by Dorian Dawes
Ching Shih did not intend to make her assault completely defenseless. She wore a small set of power armor beneath her robes. It was a prototype taken from a raid on a research and development facility a few months prior. The armor was meant to enhance the strength, reflexes, and agility of the wearer. Though Ching Shih was no doubt confident in her combat prowess, her old age left her bones weary and lacking the strength and fire of her youth. She hoped the advantage of the armor would be enough. She reached deep within her robes to retrieve a small black sphere. It flickered with a ring of angry red lights.
“Only as a last resort,” she said to herself, before tucking it back into her robes.
There would be none of her special virus shenanigans as there had been when she’d first entered the planet’s space. Ching Shih was well aware that a high-tech vessel like the Mayflower would have quarantined the virus and taken the precautionary measures to prevent any further cyber-attacks. That didn’t mean a manual hack to allow her stealth entry was completely out of the question.
Despite the Mayflower’s powerful cloaking technology, Ching Shih’s scanners had already pierced through it and revealed the docking bay. She kept a safe distance away, having measured the exact limits of the Mayflower’s close-range scanners. Her fingers danced across the keyboard searching for the right vulnerabilities within the Mayflower’s code that would allow her access.
A half hour went by of nonstop typing. Breaking into a system like this without her powerful virus technology would be one of her greatest accomplishments. It reminded her of her early days when she was nothing more than a code monkey working for another man’s business. She was pleased to see her old skills hadn’t fallen by the wayside through disuse.
At last, she managed to break into the Mayflower’s security systems. She made quick work of their scanners and any alarms that might sound in the case of a breach. She then darted toward the docking bay systems and opened the doors to allow her entry into the satellite.
Once inside, her presence would quickly be made known. She’d have to hurry. She sped her tiny ship in through the opening bay doors and vanished inside the hangar. Several men and women stopped what they were doing to gaze at the closing bay doors. Some immediately ran to their computer terminals and stations trying to figure out who’d ordered them open. They’d be frantically hitting the alarms only to find themselves locked out of their own systems. Ching Shih had left nothing to chance.
Her vessel decloaked and she rose out a hatch in the top. She fired a red beam of energy from the tip of her blaster directly at the computer terminals, frying them. She wouldn’t risk one of these tech junkies somehow managing to break through the lockdown.
Four armed guards had already been heading to the hangar. The civilian employees rushed past them in an attempt to escape into the main hall. Ching Shih ducked back into her ship and typed out a series of commands across her console. The hallway doors closed in front the corporate employees, trapping them in the hangar with her.
“Nobody leaves here alive,” she hissed.
Ching Shih somersaulted out of the way of incoming bullet fire. Her body deftly navigated the hangar, twisting and weaving under the onslaught of bullets. She ducked out of cover briefly to lay down a few suppressing shots before tucking around to the side. Her armor gave her all the advantage she needed, allowing her to run rapidly along the edges of the walls and backflip to flank the guards from behind. Her sword glowed red-hot and she made a single sweep of the blade, severing their heads from their shoulders.
Ching Shih turned her back to them, letting their bodies slump against the ground with a sickening splat. Her robes trailed behind her, dragging the pools of blood beneath it in a crimson trail. She walked toward the shaking employees, backed against the door and staring up at her like cornered animals.
“Please!” One man screamed, clawing against the door. “Have mercy!”
“Did your company have mercy on my planet?” she growled, dropping her blaster to the ground. She closed both hands around the hilt of her blade and held it in front of her, stance rigid. “Did you think to spare any of the millions of lives lost for a test run?”
“Please…I didn’t know.”
Ching Shih rushed forward without warning. She stabbed him through the stomach and drew the blade up into his sternum. The other employees scattered in terror.
She leaned in close to the dead man’s face, her eyes red with tears. “You will pay for your ignorance and your inaction. All of you will know the wrath of Ching Shih.”
TALISHA RACED THROUGH the temple. Walls rose up before them, blocking their path. Stairs dropped beneath their feet, nearly causing them to plummet to their doom. It was like running through a terrible dream. She watched the hallway lengthening before her before it spiraled up suddenly and shot into the sky. She shook her head and slumped against the wall, defeated.
“Nope! I’m done!” she yelled to the sky.
“Well, what do your scans show?” Rogers asked.
Talisha groaned and pulled up the holographic map over her gauntlet. There revealed nothing but several beeping Valran symbols over a staticky screen.
“It’s the Valran code for error,” she explained. “The temple is shifting too fast for the map to keep updated. We’re lost without a guide.”
Bluebird frowned. “It is predicament–wait.” Her attention went immediately to a set of twenty-foot-tall black metal doors that had sprung up behind them.
Talisha looked at her sharply. “What is it?”
Bluebird placed a finger against her lips. She undid the straps on her cannon and walked toward the doors. Talisha quickly checked the audio waves on her visor screen. There were footsteps, and they were coming closer.
Talisha sprang to her feet, placing a hand against her arm cannon and aiming it at the door. Rogers found suitable cover behind one of the imposing Valran statues and readied his pistol. There was the sound of a machine being set up on the other end of the door, soon followed by a loud bang that shook the doors. A moment of silence passed and something pounded against the doors again.
“Rogers,” Talisha said, keeping her voice quiet. “I’m having trouble seeing what’s on the other side of the door. Temple’s screwing up with my whole systems. Mind telling me what we’re dealing with?”
He nodded. “Six humans wearing bulky power armor. One in the back is not. Likely their leader. They’ve got a heavy-duty battering ram.”
“That’s an IGF tactic,” Talisha said. She took a deep breath. “The one in the back will be a general or lieutenant. Someone to watch the flanks. These will be special forces, higher-ups. Extremely dangerous.”
“Not as dangerous as a blast from Ethel,” Bluebird said with a smirk.
“Please don’t, Big Blue.” Talisha cringed. “I’ve worked with the IGF, they’re not bad people. Mostly. We can reason with them and they’re likely just as lost as we are.”
Bluebird gave her a sideways glance. “They bring nothing but suffering. They will also shoot on sight. You know this.”
“It’s part of their protocol when engaging in high stakes missions,” Talisha said with a nod. “We’re gonna have to play this smart. We need allies, not more enemies.”
Rogers looked at Talisha with tense shoulders. “So what’s the plan?
“Something I probably shouldn’t.” She lifted her visor and cupped her hands over her mouth and hollered. “HEY!”
If Rogers had a functioning mouth, it would have fallen open in utter disbelief. “You’re right, you shouldn’t have.”
The banging stopped. There was silence on the other side of the door. A brief murmuring followed.
Talisha took that as a sign that they’d heard her. “My name is Talisha Artul. I have a Bounty Hunting License per regulation code five-five-five, point four-three.”
A husky voice from the other end of the door responded. “Commander Ajar Mattu of the 497th Division of the IGF Military Forces. I’ve not had the personal
satisfaction. You’re hereby being formally requested to leave this site.”
“On what grounds?”
“Let us get in, and we’ll talk.”
“Only so long as you acknowledge my rights as a legal and licensed citizen within the Intergalactic Peacekeeping Federation and ensure for me and my allies safety from retaliation once you come through.”
What followed next was an extremely long sigh. It lasted at least six seconds by Talisha’s count. There was more muttering.
Finally he called back. “I’m not gonna fucking shoot you, okay. Just…wait for us to get in and we’ll talk.”
Bluebird’s lip curled. “Lying, murderous scumbags. I won’t shoot them, but no telling what my fists might do if we are betrayed.”
“Blue! Please! It’ll be fine!” Talisha hissed through tightly gritted teeth.
Another minute or so passed until finally the IGF special squad broke the doors open. A woman with large armor near the front packed up the battering ram, folding it into a special case that she then hoisted onto her back. Talisha recognized the devices and make of her armor as being a special designation of an engineering specialist.
The man in the back stepped forward, rifle in both hands in front of him but aimed at the ground. He left it to his side in order to extend his hand in Talisha’s direction. She took his hand. They lingered for a moment staring into each other’s eyes. There was something strangely familiar about him.
“It’s an honor to finally meet you, Miss Artul,” he said.
“Have we met before?” She squinted.
“No, but some of your assignments with the IGF have come with my recommendation, so you may have seen my name or face in your research or briefings.”
Talisha nodded, unsure. “Yeah. That’s probably it.”
“Who are your friends?”
Talisha gestured to Bluebird with her thumb. “The big one is Agda Valencia, aka Bluebird.”
“Big Ugly Bluebird,” Bluebird corrected. “Bub to enemies, but most just call me Blue.”
Mattu nodded. “I know who you are, Agda. You’re a uh—you’re a wanted criminal.”
“I’m on a planet outside IGF jurisdiction and you have no authority to extradite me,” Bluebird growled, taking a threatening step in his direction. She rose a fist to her chest. “Try anything and I will break you into splinters.”
“No intention,” Mattu said, backing away from her. “Way I see it, I’m going to need all the help I can get.”
Bluebird pointed two fingers at her eyes. “I will be watching you, military man.”
Talisha made a hasty move to change the subject. “And the android is Sheriff Rogers.”
“Former sheriff, Talisha.” Rogers tipped his hat. “Howdy, fellas.”
“All right, cowboy robot. I accept this.” Mattu shook his head, still a bit wide-eyed. “Well here’s my problem, the Council of Thirteen has declared this temple to be a security concern to the galaxy, which means none of you can be here.”
Bluebird scoffed. “Even if you could make us leave, how would you find the exit?”
Mattu pointed at her. “You’re bright. I like you. For better or worse, we’re all stuck in this creepy place. I’d like for us to work together to get out of here.”
“I think we’d all be open to that,” Talisha said.
Bluebird growled again. This time her lip curled up into a snarl and she made a visible show of gnashing her teeth at the IGF squad. Talisha nudged her in the ribs with an elbow.
“I’ll be good,” Bluebird simmered.
Mattu bit his lip. “Very well. I’d like to know what your plans are. Maybe we can collaborate.”
Talisha pulled one of her previously saved scans of the temple, revealing the control core at the temple’s center. “A lot of Valran technology utilizes a bioorganic compound that kinda prints itself based off whatever data is stored in its memory banks. Think of it like a really scary 3D printer.”
“So the temple isn’t just a living thing?” Mattu asked.
Talisha’s eyes narrowed. “That’s ridiculous. Why would you think that?”
“Never mind. Continue.”
“So my theory is that there might be some error going on with the central computing system within the control core. It’s constantly replicating all the structures it has in its memory.”
The engineer of the squad stepped forward, her shoulders square and face obscured by her helmet. “Name’s Langston. What sort of bioorganic compound are we talking about?”
“I don’t particularly understand it,” Talisha explained. “My ship’s made out of a similar material.”
“I’ve a theory,” Langston said. “Just wish we had more time.”
She marched to one of the statues and knelt on one knee. She retrieved a chisel and hammer from her pack of supplies she carried on her back and attempted to carve a chunk out of the base. Her tools broke against its surface.
“Allow me,” Bluebird said.
Bluebird aimed her cannon at the base of the statue and fired the plasma beam, cutting a thin slice off the corner of the pedestal. Langston stared for a second and went right to work, wrapping the block within a translucent filmy material. The second the block was removed from the temple’s surface it melted into black goo. The liquid sloshed and squirmed within its container, attempting to break out.
“Well, that just adds evidence to the theory,” Langston said. “I’m guessing they might be a form of nanite technology, or some Valran equivalent.”
Rogers snapped his fingers. “Talisha! D’ya think you could fire a disruptive blast at some of these walls?”
“The cannon can be made to deliver low-energy pulse shots,” Talisha said, her voice trailing off. “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know much, save for how to shoot and robotics.” He holstered his pistol and pointed at the wall to the left of them. “A problem with nanite-enforced structures is that certain types of energy can temporarily disrupt their programming. Now there’s powerful heat signatures coming from this direction. If you can disrupt shit long enough with your cannon, we might be able to squeeze right on through to the control room.”
Mattu clicked his tongue. “I don’t like it. How do we know a disruption like that won’t bring the entire temple down on top of us?”
Talisha fiddled with the settings on her arm cannon. “A controlled blast shouldn’t be enough to send that large of a ripple effect. Anyway, it’s a risk we’re gonna have to take.”
She took aim at the wall and charged the beam. The color was a semitranslucent gray. The blast struck the hard wall and seemed to dissipate almost immediately. They all stood there, staring in silence. For a moment it seemed as if the idea had failed. Then the wall shifted, parting ways and reforming itself into a new corridor. A long platform emerged over a drop into infinite darkness on either side.
Rogers made a whistling sound and tightened his hat around his head. “God damn, I am smart.”
Talisha patted him on the shoulder. “Yes, you are, cowboy. Good thinking.”
“I want the soldier men to go in front of us,” Bluebird said. “So they don’t shoot us in the back.”
Langston raised an objection to that. “How do we know you won’t do the same?” The other squad members echoed her sentiments.
Mattu pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “We’ll mix up the squads a bit. Some in front, some in the back. We don’t need any further reasons to mistrust one another.”
Talisha nodded. “Agreed.”
Bluebird appeared uneasy but made no further protests. She scowled at the armored men and women beneath her while she took the rear.
Commander Mattu took a position directly in front of Bluebird, and behind Talisha. He gave Talisha a strange smile as they exchanged glances; a fleeting, nervous look. She couldn’t find it in herself to return it.
Chapter Ten
SNIDELY AND NERGAL found it easy enough to sneak onto the IGF perimeter
around the Valran Temple. The battle raging on the ground and in the skies overhead left most completely oblivious to the presence of the two gangly monsters slinking about in the desert. They drew close to the camp and hid behind a stack of supply crates.
Nergal found it utterly freeing to finally traverse without his hazmat suit. It’d been so long since he’d allowed himself to walk about without it. He’d forgotten what the wind felt like against his skin.
Snidely had given him a change of clothes looted from the corpses of the refugees in the shack: a black pair of pants and heavy boots. Nergal was still somewhat sad about losing his coat he’d taken from the bar fight, but Snidely found him a stylish alternative. It was a flowing white jacket and cape ensemble with a diabolic hood. Snidely jokingly referred to it as wasteland chic.
There were only a handful of guards stationed within a bunker guarding the current temple entrance. Most of their attentions were focused on firing up at the skies and praying that none of the fiery wreckage came crashing down upon them. They would soon have new fears to deal with.
Nergal rubbed the back of Snidely’s neck affectionately. “We must be cautious in our approach. They’re heavily armed and armored.”
Snidely cackled. “It won’t be enough. Remember, we have superpowers.”
“And need I remind you that neither of us are bulletproof?” Nergal said.
“Relax,” Snidely chided. “They won’t see me coming.”
“How’s that?” Nergal pulled away from him, eyes narrowed.
“Remember, the critters don’t show up on imaging systems, and now, neither do I.” Snidely grinned wide, his eyes full of manic glee. “Be back in a jiffy.”
Nergal stared as Snidely slunk off. The man had truly changed, and not just physically. He was a far cry from the simpering corporate toady they’d first met out in the desert. He was gleeful and arrogant, willingly charging into an armed encampment in the midst of a full-scale battle. There was nothing for Nergal to do but lick his chapped lips and watch the show.
