Starblood: A Military Space Opera Series (War Undying Book 1)

by N. D. Redding

  “Up to what payload?”

  “A Templar swing?” Urgon replied casually. “See, it also modifies all attributes which are used by Berserkers. For a duration of five minutes, you’d be a living god on the field, Miss...”

  “Alexeyeva,” she replied, her eyes still glued on the implant.

  “And you, my good friend? You’re a Commando, right? Wouldn’t you want to enjoy this beautiful piece of tech?” Urgon asked as he took another implant out of the Orros’ belly and handed it over to Leo.

  “Is this—”

  He didn’t even finish as Urgon cackled.

  “Yes! That’s a Sense Mark 7 that allows for better accuracy, thermal view, sound signatures, tremor senses, and many other neat abilities.”

  “I’ve got an INAS already,” Leo muttered as he looked away. “I already have all these things.”

  He wasn’t as easily swayed by shiny chips as Layla was, but that was a mistake.

  “Sure, sure you have,” Urgon continued, “but do you have retrograde space analysis?” the Takkari asked as he sat down and leaned into his chair. None of us knew what that meant, and he counted on it. “You see, the implant can envelop a projectile in nanites, and the moment it hits a certain surface, it spreads across the surrounding area, scanning it and sending back a real-time copy of it directly to your mind. Your bullets wouldn’t only be scouts, they’d act as a camera feeding you what’s happening behind enemy lines. Imagine knowing your enemy’s every move the moment they made it.”

  I groaned inwardly as the Takkari finished his sales pitch and spoke as Leo stood there, staring at the implant. He had him by the balls.

  “What do you want, Urgon?” I asked, trying to snap the two out of their fantasies. Those implants would be incredible, no doubt about it, but so would Urgon’s price.

  “You see, any of these implants could go for 20,000 creds or more, but I know you guys aren’t as wealthy. So let’s say that I sympathize with people who try to keep me safe and protected.”

  “Sure you do,” I muttered.

  “Oh, yes, you’re quick on the uptake. See, there are other ways of paying me back.”

  “Ways steeped in blood, gore, screams, and death?”

  He frowned and I knew the bullshit about liking me being upfront with him was horseshit. He didn’t like me all too much. Good, I didn’t like him either and I sure as hell didn’t like the whole “honor among thieves” vibe that was going on.

  “Have you heard of the Sun Dusk festival? No? Ah, the Federation leaves those things out of the textbooks, doesn’t it? It’s an Aloi festival where they celebrate the rebirth of the galaxy. Something stupid like that, so I’m not entirely sure.”

  There was something about the way he skipped the introduction that told me he may know more about it, but I didn’t press on the issue.

  “What of it?”

  “Simple. There’ll be a parade, festivities, food, drink, and it’s generally a very cheerful time in Instormia.”

  “You celebrate Aloi holidays?” Layla snapped angrily.

  “Yes, dear, we do. In Instormia, every holiday is celebrated equally.”

  “But… the Aloi! They’re killing us in the millions and yet you celebrate their stupid holidays?”

  Urgon sighed and rolled his eyes. “My dear, Instormia is older than the planet you were born on. We have our ways just like you have yours. A little respect goes a long way.”

  Layla crossed her hands and looked away, both angry and embarrassed by his retort. “Sorry,” she muttered but refused to meet his eyes.

  “Never mind. We’re all friends, aren’t we? Anyway, where was I? Ahh, right, Sun Dusk. With all these things going on around the city, the Aloi will bring in a very special shipment to their temple. A shipment that is of great interest to someone like me. Your task is a simple one. Get the package before it reaches the temple and bring it to me. You’ll have a whole city in celebration as cover, so a bit of noise won’t disturb anyone. You bring the package, and our deal is complete. Sounds simple enough?”

  “There’s no way I’m doing this without knowing what the package is,” I said firmly enough to not leave any space open for discussion.

  Urgon looked at me for several seconds. “Mancer! What can I say? You’re a tough negotiator,” he said quickly and flashed me the fakest smile I’d ever seen. “The package is a live Aloi infant. If you can even call it that.” The expression on my face told Urgon I wasn’t satisfied with the answer. “And what’s it to me, you ask? It’s everything to me. Let me put it this way: I’ll give you the implants now, you can have the procedure immediately, and by tomorrow night when Sun Dusk begins, you’ll be able to bring it to me. It’s a sign of good faith, one a Takkari seldomly offers.”

  He avoided the answer to my question again by bribing us. Damn stinking rat bastard! He knew how much those implants meant to a small squad like mine!

  “Listen to me, Urgon, I couldn’t give less of a shit about what is important to you and how seldomly Takkari show signs of goodwill. I brought you the head of your enemy not two days ago, so I know what type of man you are and what kind of criminal shit you’re into. I know you’re a dangerous man, or so you would like to think, but I too am a dangerous man. Very dangerous, in fact. And if you want my services, you’ll take them on my terms or not at all, so... what’s the shipment or I’m out of here.”

  Urgon Feyn’s façade dropped at those words. The fake smile disappeared, and he turned into the same guy I met when I first arrived in his office.

  “I see why Tailor has a hard-on for you; you’re just like him.”

  I said nothing but inwardly wanted to laugh. Tailor having a hard-on for me? Yeah, right! I was slowly losing my patience; this deal was quite appealing to me. Sure, the implants were nice, but the risk was immeasurable.

  “Why do you need an Aloi child?” I asked and I told myself that it was the last question I’d ask before leaving, no matter the answer.

  “This ‘child’ is a new breed of Aloi-Cantari bioengineering. Right now, it’s the size of a human and it’s not even a month old. It’s a silk-weaver class Aloi that is apparently able to produce a new string of silk which has direct use in implant technology. It’s the golden goose of the business. Now, I don’t expect you to do this just because of the award I offer. I do, however, expect you to consider the implications of not doing this. This is a prototype Aloi breed and it was shipped to Detera for one reason only: to help the war effort. Imagine what the Aloi will be capable of with this new string of silk-tech. You’re a man of the Federation, I know you care. See, this as an opportunity to help yourself and the Commonwealth Federation, and in doing so, you help me too, in consequence.”

  Damn. He had a point there. I knew Layla would agree instantly, and even Leo seemed on board with the thing. It was a win-win situation, but it also sounded too good to be true. I wanted to call Tailor to ask for his opinion, but even on a secure line, this information was way too sensitive to discuss. Besides, I shouldn’t make a habit of asking for advice on every step.

  I told Urgon I’d think about it and walked out much to Leo’s and Layla’s displeasure. But the moment I left, Tailor called me over my INAS. He told me himself to turn it off and now he was assuming I didn’t. Smart man. I explained my position as vaguely as I could over the INAS knowing that we could be tracked easily. The only reason we did was the fact that it was a computer that checked military transmissions, searching for buzz words across millions of conversations. Not too effective. Surveillance was only useful to check on a perpetrator’s history. Only rarely did it do anything to prevent the crime.

  Tailor urged me to accept, which wasn’t a surprise. The moment he heard the military had some benefit from it, he was on board. Army-man thinking. Can’t blame the man. On the contrary, he was doing some out-of-the-box thinking to further our war effort. Too bad I had to do all the out-of-the-box fighting for him. I returned back to Urgon and accepted. Leo and Layla acted cool, but the
y were as excited as children for their new implants. And why wouldn’t they be? We’d been fighting with mostly subpar gear, so anything that could help us out in the long run was a must-have.

  Urgon gave Leo a replacement gun so he had something to work with since we had to leave all our weapons at HQ. Layla still retained her power-fists but had to leave her beloved hammer, and I had my splinter cannon since I couldn’t really detach from it. Summons were out of the question, though. Instormia had a strict rule regarding summoning Technomancer bots. The whole city was plastered with a complicated security net that alarmed the forces of any summoning.

  Fair enough, a high-tier Technomancer could wreak as much havoc as a platoon of soldiers. Everyone was edgy around us, always have been, so it was no wonder the Instormians had a bunch of rules for us. We weren’t allowed to summon or use any of our Mancer abilities like hacking, no display of nanite control, not even for entertainment. I had to fill out a stack of virtual papers about my mental condition and prior use of my Technomancer skills even before entering. I guess they had some bad experiences with my fellow colleagues in the past. Still, they couldn’t detect nanite activity if I used it sparingly.

  We made a plan of attack the next day. Leo and Layla recovered from their procedure quickly and were anxious to try their new toys out. I had to remind them both, and especially Layla, that tonight we would be going on a clandestine mission which hopefully wouldn’t involve her going Berserk. Just like with the Templars, it was a last-ditch ability that should only be used if faced with certain death.

  The whole city was in an uproar. Giant holographic symbols flew between buildings—Aloi writings congratulating Sun Dusk to Instormians. There was singing in the streets, dancing, and loud music. Urgon was right, it was the perfect cover. The police would have their hands full tonight, but wasn’t that just like setting us up directly?

  Urgon explained that there was no way to attack the docking bay. It would be too well defended. The temple, which was the destination, was also out of the question. While the Aloi called it the temple, it was nothing short of a fortress and even if we did manage to break in somehow, the entire city would know in no time. The Xaroo Chapel, however, a point between the two where the package would spend the night was our best chance. For some reason, Urgon didn’t really explain why, the package would stay there for a night before being delivered to the temple. The place was smaller than the temple but still very well defended.

  I hated the idea of going on that mission. There was so much room for mistakes, and if the police caught us, the military would abandon our stupid asses. What happened in Instormia stayed in Instormia, they said. And what about our enemy? If this was war-turning technology, who knew who would be there defending it?

  I didn’t like it; I absolutely didn’t like it at all. The damn Takkari tricked me into it. Leo and Layla already had their implants, and I shuddered at the idea of what else Urgon crammed in there. Or in me? A nice self-destruct button wouldn’t be too hard to put in. I wouldn’t be able to notice it till my first doctor’s exam, so I tried to push those thoughts away and think of Tailor. If Tailor thought it was fine, then it was fine, I assured myself.

  And yet, I felt good. As in I felt strong and in control of my body. The pains were gone, and on the few occasions I was alone in my room, I played around with my nanites. I felt in complete control and on a level I hadn’t ever felt before. I knew it was just a feeling, as I didn’t reach a new tier or improve much since the mission in the mountains, but still... something was different and much better.

  The nightmares were still there though, but waking up without a headache made it easier to forget them. I tried to focus on the questionable mission at hand and push away the memories of crying stars, or whatever it was that came into my dreams.

  13

  The night fell across this side of Detera as the local sun slid beyond the horizon. Its darkness was quickly cast away by a billion lights that shone from Instormia. Fireworks exploded below the protective shields of the city. Hundreds of parades lumbered through the white streets, millions of people celebrated the Sun Dusk Festival, and in its cover, the three of us sat watching the entrance to the Xaroo Chapel. I tapped my knee to the music as it boomed in the distance.

  The Aloi had thousands of these small chapels around the city. They looked like three black-green domes stacked upon each other. Engravings of their saints, holy wars, scriptures, and whatnot decorated the whole thing. It looked ancient, although it was fairly new from what our patron told us.

  “I’ve got movement,” Leo spoke over the INAS. “A dozen individuals, all Cantari.”

  He was closer to the chapel than Layla and me, hunkered down behind a small wall ready to use his cloak if need be.

  “Stay low,” I replied as I tried to keep my heart rate down.

  “I’ve got security cameras above the entrance and two more across the chapel looking right at the door. There’s—wait. I’ve got visuals now. There’s someone else with them, no heat signature. Is it a bot?”

  “A bot? What do you mean with a bot?”

  “Well, it’s not a living thing if you got me, but it walks on two legs, looks like it’s made from metal, all shiny and…”

  “I didn’t ask for—forget it.”

  The Aloi didn’t use bots, and neither did they have Technomancers to summon them. They had the technology, but they shunned the idea of using AI. It was a cultural thing that gave the Federation the upper hand in battle, as AI moved on a speed no living creature could. I always wondered how some races would put their cultural practices before survival, but then again, maybe that was exactly what they were doing.

  “Can you read the markings?”

  “No markings but the tech looks strange.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It looks like an assault-bot variant summoned by a Technomancer.”

  “Stay focused. Keep your eyes peeled and wait.”

  An Aloi Technomancer? Impossible. There had to be an explanation for whatever that thing was. If there was a Technomancer with a summoned assault bot among the Aloi, it would complicate our mission immeasurably, but then again, shouldn’t the shield’s sensors notice the summoned familiar?

  “That piece of Takkari son of a bitch! He lied to us!” Layla hissed through gritted teeth.

  “Quiet,” I hissed back, trying to get heads or tails about what the hell was going on. “I agree, though.” Fucking Urgon Feyn hadn’t said anything about this. He hadn’t said anything about the whole thing now that I thought of it. How the hell had I even put myself in such a situation?

  “Sir, I see fourteen Cantari priests, an assault bot, and a hovering icebox. I can see them clearly now that the door opened. What are your orders?”

  The idea was to wait till the last Aloi entered the chapel and then jump in there with them, take the package, and bring it to the pickup spot. Urgon’s lackeys should take it from there, but I had to immediately scrap that plan the moment I saw the assault bot. If there was a Technomancer close by, and there should be because we couldn’t control our familiars from afar, then we’d have a real battle on our hands. Especially since he was at least above Tier 5, an adept maybe, a master quite possibly.

  “Scan the bot and send me the details,” I ordered. Leo did as I said. It was a damned master tier assault bot. The Technomancer was far more powerful than I was, especially considering him being so open about his familiar.

  “Boss, they’re almost inside. What are your orders?”

  I had to think fast. There was a single line of approach to this and I hated it, but there was nothing we could do now if we didn’t want to be blown up by that damned Takkari. I jumped to Leo’s location, stirring up quite the ruckus, but the Aloi didn’t notice us over the music and noise. My hand landed on the lamp post to which one of the security cameras was attached, and I squeezed hard, releasing nanites.

  The Aloi hadn’t even bothered installing any kind of security protocol int
o the cameras. Good. I forced a recording of footage from an hour ago, which should give us enough time. I still had another important thing to do: hacking the camera above the chapel’s door.

  “Hang in there. Once I disable the assault bot temporarily, jump in, and get the package.”

  “Affirmative, sir,” Layla replied. I couldn’t see her, but I knew she was getting ready.

  As the assault bot crossed beneath the camera, I poured 15% of O-Nan cells into the familiar from above. The bot twitched, looked around, and then froze in place, his weapons still twitching slightly. I entered the systems immediately and did the one thing I was really good at: hacking tech.

  There was no firewall protecting the bot and Technomancer connection. Impossible. How was it even moving? Unless it was an autonomous automaton, but those were extremely rare. There was, however, a very strong defense system buried deep within. I sent another 10% cells into the bot, trying to overwhelm its protections, but I ran into unknown functions. Was it Aloi technology?

  I buried my mind deeper into the assault bot, cracking the layers of defense that surrounded the core systems while at the same time keeping the subsystems busy with viruses. I had to keep it occupied or it would react and do something stupid.

  “Go!” I growled. I wasn’t even able to speak coherently as I battled the bot, but Leo and Layla heard me just fine over the INAS. They jumped out from their hiding places and ran after the small procession into the chapel. I could only hear them as I was burning through the last layer of the bot’s defense, but only that mattered. I didn’t have to see them, only know they were on it.

  Another 10% of cells did it, and honestly, I ran into what I feared I’d run into from the start. A cerebral module was attached to the bot’s fairly simple brain. No, there was no Technomancer that controlled this bot, not a live one that is, but there were pieces of the Technomancer within the cerebral module. Shards of a mind that used to be someone. The module used just enough of the deceased Technomancer’s consciousness for the assault bot to follow orders and do what it did best under his control: serve and fight.