by JM Guillen
We need a safe haven, Bishop. We’re pinned down here. We can make a break for it, but it’ll be a fight. He paused. I’d prefer we had a place to go.
I understood what he wanted without him even needing to link.
Peering at the soldiers, I wondered what psionic talents they might possess. I need to get Waypoint One clear so you can hoof it here, and then we can all hide beneath Wyatt’s little blanket fort.
For a time, yes. I knew Gideon hated asking this of me; he was a stickler on working together as a team. I need you to clear that location, no matter what servitors may be there. Once clear, we can make a run for it. We’ll be coming in hot and might have a Vyriim or three on our tail.
I can monitor your pain process, Bishop. Rachel sounded almost apologetic. I’ll deaden it again if we must. It won’t last for long, but perhaps you can avoid some of that psionic bullshit.
Roger that, Rachel. My heart thumped, heavy in my chest. Thanks.
We can hold where we are for an hour, Bishop. I hated how weary Gideon sounded. We’ve found a quiet niche behind one of the terraces. It’s cramped, but we’re alone.
So, one hour? That seemed a little more reasonable. I could probably whip something up in that time.
Assuming we aren’t found. The Vyriim are actively looking. Every once in a while we see a cluster pass by.
Understood, Alpha. I’ll clear Waypoint One and link when complete.
Roger that, Bishop.
I peered outward into the plaza, trying to develop a plan. I had nothing.
As I watched, the squat monstrosity tasted the air again and pulled hard on its keeper’s chain. It made a loud, growling groan and eagerly pulled forward.
The two Drażeri turned straight toward the alleyway where I hid. I could feel their dark and maddening eyes sweeping carefully across the very place I stood.
They began to walk in my direction.
10
I needed to think fast.
I had no intel on the offensive capabilities of the Drażeri soldiers, and that prowling monstrosity was a wild card. Making matters even worse, the young female was still dreamily tracing her fingers through the pool.
If I had my way, I wouldn’t outright murder her. Perhaps if she were suddenly taken by the Vyriim, that would be one thing, but just now she reminded me of nothing more than a teenage girl fantasizing about what her life would bring.
She had just picked a hell of a place to do it.
The patrol walked straight for me, crossing the courtyard.
I edged backward into the alleyway and glanced back over my shoulder. Perhaps one of the doors I had passed? I had no way to know what was behind them, but it was better than being caught.
I looked back to the plaza one last time, and they still advanced straight for me.
That decided it. I took a step back to one of the doors and reached for one of my disruptors. Slowly, I opened the two metal plates.
A stairwell led down into darkness beyond. I stepped inside and shut the door behind me.
The moment the plates closed, I was surrounded by sable midnight. I shifted my optics and saw that the passageway went down and then turned left.
I furrowed my brow, thinking of tactics, and reached into my left jacket pocket to paw through the injectables Rachel had given me. I had made heavy use of agility-boosting mecha thus far, but I knew she had given me others. I looked down and saw strength-enhancing injectables as well as entire cocktails designed to rapidly knit injured flesh. I also had…
I stopped for a moment, looking at the handful of injectables. Several of these weren’t tagged at all. That was confusing as untasked mecha were usually assigned by a Caduceus, if one was on site.
Rachel? I counted the vials as I linked, Why am I carrying four injectables of untasked mecha?
Oh, I forgot to mention. She actually felt a little embarrassed. When Gideon was going on about trying to soft sync the Gatekeeper, I set those aside. I’ll need at least that many to make it work and even that’s uncertain.
But why do I have them? I knew that the Caduceus could carry over a thousand of the small devices. It seemed odd for her to have me cart them around.
The viral mecha will begin phase calibration by being in proximity with your Crown. She paused. A soft sync is a complex thing, Bishop. Gideon doesn’t realize how hard it will be.
I had forgotten the soft sync. Now that was an idea. I shrugged my shoulders and felt the weight of the gatekeeper. Hell, with that I could easily get to Waypoint One.
Really? I furrowed my brow as if confused, knowing she could feel it. I never imagined it would be a big deal. I reached into my right jacket pocket and pulled out the small crescent shaped Crown augment, the Temporal Corona that Liam had been wearing. It felt cool in my hand.
You’re lying. I could feel her grin. What are you up to, Michael Bishop?
Fuck. I chuckled. Usually I can get away with that.
Usually you aren’t linking to someone who can see your synaptic holotecture.
The truth is, Rachel, we’re in it deep here. I’m zero-geared. I need to take on at least two Drażeri soldiers, and we have no idea what their capabilities are. I’m certain of one thing, though: the Vyriim are a bit more attuned to the soldiers than they are the typical Drażeri-about-town.
That makes sense. Her link remained wary.
There’s also the matter of Rover. I pressed my ear to the cool metal of the door, listening.
Nothing.
Who knows what the fuck that thing—
No. Her link was firm. I am not soft syncing a Temporal Corona from half a kilometer away! Of all the reckless—
I interrupted her just as she had me. That was the only advantage of the secondary comms, as the Lattice wouldn’t let us cut each other off.
I’m practically helpless here, Rachel. What if I fail? How long can Wyatt keep his hidey-holes going?
Three point four hours if he does nothing else. She knew my question was rhetorical but answered anyway. I felt her contemplating. Bishop, it’s risky. You need a white room to guarantee a solid synch. The Cradle adjusts your Crown’s architecture when installing packets. I can’t do that.
So what? I knew she could feel my impatience. We needed to get moving.
So, when your Crown shifts available axioms, a solid synch is vital. Particularly with something as complex as the Temporal Corona. She was growing frustrated. What if you create an aperture, but the end-point isn’t functional? Or what if calibrations are off, and the Crown augment creates an aperture centered upon itself?
That… I frowned, imagining a mis-queued aperture burning with crimson flame as it materialized in the center of my skull. That sounds horrifying.
A million things could go wrong. Axiomatic slippage. Neural burn. All bad news.
The situation here is already risky, Rachel. We have to weigh the risks; we can’t avoid them. I paused. I hated playing this card, but we were losing time. What if we ask Gideon what he thinks?
You already know what Gideon thinks. Her link was terse. You just want to get the Alpha to order me to do it.
You’re right. I grinned. I really can’t pull one by you.
I’ll check with Gideon. She felt sullen. But we both know he’ll clear it.
Be quick as you can. Things are… sensitive here. I could hear the patrol now, passing outside the door. The beast made a growling grumble again, and it was so close, I could feel the timbre of it vibrating in my chest.
I drew both disruptors, waiting.
I have both gotten clearance and logged my official dissent. I need you to respond, via link, that I have warned you about the ramifications of a soft sync and that you are the one who initiated this conversation.
Yes. I sighed, thinking how ridiculous such regulations felt with mandibled death less than a meter away. I acknowledge that Asset 135 has made me aware of the possible risks involved with a soft sync. I initiated this discussion. This non-protocol operation is somethin
g I choose of my own free will.
I could still feel Rachel’s worry but chose to say nothing. If there was a moment where things went wrong, this was it. It would be catastrophic if my Drażeri friends opened the door just as Rachel synced Gatekeeper.
Then, I had a thought.
Rachel, when we get this geared, I can come back for the cadre. I can leave an aperture here, and then we can all slip through to Waypoint One.
We’ve already discussed it, and that’s a no. She paused. It’s hot here, Bishop. If you sneak back and get killed, then we’re stuck.
Alright. I sighed. Alpha knows best.
Okay. Remain perfectly still for just a few seconds. I felt a touch of ice just behind my eyes, followed by a low whir, and then three separate clicks by my right temple.
I need those untasked mecha, Bishop. All four of them.
You’re the boss. I pocketed a disruptor and grabbed the mecha. I pressed the injectables against my leg. Taking so many all at once, I could easily feel the coolness, like quicksilver in my blood.
If I were the boss, we wouldn’t be doing this at all. Open up the Crown augment. In a moment you’ll feel your Crown looking for a connection with the Corona.
I reached into my pocket for the Temporal Corona and turned it over in my hands. It made a satisfying click as I slid it open to its widest size. It would easily wrap around the back half of my head with the two docking interfaces resting just behind my ears.
A low growl just outside my door made me jump, certain the door was about to open. Then I heard a soft chirrup from my owl-eyed, otter friend.
The growling grew louder and then erupted into a series of bestial snarls. The chirruping sounds became irritated, like a loud, scolding chipmunk…
From another dimension.
Then the sounds faded as the beast pulled its handlers down the passageway.
Carefully, I pulled the gatekeeper from my back. The bow was a heavy, wicked-looking piece of gear. I had only seen the gatekeeper used offensively a couple of times, but I knew it meant business.
A small touch screen on the top blinked with an orange light. After pressing it, it asked for fingertip imprints, and I complied.
As I contemplated the device, I felt the small swarm of mecha like warm honey in my veins. Normally, I wouldn’t have felt much at all, but then normally I wasn’t taking them four at a time.
This was an unusual day.
Then Rachel initiated the package protocols, and my Crown clicked three more times. Put the Crown augment in place, please.
I held the Temporal Corona behind my head. Only the two, pointed, docking interfaces neared actual contact with my skin.
I felt a subtle snick behind my ears as the augment docked with my Crown. Even though I could not see it, I knew that a series of soft blue lights on the Corona were initiating as my Crown accepted the external system.
It hung there, humming softly, not actually touching my body.
Do you wish—the prompt cut off suddenly, only to be replaced by another. Clearance code required.
Clearance 8891010. Rachel Gardener.
Greetings, Asset 135. Now that was odd, hearing my Crown interface with another Asset. I was accustomed to having a Designate fiddle with my geared tech, but the Caduceus’s interaction felt clunkier. Over the course of the next several moments, I felt Rachel in my head. She manipulated my brain tissue as if with a burning scalpel from afar.
It was hardly pleasant.
Easy there. I felt a headache coming on.
Shut up. You deserve this.
My Crown whirred again, and on the left side of my visual range, I saw an interface appear, comprised of dozens of constantly changing lines and small words in a yellow script. I could thumb through them by thought. In the opposite corner a small sphere spun slowly.
I felt the systems sync. Again, it was clunky, far cruder than what I was accustomed to, but I could feel the Corona augment mesh with my Crown and then both sync with the gatekeeper crossbow.
For an instant, I had an extra brain to think with, causing every thought to echo. But then the sensation passed.
I pressed my ear to the door again and heard nothing of the patrol. If I were lucky, they would believe that their pet nightmare had been after a small, chirruping otter-thing.
Moreover, it had sounded as if they’d walked away from the plaza entirely, going further down the way I had come through the archway.
That was a break.
Blinking, I cycled and through the menu. I had a lot of options. Worse yet, I didn’t even understand what some of them meant.
This might be more than I had bargained for.
You have to go slow with this. Rachel’s tone was fading from upset back to merely worried. You’re asking a lot here. You have four injectables of mecha to assist your Crown with the heavy lifting, but there’s a lot we don’t know. Still… I think it’s done.
You think?
Yes, I think! She snapped. The augment should automatically sync up with the Gatekeeper in a matter of moments if it hasn’t already. You’re back on my primary interface, so I can keep an eye on your shenanigans. I have also alerted Anya as to what is happening so she can keep telemetry on you.
Okay. I hefted the crossbow, noting that I could adjust things like range and pitch through the augment mentally as well as physically on the gatekeeper itself. I understand. Thanks, Rachel.
Thank me when we’re done.
The entire process had taken less than five minutes, but it had seemed like forever. I listened at the door again but heard nothing.
With a disruptor in one hand and the crossbow in the other, I stepped into the twilight shadows of the alleyway.
Empty.
I slipped back toward the plaza and was dismayed to see the young woman there, speaking with a male Drażeri. They weren’t on patrol, but I had no idea how quickly the Vyriim could take control of them.
Thus they still posed a problem.
I stepped back down the narrow passage, intent on making certain I had a handle on the Gatekeeper system before I used it. Perusing the menu, I noted there were a lot more options than I had ever imagined.
I hear you’re being stupid. Wyatt paused. I like it.
I learned from the master.
I’ve geared that bad boy a time or two. Want a quick primer?
I think I need it. I hated admitting it to Wyatt, but we both knew this wasn’t the time for machismo. I can’t exactly download a packet from the Lattice. Looks like I’m going to have to learn this the old-fashioned way.
Yes. His link was wry. You’re going to learn about spatial transmutation through telepathy while in another dimension. He paused. The old-fashioned way.
I was only a couple of steps into the passage when I heard the Drażeri hell-beast growl. Apparently, they had stepped through to the street beyond and now were on their way back.
I wasn’t anywhere close to the door. I could run for it, but I would be running toward the patrol.
Not good.
I turned back toward the plaza. The two Drazeri there faced away from me. I stepped from the alley, keeping close to the stark black stone of another building.
Just a few meters away I spotted another door. I crept toward it, moving slowly.
The entire time, an Alabamian genius-savant drawled in my ear.
Alright, Hoss, this is pretty simple overall. I would just patch you what I know, but I need the resources on my end. You understand.
I do.
This is simple. You already know how to manipulate the Facility interfaces. It’s similar to other packets; you just need to know how to switch gears.
That was true. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so hard.
Rachel always exaggerated things.
Do you see the little sphere in the upper corner? Well, if you pay attention to it, you’ll find that you can move it around.
I can, in fact. I chuckled. With hardly any mental effort, I could instantly maneuver th
e sphere to any position within my visual range. It literally took less than a thought to shift it from place to place. As I did, I felt the augment hum. It’s changing the top three numbers in my readout on the left.
My concentration was interrupted by silvery laughter from the Drażeri woman. Of course, I had no idea what was going on, but that hardly mattered.
What mattered just now was that she was facing me.
I froze, stone still.
Top one is the X axis, and the next two are Y and Z. You actually have five of them, but we’re only going to be dealing with three for now. You’ll find that you can also move that sphere around just by changing those numbers. That’s how you position an aperture. Pretty simple, so you should only have a little trouble with it.
I moved to the sphere so that within my visual range it was flush against one of the monolithic buildings across the plaza. I noticed that when I set it against a solid object for longer than a moment, it flattened into a disk. I pulled it back toward myself, and it passed through the Drażeri man and a few of the short stone markers that looked like gravestones.
No matter how I pulled on the sphere though, it stopped about a foot away from my actual body.
Then the woman turned away again. Quickly, I took three shorts steps, almost two meters closer to the iron door. I wanted to be close in case the patrol came back this far.
You set an aperture using that same sphere interface. The easiest way to explain it is to imagine that you’re trying to squeeze the sphere, like you’re trying to make it smaller.
Weird. Okay. I moved the sphere into a darkened alleyway, all the way across the plaza and well out of sight of the young couple. Then, I imagined squeezing the sphere, squinting just a touch. I felt my Crown grind alarmingly. In the alleyway, a bright scarlet flame appeared in the air, burning through the space as if the area was constructed of paper.
Oh, that was easy. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to ignite the aperture. It should be simple to create these quickly on the fly.
Right. You’ll squeeze it further to make the aperture close.
