged at the end of his beard. “They’ve got an army. They’re equipped with the latest armor and weapons tech—”
“I know all that. What else?”
“Most of them seem to be Varg,” Assad spat.
“I noticed that the city uses more Vargs than when I used to stomp around up here. What ever happened to controlling their numbers?”
“They kept complaining about equal rights. Several edicts were passed to keep them quiet. They’re the reason for half the riots we’ve had recently. You know how it goes.”
“The White Dragons in the Underways were smuggling Vargs on board six months ago. I disrupted their operation, but they’ve probably recovered since.”
“We’ve been struggling to keep tabs on things in the Underways ever since the gang wars started.”
Taza spared a thought for Cho and wondered how the ambitious young Shanti was doing. He’d tried to contact the kid, but communications were erratic at the best of times since the gang wars broke out. “Looking back on things, the signs of something going wrong were there.”
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing, eh?” Assad said in jest. “Around the same time, some Varg double agents wormed their way onto Minister Straiya’s security force. Several set her up, almost had her assassinated. We also should have seen the signs. But we were too busy fighting over scraps to notice the dogs stealing the feast right out from under our noses.”
Taza tried not to clear his throat at the mention of the assassination. “That’s unfortunate. I’m glad to hear Minister Straiya’s okay.”
“It’s hard to say whether she’ll stay that way. Who knows what Chimera want with the Ministers? Killing them will cause some upheaval, but I suspect their intentions are a little more sinister. The question is, how did they pull all this off?”
“At this point, I think it’s safe to say they’ve got friends in high places.”
Assad looked at him worried. “How high?”
“There’s no telling, but if I had to bet on it, I’d say it goes all the way to the Galactic Council.”
“That’s a serious accusation, Taza. Who on the Council would benefit from such a mess?”
“A lot of them. If I had to guess, I’d say Minister Kroog has something to do with it.”
“I guess I can see how the Varg Minister would gain something from an unholy alliance with this Chimera. They’ve been trying to win a full seat back ever since they lost it.”
“I’ll never understand politicians,” Taza said, shaking his head. “Always wanting more.”
Assad nodded. “The Varg have never been content with sharing their place on the Galactic Council with the Urlocks. But they also forget why they lost their position in the first place.”
“Vargs aren’t the best at remembering.”
“But they sure pack a punch and there’s plenty of them. It would help if we could get main power and Tower security back online, but Captain Harnuck’s techs haven’t been able to get into the system.”
Taza wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. “We think they’ve hijacked the Sentinel’s network.”
“Impossible!” Assad hissed. “No one has ever hacked the Sentinel.”
“We thought so too, but we also thought that getting an army onto the Sentinel without anyone knowing was impossible.” Taza gestured to point out their current predicament. “Yet, here we are. Regardless, Clio Evans took a team to the Data District. Hopefully they can figure something out.”
Assad grunted. “There’s a lot of hoping going on today.”
They arrived at another intersection where two spacious hallways met to form a giant square. Twisted creatures had been carved into the corners in high relief. They looked down on the square like vigilant guards, waiting to attack would-be intruders. If only that were the case, Taza thought.
The corridors straight ahead and to the left continued into the Tower, but the one to their right stopped suddenly at a dead-end, a wide security gate barring the way.
Assad dialed the controls on his SIG. “We’ve manually closed security doors where we could at key locations, making it harder for them to progress upward. It doesn’t always work, but it has slowed them down, even if only a little.” Assad lifted his SIG and spoke on a short-band vox channel. “This is Ambassador Assad, sending my access codes. Open the door. Close her again as soon as we’re through.”
“Yes, Ambassador,” a voice answered. “Codes confirmed. Door opening.”
The broad metal panel slowly grated, lifting into the ceiling. Taza followed Ambassador Assad, ducking under the opening and onto the fourth landing of the twisting stairwell.
Heads poked out from behind pillars, toppled furniture, and improvised barriers. At a glance, Taza counted around twenty guards.
Several officers approached and greeted Assad. They parted as a stubby Yalore, two heads shorter than Taza, pushed through.
“Where are the rest of my guards?” he growled.
“We’re the only ones who made it,” Assad said solemnly.
“Good gods!” the Yalore moaned, like a child who had lost a toy. “Those were good men.”
“The very best, Sergeant Bavro,” Assad added. “But Chimera are far from done. We took out some of the soldiers who made it up the primary stairwell before it blew, but there were more than we thought. I’m not sure how many are left, but it can’t be more than a dozen. They weren’t far behind us.”
Sergeant Bavro nodded thoughtfully, his folds jiggling inside his helmet. “Don’t go getting yourself worried, Ambassador. We’ll hold them here. We’ve got a full squad. They won’t get any further.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Assad said. “How have things been here?”
“We blew the lower two stairwell entrances like Captain Harnuck ordered. Chimera are still trying to cut through the door on the third floor. They’ve even used charges, but the door is still holding. Thank the gods they’re tridarium plated. Even if they do break through, we’ve got an entire squad waiting for them down on the third’s landing. Then we’ve got these boys and girl here in reserve,” the Yalore gestured to those gathered.
“It’ll buy us time,” Assad said to Taza.
“We’ve got another problem,” Sergeant Bavro said. “A messenger just arrived from the team on the fifth floor. She reported that Chimera crashed a transport into the Tower on the sixth, and a squad made their way onto the seventh. They appear to be some kind of elite group. They cut through the team guarding sixth with barely any losses. The messenger was the only survivor. Said the Chimera troops were in too much of a hurry to make sure they got everyone.”
Taza saw the color drain from Assad’s face. “Then what the hell are you still doing down here?”
“We’re guarding the fourth floor like you told us,” Bavro objected.
“Of course,” Assad said, getting a handle on himself.
Taza knew that disobeyi
ng orders, regardless of one’s good reasons or intentions, was harshly punished among the Tower Guard.
“Pick your four best shots and have them watch this door,” Assad ordered. “Send a message to the team on the third to do the same. Then gather everyone else. We’re heading up to the safe-room.”
“Captain Harnuck ordered us to stop Chimera from breaking through this level.” Not to be bossed in such a way by a human, the stubborn Yalore put his hand on his hips. “You may be a Galactic Alliance ambassador, Assad, but you do not outrank the Captain.”
A vein pulsed in Assad’s temple as he struggled to maintain his composure. “The Captain made that order to stop Chimera from reaching the Ministers. Which they’ll do if we delay any longer. We don’t have time for games! Go!”
The Yalore reluctantly turned to carry out Assad’s orders, muttering curses and gesturing to his officers as he went.
“Seems like a nice guy,” Taza muttered under his breath so only Assad would hear.
“I swear,” Assad said with unconcealed frustration. “Sometimes it’s like dealing with children.”
Several nearby officers turned in shock, and a few others sniggered. Taza was glad the Sergeant had gone too far to hear.
He pushed past two guards on his right as he made for the steps leading to the fifth floor.
“Wait, where do you think you’re going?” Assad said.
“Grimshaw needs our help. It’ll take Bavro time to gather his men. I’ll go ahead and get the lay of the land. Besides, we could already be too late.”
Assad ran his eyes over the guards on the landing. “We’ll make a head start, Sergeant!” he shouted. “See you up there.”
Several nearby guards nodded, and Assad joined Taza as he took the steps two at a time.
“It’ll be good to have some company,” Taza said sardonically.
“You need someone to watch your back.”
“I won’t turn down the offer.”
“A lot of kids still cut their teeth in the Tower Guard before applying to SenSec and the SIA. They aren’t the most experienced and might pull a trigger on anyone they don’t recognize. Not to mention what could happen if security comes back online.”
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