Extensis Vitae: City of Sarx

by Gregory Mattix

  A few minutes later, he received Keeva’s message that a distress beacon had been activated. Shit, I guess it was too much to hope that everything went smoothly. If we can reach the Sprawl again, hopefully we can be out of here without any more fighting.

  ***

  Reznik led them out of the elevator to find the other four Yakuza enforcers waiting for them in the corridor. The walls were riddled with bullet holes, and a half dozen of the Overseer’s men lay dead. The remaining Yakuza enforcers had sustained light injuries. One man slung the dead enforcer over a shoulder, and another took Lars’s corpse. While they had waited for Rin’s recovery, Lynessa had called Angelis security to meet them outside and retrieve her brother’s body.

  Rin’s wound had quickly healed thanks to the nano-styptic and her own nanites regenerating. She was back on her feet, looking much better now. “Yamashita reports that the rebels are clear of the inner city,” she relayed.

  “That’s great. We just need to clear out of here and disappear back into the Sprawl. First round is on me when we get back to Declan’s place.” Reznik grinned at Rin. He threw open the service door, and they exited into the alley. He wondered if he should have Lynessa notify Lady Angelis of the successful mission but decided to wait until they were clear of the inner city.

  The group filed out toward the main square in front of the Gomorrah Club. The square was vacant at that late hour. Just when his team had cleared the alley and was about to be fully exposed in the open square, a blinding spotlight flicked on and blinded them. The whoosh of thrusters assaulted their ears from a Thorne gunship hovering above the edge of the square a hundred yards away.

  “Surrender immediately or be killed!” a voice barked through the PA system of the gunship.

  “Take cover!” Reznik yelled. The group split apart as everyone fled down the street in search of cover away from the square.

  The gunship’s thrusters roared as it swooped toward them, and its laser cannon indiscriminately blasted at anything that moved. The Angelis dirigible that had recently been repaired and relaunched was torn to shreds, flaming pieces of its plastic skin and charred electronic components raining down on the square.

  Damn it, how the hell did that thing even get here inside the dome? Reznik took cover in a storefront, and his team scattered in the chaos. The gatling laser blasted rounds into the street and the facades of the buildings. Debris sizzled and flew around him, and he heard the rumbling collapse of a structure nearby.

  He peeked around the corner and got a few rounds off with the pulse rifle, but the rounds were absorbed by the thick ablative ceramic armor on the gunship. The ship’s gatling laser locked in on Reznik’s position and began pounding the storefront. Reznik kicked the door down and took cover inside the shop, hoping the building wouldn’t collapse on him.

  After the barrage subsided a bit, Reznik took a quick look outside. He briefly glimpsed two drop ships disgorging armed troops down the street behind the gunship. The Thorne skins leaped twenty or thirty feet to the street below and began firing the instant their feet hit the ground. Reznik’s team sporadically returned fire.

  “Fall back!” Reznik cried over their open channel. “They’ve got way too much firepower to directly engage them.” He saw one of the Yakuza enforcers step into the street with a rocket launcher on his shoulder, but his head erupted from a sniper’s round. Blatblatblat. His body shuddered as the gatling laser tore into him milliseconds later, punching burning holes through his torso. The rocket launcher tumbled to the street before he could fire it; a second later, his smoldering body lay next to it. Reznik looked around but couldn’t see where Rin or Lynessa had gotten to.

  The gunship’s thrusters roared, and it advanced, its gun scouring the street. SMG fire erupted from the opposite side of the street from Reznik, two Yakuza enforcers concentrating their fire on the ship. Lynessa was crouching behind a counter, firing her laser pistol bravely but ineffectively at the ship’s heavy ablative armor.

  Shit! They’re gonna get wiped out. Reznik’s eyes darted to the rocket launcher, and before he knew what he was doing, he was running for it. Energy bolts crackled past him from the skins advancing down the street. Reznik dove and rolled on the ground, coming up on one knee, the pulse rifle in his left hand. He fired a few bursts toward the advancing skins even as he secured the rocket launcher in his right hand. A couple of the troops ducked for cover, but most kept advancing. He estimated their numbers at twenty-five or thirty. We’ve got no chance against that many. I’ve got to buy them time to escape.

  “Everyone get the hell out of here,” he yelled over the open channel. He brought the rocket launcher to his shoulder and aimed at the gunship, nearly on top of him. The gunship apparently hadn’t detected him yet, as it was busy firing on the store where Lynessa and the two Yakuza were, its gatling laser annihilating the interior of the store. A couple energy bolts from the Thorne foot soldiers slammed into Reznik’s shoulder and thigh, but there was no way he could miss his target from that distance—it was like hitting the broad side of a barn from ten feet away.

  Whoosh. The rocket streaked out of the launcher and hit the left thruster of the gunship. A roaring fireball erupted, and the ship lurched, left wing dipping down and hitting the street. The right thruster flared, and the ship shot up, rolling and striking the side of a skyscraper before ricocheting off and slamming nose first into the street. A wall of heat and fire flattened Reznik to the pavement.

  ***

  Rin cursed at the heavy fire coming from the gunship. She hid with Hamada in the ground floor of a cafe. Across the street, about fifty meters away, Reznik and a couple of her enforcers occasionally fired on the gunship. A couple dozen Thorne CorpSec troops were pouring out of the drop ships and marching down the street.

  “That thing is too heavily armored for small arms,” she observed. “Have we got anything heavier?”

  “Ikegami has a rocket launcher, and Asada has a railgun,” Hamada reported. He was peering out the window with nothing more than his Tachibana SMG.

  Rin consulted her HUD. Since her team was wired into her private channel, she had their bio readings updating live. “Shit, Asada is down already.” She opened her channel. “Ikegami, take a shot with your rocket launcher. We’re totally pinned down and will have CorpSec all the way up our asses in another couple minutes.”

  “Rikai,” was Ikegami’s response. A moment later, he darted into the street, rocket launcher at his shoulder, but he was instantly cut down by a sniper with a railgun. His jaw sagged open in surprise as a hole exploded in his forehead, and his hand twitched as he tried to fire the launcher, but it fell from his grasp before he too fell to the street, smoldering from energy blasts.

  “Damn it.” Rin watched the advancing Thorne troops and tried to think of how to get them all out of this. She wasn’t used to heavily armed battles, and this clearly wasn’t her area of expertise. The gunship started blasting the storefronts a few buildings down from hers.

  “Everyone get the hell out of here,” Reznik ordered through the Datalink channel. Rin held her breath as he ran and dove for the rocket launcher. He came up on one knee and got hit with a couple blasts from the Thorne troops. Hamada lay down cover fire for Reznik, and Rin’s remaining men on the other side of the street joined him.

  Then Reznik fired the rocket launcher. The ship veered and crashed a short distance from his position, erupting into a massive fireball. She could no longer see Reznik through the smoke.

  “Come on, let’s move.” Her katana was in hand as she and Hamada ran to the street, using the smoke for cover. “All units, move out. We’re falling back,” she ordered the rest of her team even as she advanced to check on Reznik and cover the others’ retreat.

  ***

  Reznik shook off his dizziness after the explosion and got to his feet. Smoke billowed in the street, obscuring visibility from the advancing skins, which was a big bonus. He dropped the empty launcher and made for the building where he had last seen L
ynessa.

  Most of the small store had been practically annihilated by the gunship. Flames licked at the edges of its smoking ruins. One of the Yakuza enforcers was dead; another stumbled to his feet, walking drunkenly despite massive injuries to his torso. I can’t believe he’s even on his feet after soaking up that much damage.

  Lynessa had fallen near the back of the store. Her head and shoulders were under debris that had fallen from the ceiling. A cauterized hole had pierced her thigh. Reznik pulled the debris off her and found that she had blood on her head from getting knocked unconscious but was still breathing. He picked up the slim woman and carried her gently out of the store. I already lost your brother—I’m not gonna lose you too.

  The smoke had cleared slightly, and gunfire echoed up and down the street. Energy blasts flared by. Here goes nothing.

  Reznik ran out of the store, hugging the wall as much as he could, racing away from the advancing troops. Lynessa stirred in his arms, and he made it past the burning wreckage of the gunship. For a moment, he thought he might make it until several rounds took him in the back. His HUD flared an angry red, and he could tell the lasers had penetrated his dermal plating. Fire raged in his guts, and he staggered and fell to his knees.

  Lynessa’s eyes opened, and she looked around, confused. Reznik gently set her down on the ground, one hand going instinctively to his stomach, aware that something was seriously wrong. He slumped, one hand on the ground, propping himself up.

  “Reznik?” Lynessa put her hand on his chest questioningly, her eyes going wide.

  “Reznik?” another voice echoed. Rin was in front of him now with Hamada, who was firing and yelling something in Japanese. Rin’s face was grim with concern as her eyes looked him over. “Stay here,” she said. “We’ll buy some time.” Light from the flaming wreckage flashed on her katana, and she ran past him.

  “Lynessa, you have to get out of here.” Reznik could smell burnt meat, and when he looked down, he saw the holes in his gut. He looked over his shoulder.

  The burning hulk of the gunship blocked part of the street, providing some cover. Rin beheaded one of the Thorne soldiers that came around the wreck. Another fired at her, and she twisted and dodged impossibly, a couple rounds striking her, before her sword hacked through the man’s wrist. The pulse rifle tumbled to the street, the skin’s eyes wide. He staggered back from SMG fire, and then his head turned to pulp. Hamada was yelling at Rin that they had to go, but she was searching for another target.

  “Everyone, get the hell out of here—now! Fall back!” Reznik coughed at the effort from shouting. He realized the pulse rifle had fallen next to him.

  Lynessa was yelling something, and then a pair of Angelis security personnel were crouching over them, eyes wide with fear at the battle raging around them. “He needs medical help—get him out of here!” Lynessa’s eyes were shiny, but Reznik waved away the two men who were reaching to help him up. Reznik remembered that she had called them to recover Lars’s body.

  “Negative—I’m fine. Get her out of here.” The men balked, looking from him to Lynessa. “That’s an order,” he barked. More energy bolts flashed past them, and the men made up their minds, hoisting Lynessa between them.

  “Reznik,” she cried out as they pulled her away.

  “I’m sorry about your brother,” he called. Then they were half carrying, half dragging Lynessa away. I need to give them some covering fire.

  Reznik rolled over prone, wincing in pain, and couched the rifle to his shoulder. Blat blat blat blat. He dropped a skin coming up behind Rin with clean head shots.

  ***

  Rin sensed movement behind her and whirled, only to see the skin drop from a neat cluster of head shots. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Reznik, prone and aiming his rifle. He gave her a thumbs-up.

  What the hell is he doing? Idiot! She turned to engage another soldier coming around the wrecked ship in the street. He swung his pulse rifle at her, but she delivered a kick to the barrel, causing it to swing up, and stabbed at his stomach. The skin hopped away, dermal plating evidently deflecting her stab. She rushed in with a series of slashes then stabbed the man through the foot. The sword sank in, and he cried in pain. He cracked her on the head with the rifle, but she was already dodging, pulling the blade free and slashing the back of his knee, severing the tendons. The skin stumbled to one knee but then flopped backward to the street, and she realized Reznik had finished him off.

  “Somebody get Reznik out of here while we hold them off,” she ordered her men over the channel.

  “There’s nobody left but us.” Hamada stumbled behind the burning wreck as he took a couple more rounds. “We have to fall back, Lady Takahashi,” he grunted, coughing up some blood as he reloaded his SMG with the last magazine. She could see his health stats were critical on her HUD. He spoke truly—the rest of her men were dead.

  “Let’s go,” she decided. I need to get Reznik out of here. I’ve lost enough men; I don’t want to lose Hamada too.

  Rin and Hamada ran back to Reznik. His face was pale as he looked up from the sights of the rifle. “Nice moves,” he said quietly, a pained smile on his face. “You should get out of here now. I’ll hold them off.”

  “The hell you will.” She sheathed the katana and knelt down beside him. She could smell the burnt flesh, and the street was visible through the gaping wounds in his lower back. “I’m getting you out of here, you stubborn bastard.” She helped him to a kneeling position and gestured for Hamada to take one of his arms.

  Hamada turned, and suddenly his head burst open. Kerang. Hamada was felled as if he’d been KO’d by a heavyweight boxer. Rin turned just in time to see a woman aiming a railgun at her.

  ***

  Reznik groaned as Rin helped him to a kneeling position. There’s no reason for you to be here still—go! He thought he voiced the words but realized they were only his thoughts.

  A woman suddenly appeared atop the burning wreck of the gunship like the angel of death, flames licking around her feet. She snapped the long-barreled railgun crisply to her shoulder, and Hamada dropped from a clean head shot.

  Reznik recognized the woman as Marcus’s friend from the Thorne outpost. Rin had said something about her being Thorne’s personal assassin. They must be taking this really seriously if she’s taking command of this operation.

  The woman leisurely adjusted the aim of her railgun until it was pointed right at Rin. With the last ounce of his strength, Reznik swept Rin’s legs out from under her, surging up with his shoulder into her chest and knocking her onto her back. He didn’t even feel the round pass clean through him.

  ***

  Rin found herself on her back and thought she had been hit. But then she looked up and saw light passing through the large hole in Reznik’s chest. He took a staggering step sideways and collapsed bonelessly to the ground.

  Noooo! she screamed silently. She leaned over him to instinctively try to staunch the bleeding, but saw that her fist would fit inside the wound. She knew Reznik was done for.

  His mismatched gray and golden eyes focused on her. “You have to go, Rin… see this through…” His hand fumbled for hers.

  She clasped his hand hard and was about to reply until she realized she was about to be shot dead. Her eyes locked with Bethany St. Pierre’s. The railgun was pointed at her.

  Braaap braaap. SMG fire suddenly erupted around her, and Bethany was peppered with a burst of rounds. She covered her face with her arms before falling back behind the wrecked ship. Rin stood up in confusion before a hand clamped on her shoulder.

  “We must go now,” Takeo Yamashita said quietly, but firmly. “There’s too many of them.” He was flanked by a pair of his enforcers, their SMG barrels smoking.

  “No! I have to help Reznik.” His face looked peaceful now, and she wondered if he had passed yet.

  “It’s too late for him—I’m sorry, Lady.” Yamashita was tugging at her now. “Your brother ordered me to get you out of here.”
<
br />   The enforcers exchanged fire with the Thorne forces, and Yamashita shielded her with his body. He grunted as he was hit, but he was gently turning her away from Reznik and urging her to run. Yamashita’s two enforcers converged in front of them, shielding them and firing their SMGs full auto now. Energy bolts flashed all around them as more and more CorpSec troops converged on the wrecked ship and got clear shots.

  God damn it! He deserves better than dying in the street like a dog! For a moment, Rin was tempted to fight off Yamashita’s grasping hands and to hell with it if she got gunned down as well. But then she realized how selfish that would be. This was bigger than her, and her men were looking at her for direction. They were good men—following orders and dying without complaint, but she had lost too many of them already. Reznik wouldn’t have wanted them all killed needlessly on his behalf.

  There was also still the matter of mopping up and seeing that the slaves were freed and the city leadership transition made. How did I get saddled with the responsibility for shit like this? She finally allowed Yamashita to hustle her away, even though she cursed herself and felt like a coward for doing it.

  “Goodbye, my friend,” she said solemnly. She could feel the wetness on her cheeks as they ran for their lives.

  ***

  Reznik was relieved when Rin’s men led her away. He would miss his new friends, and Rin especially.

  He didn’t know how he was still alive with a three-inch hole through his chest. Good engineering on these old-school models. His HUD was a constant angry blazing red. “CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE SUSTAINED” it read. No shit. At least there’s no pain at this point.