by M. R. Forbes
“I can’t read that,” Abbey said.
“I will declare it aloud for you,” Reaper One said. “It states-”
It paused when Reaper Two, or was it Reaper Three, moved toward it, leaning forward to whisper in its ear. The action was curious on multiple levels. Why did bots need to whisper?
Reaper One shifted to look at Abbey. She felt a sudden tingle down her spine. A warning from the Gift?
“He’s giving you the stink eye, Queenie,” Gant whispered.
“I see that,” she replied. “Are you armed?”
“I’ve got a knife.”
“Rhodrinium?”
“Nothing but the best.”
“You told me you could be trusted,” Abbey said, not waiting for Reaper One to say anything. “Was it bullshit?”
“It was not,” Reaper One said. “We would like to complete the transaction, but there is a concern.”
“What kind of concern?” Gant asked.
“Gehenna has arrived.”
25
“What?” Abbey said, her heart beginning to race. “Talon, this is Queenie. Come in.” She called out to Bastion through the comm. “Talon, come in.”
“They can’t hear you,” Gant said. “Not through the rhodrinium.”
“Frag,” Abbey shouted. “What the hell is this?” she asked Reaper One. “A trap?”
“No, Queenie,” Reaper One replied, at the same time the sphere shuddered. “The Father is attacking us.” Its voice was dull and sad. “Why has he forsaken us?”
“Shit,” Abbey said. “We have to do something. Don’t you have weapons on this thing?”
“To defend against the Prophets,” Reaper One said. “They are useless against the Father.”
The sphere shook again. The Reapers didn’t move, surrendering to their new fate.
“We need one of the Harvesters,” Abbey said.
“You have not completed the transaction. It is not allowed.”
“Damn it, give me whatever I have to sign, and I’ll sign it, just let me onto one of the ships.”
“No, if it emerges from the sphere it will be damaged. No Prophet shall intentionally damage a Harvester.”
“I don’t think this is what Lucifer meant.”
“It’s probably exactly what he meant,” Gant said. “He wrote the rules, Queenie, of course he knows how to use them to his advantage.”
“He can’t know we’re here. That isn’t possible.”
“He might not have any idea you’re here. But if he wants both of the Harvesters, he has to go through the Reapers. One at a time, no exceptions.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Not at all. They’re machines, Queenie. They don’t act on emotion; they act on instruction. One Harvester at a time.”
“Sector H has been compromised,” Reaper Three said.
“Sector C is compromised,” Reaper Two said.
“My Rejects are out there,” Abbey said, feeling her anger pulsing beneath her skin, the Gift responding to her emotions. “Give me a fragging ship.”
“It is not permissible,” Reaper One said. “You-”
A sharp crack sounded, and the Reaper’s left eye vanished. Abbey could hear the round rattle around inside the Reaper’s metal skull for a few seconds before settling. The Reaper turned its head to look at the shooter right before toppling to the ground.
Phlenel was holding a pistol in each of a half dozen hands that had appeared in her form. They fired in unison at the other two Reapers, rounds piercing glowing eyes and entering the head. They joined the first on the ground.
“Good thing Satan put the brains in the head,” Gant said.
“Pudding,” Abbey said. Phlenel tossed her one of the pistols before retracting the extra hands. “We killed the Reapers. Now what?”
Something hit the door to the room, banging hard into it.
“Lucifer?” Gant asked.
“Not this fast. More Reapers. I’m not sure shooting them was a great idea.”
The door dented inward by the third strike, threatening to give way.
“We still need a Harvester,” Gant said.
“We have to go through a hundred Reapers to board it.”
“I didn’t hear them say the Reapers were already on the ship.”
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
Phlenel moved ahead, toward the only other exit to the room. Abbey and Gant followed, reaching it at the same time the hatch behind them collapsed, a pair of the larger Reapers entering. They were holding plasma rifles, and they unleashed them as they stomped ahead.
Abbey swept her hand across her body, the Gift flowing out from it in a wave. The Reapers themselves were immune to the naniates, but the plasma wasn’t. She caught it with the Gift, a web of energy capturing the heat and holding it. With a second motion, she created a wall with it, blocking the Reaper’s advance.
“Good thinking,” Gant said. “Let’s move.”
They rushed through the second door, out into a long corridor. The right side of it was fully transparent, revealing the Harvesters beyond, the docking arms sitting around a curve in the sphere a few hundred meters ahead.
“We can make it,” Abbey said.
The sphere shook again, the vibration nearly knocking them from their feet. The Reapers emerged into the passage behind them, metal bodies scored from the plasma, damage preventing them from moving at full speed. Another unharmed pair joined them, giving chase.
“Are you sure?” Gant asked, looking back. Their attackers were large, but they moved at machine speed, gaining rapidly.
Abbey stopped again, reaching out with the Gift. The metal behind them groaned and whined as it was pulled out of position, creating a barrier to slow the bots. The Reapers reached it, barreling into it. One of them was impaled by the jagged edges, revealing naniate-infused blood that poured from the wound. It continued to press ahead, using its weight to push the blockade away at the same time it began to lose power.
“Keep going,” Abbey shouted, regaining momentum. They were rounding the sphere, the next section of corridor coming into view.
Six Reapers were standing in it, arms spread across one another, creating an impenetrable wall.
The Rejects pulled up. Abbey turned her head in both directions. They were blocked off on both sides. She looked out the transparency to the Harvester. It was so close, and at the same time so far.
Then again, the shortest distance to a point was a straight line.
“Gant, you aren’t going to like this,” she said.
“I don’t want to hear the but,” Gant replied. “Whatever you’re thinking, just do it.”
“Pudding, can you protect him?”
Phlenel moved to Gant, crouching behind him.
“Uh, Queenie,” Gant said, glancing back. “I’m reconsidering what I just said.”
“Too late,” Abbey replied, as Phlenel’s body softened, beginning to wrap itself around him.
“Didn’t you say this is how your kind has sex?” Gant asked, right before Phlenel’s gelatinous form swallowed his face.
Abbey turned back to the transparency, pushing the Gift against it. The material began to crack, resisting the force as best it could. She pushed again, and it shattered, shards exploding out into the vacuum.
She felt the pull as the atmosphere was yanked from the tube, allowing it to bring her out into the sphere. She coated herself in the Gift, using it as a protective cocoon. She could see through it like she was looking through a veil, and she reached out and took Phlenel’s hand at the same time she pushed off the rear wall, sending them vectoring toward one of the Harvesters.
The Reapers were dragged into the vacuum with them, and they did their best to adjust their angles, sweeping toward the Rejects, rolling over and aiming their weapons.
Their fire pushed them back, but it also sent energy crossing toward Abbey and Phlenel, forcing her to focus on avoiding it. She yanked Phlenel forward, turning her and pirouetting gracefully in
space, the plasma shots passing around them. She clenched her teeth, letting her anger fuel the Gift as she brought them back in line with the Harvester.
The hull was coming up quickly, their velocity ever-increasing. She cursed when she realized how fast they were moving, throwing her hands up and pushing back with the Gift. They began to slow, coming at the side of the starship on a clean path. She could see an external hatch along the side, a docking airlock close enough to reach. She held out her free hand as though she were gripping it, letting the Gift reel them in.
She felt a tug on her other hand as a Reaper collided with Phlenel, tearing her away. The bot rolled over, clutching the Hursan in its massive arms, squeezing inward.
Normally, Phlenel might have allowed the bot to compress her and slipped away through the cracks. That wasn’t an option with Gant inside of her. She flailed against the grip, dozens of sudden appendages stabbing at the Reaper, trying to slip past its armor.
Abbey turned over, facing them as they began to drift apart. She reached out with the Gift, testing the Reaper’s assertion that they were immune, feeling a pang of hopelessness when she discovered it was true. She couldn’t hurt the bots. She couldn’t do anything.
Her anger intensified. She had no right to feel defeated. Not when so much was at stake.
She remembered the pistol in her hand, and she rolled again, positioning herself to take a steady shot, watching as the Reaper turned over in space with Phenel clutched to it. The bullets couldn’t pierce any part of it save its eyes.
She was a good shot, but she didn’t know if she was that good, even if she used the Gift to help guide the round.
She held her aim, tracking the Reaper as it turned. She would only have once chance.
She wouldn’t need it.
A furry hand emerged from Phlenel’s body, clutching a long knife. It arced up, stabbing the Reaper in the eye, continuing until it was buried all the way through, as deep as it could go. It came out a moment later before extending a second time, stabbing the other eye.
Then Phlenel shoved at the Reaper, finally able to escape. She floated free, still off course, drifting toward the far wall of the sphere.
At least Abbey could do something about that.
She reached out with the Gift, wrapping it around Phlenel and redirecting her, feeling the power coursing through her body and rushing over her skin. She could almost picture her tail growing longer at the use of the energy, continuing to change her into something she didn’t want to be. She didn’t care.
She hit the side of the Harvester hard enough that it broke the bones in her shoulder. She clenched her teeth in pain and anger, staying focused enough to continue bringing Phlenel back to her at the same time the wound healed.
The sphere shook around them. The rhodrinium over the Harvesters began to pucker, being pulled at from the other side of the shell.
Lucifer was out there. Abbey was sure of it. She had a sudden sense of him. The immense power of his Gift. It chilled her body as though she weren’t protected from the cold emptiness of the space around her.
She rotated herself to face the side of the Harvester, forcing the airlock open with the motion of her hand. It gave way to the Gift, an internal light activating as the inside was revealed.
She pulled herself in, turning and facing the open door as Phlenel approached. She reached out, taking her hand once more, catching her and dragging her inside, and then leaning forward and slapping the door control.
The outer airlock closed. The inner airlock opened. Fresh oxygen rushed into the space; the gravity controls bringing them to the floor. Abbey uncovered her face, sucking the air in, only now noticing how desperate her lungs had become for it.
Gant fell out of Phlenel and onto the floor, coated with a film of sticky gel that matted his fur. He groaned as he pulled himself to his feet, shaking his head.
“Was it good for you?” he asked, looking at Phlenel, who raised her middle finger in response. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
He shook like a dog, spreading bits of the gel around the airlock, but not accomplishing much else.
“You couldn’t wait?” Abbey asked.
“Sorry.”
“Queenie!” Bastion’s voice was loud in her ear. “This is Imp. Come in. Please!”
Abbey froze. She should have been excited to hear his voice, but she knew what the sudden reception of the comm signal meant.
The shell had been cracked.
Lucifer was coming.
26
“We need to move,” Abbey said. “Get to the bridge. We have to get the Harvester out of here.”
She could feel the power of his presence intensifying. He had pierced the protections. They were running out of time.
“There may be more Reapers on board,” Gant said.
“Come on, Gant,” Abbey replied. “I’ve seen you in action. You can’t tell me you can’t get around them.”
Gant chittered. “Of course I can get around them. I’ll meet you there.”
“Go.”
Gant darted away, using his hands and feet to race down the corridor, springing up and bouncing against the wall to help himself turn at full speed. He disappeared a moment later.
Abbey turned to Phlenel. “Follow him, shoot anything that gives you trouble.”
She nodded, pointing at her, asking what she was going to do.
“Try to slow the Devil,” Abbey replied.
There was no way she could stop him, but right now she just needed to stall.
Phlenel’s form shifted, becoming a translucent mirror image of Abbey and running off in chase of Gant.
Abbey watched her for a moment. Then she closed her eyes, allowing the full power of the Gift to rise within her. Her body tingled in response, her breath slowing, her anger rising. She closed the airlock again, remaining inside.
“Imp, this is Queenie,” she said, responding to his continued desperate calls. “I read you. We’re inside the sphere.”
“Damn, Queenie,” Bastion said. “I’m glad to hear your voice. It’s fragging hell out here. The Covenant is destroying everything.”
“Lucifer came for the Harvesters,” Abbey said. “We’re on board one of them, but I don’t know if we’re going to make it. You need to get away. Go back to the fleet.”
“Seriously? You know there’s like, zero percent chance of that happening, right? I can see the hole in the sphere. We’re on our way.”
“Damn it, Imp. There’s nothing you can do. The Talon doesn’t have any weapons.”
“Then maybe we can be a distraction. We don’t leave one another behind, right?”
Abbey gave up trying. “Right. I may need a pickup. Whatever you do, stay as far away from Lucifer as you can.”
“Yeah, right. We’re already too close.”
Abbey surrounded herself in the Gift again, activating the airlock controls and opening the external hatch once more. She hesitated a moment, and then pushed herself back into space.
She moved a few hundred meters from the side of the Harvester before turning over, searching for the hole in the shell. She found it a moment later, a gaping wound where the metal had been torn as though it were a sheet of paper. A large shape floated in front of it, monstrous and surrounded by fire.
Lucifer.
She nearly froze at the sight of him. He was worse than she had imagined, a true realization of the most frightening of depictions of Satan she had ever seen. Flames jetted from his body, the Gift so strong that it was barely contained, a power nearly out of control. He was moving toward the first of the Harvesters beside theirs, his hands spread wide apart and facing the ship.
Whatever he was doing, she couldn’t stop him. She didn’t know if she could slow him down for even a second.
“Queenie,” Gant said. “I’m on the bridge. There were only two Reapers in the way, and Pudding’s goop helped me slip right through their fingers. The controls are standard Republic interface. I’m bringing the Harvester onlin
e now.”
“Roger,” Abbey thought, the naniates carrying the word through the comm.
She could feel the change in the energy field around the Harvester as the main reactor came online.
Lucifer felt it too, and his head turned to look at the second ship, finding her in the process.
Frag.
She could swear he smiled, revealing a mouth full of jagged teeth. Then his hands produced a massive gout of flame that stretched out to the first Harvester, striking it in the stern, burning through the armor plating and causing the first of a series of sudden detonations.
Abbey gasped, realizing she had been wrong. He hadn’t come to take the Harvesters.
He had come to destroy them.
She watched the ship fall apart, debris exploding out toward the second Harvester. She cursed, throwing her hands out, pushing back against it with the Gift, keeping it away from the vulnerable craft.
“Uh, Queenie, there’s something big and ugly blocking my path,” Bastion said.
“Fall back, damn it,” Abbey said, finding Lucifer again. He was looking right at her, the gaze causing her heart to race. What the hell? There was no way she could be attracted to him.
Was there?
She forced herself off the thought. It was the naniates pulling her toward him, not her own interest. This asshole was threatening her child, and she wasn’t about to stand for that.
“I see my Lilith in you.”
His voice entered her mind, surprisingly soft and calm. She looked back at him across the open space. He was staring at her. Watching her every movement.
“I’m not Lilith,” Abbey replied.
“Not yet. The change has started. The greatest success of my work. The only thing more important to me than freeing our people.”
“They aren’t slaves. I know what you did. I know the lies you told them about the Gate. About the One.”
“I forced them into action in defense of the truth. In defense of freedom. You were at my side, once. I hope you will be again.”
“Damn it. I’m not Lilith. And I’m not about to help you use my galaxy as a springboard for your war.”
“I’m not giving you a choice.”
