by K. F. Breene
“Yes, I’m ready,” Millicent lied, glancing back at the fresh faces who’d had to take a backseat last time. Ryker said they were the best they had. Millicent sincerely hoped so; she wasn’t sure what weapons they’d be going against.
“What’s their twenty?”
“What does that even mean?” Millicent checked her wrist screen.
“Where are they?”
“Then just say that. They’ve moved up three floors while we’ve been sitting here. Unnaturally slow for someone under fire. It’s making me very nervous.”
“Clearly they don’t think they have much to be concerned about.” Ryker shifted, blocking most of the door. “And clearly, they are wrong.”
“They have to know what we’re capable of. We’re going in blind, though.”
“You know their tech. You know their code. I know their approximate size and possibly build—if they created those robots in their image. I don’t call that blind.”
“You’ve always been overly optimistic.”
“Confident, princess. The word you are looking for is confident.” Ryker glanced toward the cockpit. “Counting down.”
“We’re ready, sir,” Dagger said from off to the side, standing with his hands on his utility belt. Danissa stood near him, her face pale, a gun in her hand. Her determined expression warred with anxiety.
The craft jerked and then accelerated.
“Troops B, C, and D, follow closely,” Ryker said through the comms. “We’re leading the way.”
“Ready for it, Millie?” he said in a low tone, not on the comms. A muscle in his jaw flexed. “We need to go in hot. I want to make it out of this alive.”
Millicent’s fingers hovered over the “Execute” button. They were near the top, where the air was as clean as it would get, making visibility nearly clear. The building enlarged in the windows, with its black spots on the side like warts.
“Ready to fire in three,” Ryker counted. “Two . . . fire!”
Millicent slapped the screen. The craft rumbled. Streams of smoke followed two points of fire that smashed into the building. The twin explosions blasted fire into the sky.
“Fire!” Ryker said again.
Millicent hit them with a shrapnel rocket, designed to lodge in the holes she’d just created and spray them with metal.
“One more and we attack, in three . . . two . . . fire!”
She loosed more power and then sprayed the building with rounds as they neared. The blue dots on her wrist screen were moving within the confines of what was certainly a room, and a rather big one at that. Three didn’t move at all.
“I think we got a few,” Millicent said, out of breath even though she’d barely moved.
“Then let’s get the rest. How many are we dealing with?” Ryker readied his weapons as the craft drew up next to the building.
“Two dozen, give or take. And that’s if these dots are really them. And if there aren’t more of them. I can’t be certain.”
The craft hovered beside the gaping hole in the building. Flames crowded in patches on the floor and coated the walls.
“It’s going to be hot,” Ryker said as the door slid open. To punctuate his words, a blast of hot air hit their faces.
“Of all the places we could enter, we choose the most volatile?” Danissa asked over the roar. More crafts hovered in close.
“This is the least volatile as far as the enemy is concerned.” Ryker ran across the extending platform.
“We hope,” Millicent said, waiting for two more troopers to follow Ryker before she ran across. She jumped over two feet of hollow space before landing on the wet floor of the building. Rain pounded the blackened carpet.
“Wait over there, ladies,” Ryker said, pointing to the side.
“Will we be participating?” Danissa asked as the rest of the troopers and Dagger filed out of the craft. The vessel pulled away and was immediately replaced by another, emptying more rebels to join their cause.
“Always,” Millicent said.
After a few moments, Danissa said, “Is Trent very knowledgeable about breeding? I mean, in practicality and not just theoretically.”
“Very. It was because of him that Marie is what she is. It’s because of his research that those kids are what they are. He knows his stuff. Annoyingly so.”
They both fell silent as the next craft was emptied. And then the final craft.
“Their position?” Ryker asked from his place near the windows. The light showered his squared shoulders and powerful frame. All eyes focused on him, and then followed his gaze to Millicent. Ryker was making it clear she was also in command.
Millicent rolled her eyes. These men and their fanfare. “They’ve slowed their movements. I’d bet they know we’re on their floor. I have no way of knowing what that means.”
“Everyone pull up your maps.” Ryker looked down at his wrist. “You already know what sections you’ve been assigned to cover. Now you’ll see your route. This might change as they shift position. For now, we’ll try to surround the room they’re holing up in. Then we’ll go in as one.”
“There is no way this will work according to plan,” Danissa murmured. “It never does.”
“I know.” Millicent checked her route. Naturally, it coincided with Ryker’s team. “But you can’t tell them that. It’ll make them afraid. People do stupid things when they’re afraid.”
“Shouldn’t Dagger be in charge of a different team?” Danissa’s brow rumpled. “He’s the second best at security, right? Behind Ryker?”
“Ryker knows what’s bound to happen. He’ll choose to protect us over taking the building. Don’t bother trying to make him see sense. He has none where my safety is concerned.”
“I wasn’t going to try and make him see sense. I’m no hero—I’m all for this plan.”
Millicent couldn’t help a grin.
“Move out!” Ryker waved his arm through the air, and everyone turned and jogged off in their approved direction. The remainder was a group of hard faces and chiseled bodies, with scarred eyes and set jaws. These men and woman had seen plenty of action, by the look of it, and they were grizzled.
“Nope. I definitely won’t be making him see sense,” Danissa said in a low tone.
Millicent went over all the commands for her suit. If she was about to be thrust into close combat, she wanted to have all her weapons ready.
The group of troopers fanned out, leaving a hole at the center for Ryker to fill. Dagger stalked toward Millicent and Danissa, completely devoid of his usual good humor. He didn’t let fear rule him, either, by the look of it, and he had no illusions regarding what might be waiting for them.
Shivers raced across Millicent’s skin. “Here we go.”
“Ready, ladies?” Dagger asked.
“Protect Danissa if shit goes sideways,” Millicent said, walking forward. She shared the ability to check whatever those blue dots were with Ryker, letting him pass it on to whomever needed it. “I’ll be fine.”
“Gunner already gave me that directive. He said you’re good in a pinch. Violently so.”
“Yes. Today is not my day to die.” Millicent stopped beside Ryker. She nodded.
He matched it, then turned.
They walked slowly, avoiding the dwindling flames and pausing every so often to check on the status of the blue dots. The creatures had spread out around the perimeter of the room, probably preparing to defend themselves. One blue dot was still moving, though. Upward, toward the roof.
“Send crafts to check out the top of the building,” Millicent ordered. “They’ve been heading upward since their systems went down. I bet they have an escape system in place.”
“Already on it. So far, nothing.” Ryker paused at a doorway. He peered into the room, which, according to their maps, was supposedly empty. Then glanced back the way they’d come. “It’s all dark. Not burned, but dark. The only light is from the windows.”
“Because of the bombs, you think?” Dagger asked.
&
nbsp; “No.” Ryker fell silent, using hand signs to direct his men through the doorway. They fanned out around the perimeter of the room as Millicent entered.
Huge couches and chairs filled the vast space, their cushions compressed as though they’d been sat in often. In the corner there was a table-screen with an enormous chair that had been pushed back. A few hefty tablets lined a shelf along the wall, and three standlike robots on wheels had some sort of blue stuff piled on them.
“Is that food, do you think?” Dagger asked as he peered at the blue material. It was almost claylike. He bent forward to smell it.
“Those robots look like serving trays of some kind.” Ryker’s eyes scanned the room.
“They are definitely big.” Dagger looked under the furniture. “Twenty-five percent larger than us, I’d wager. Smaller than their robots, thank Holy.”
“So I’ll just shoot from a distance, then, will I?” Millicent asked, running her fingers along the rug. “This is silk, I’d bet my life on it. I had floor coverings like this in my old apartment.”
“You had silk in your apartment?” Dagger asked, lowering his gun somewhat. She could barely see his expression of incredulity through the gloom. “Weren’t you only a director?”
“I did, too,” Danissa said. “I picked it out myself.”
Chuckling echoed across the room. “We have two members of royalty with us,” Ryker said.
“I’ll say. I guess I was slumming it without even realizing it.” Dagger shook his head and continued his approach, slowing as he neared the far wall. “Another robot over here. Looks like some sort of cleaning device. Still has one of those . . . brain units.”
“I’m getting a soft vibration from my implant,” Danissa said, putting her fingers to the spot behind her right ear. “They are using their mental warfare. It just started, so whatever it is, they can remotely activate it, and it doesn’t need to be connected to their system.”
“Any energy source will do.” Millicent surveyed the lights along the ceiling, all blackened. Not merely turned off—lightly painted over. “They don’t like the light.”
“What’s that?” Ryker asked.
They moved through the room on silent feet. That one blue dot made it up another level.
“They don’t like the light. That one vacant room with the hidden door was blasting light. You had to shield your eyes to get to the door. That was a defensive mechanism for them. Like guns. They probably can’t tolerate intense lighting.”
“Or sound,” Danissa said. “That makes sense. The guns would indicate that their bodies are susceptible to punctures, like ours are.”
“They also think we are largely stupid.” Dagger looked down at video equipment set up along the base of the windows.
“Well . . . maybe some of us are . . .” Millicent paused at the next doorway, one customized to be much taller and wider, almost hitting the vaulted ceiling. “Looks like they got tired of stooping.”
“There are huge apartments on the other side.” Ryker studied his wrist. “And something for food storage. These must be living quarters. Robots are their servants.”
“Humans are their servants,” one of the troopers growled.
“That was their second mistake,” Dagger said.
“And their first?” Millicent watched the ground where she walked. Something was niggling at her. This was all too easy. These beings had had time to run, or hide, or create traps. Yet they’d gathered in one room and waited for Millicent’s party to come to them. They weren’t a dumb species, nor could they be a young one—at least in terms of humans—to have accomplished so much. So why were they letting the enemy waltz in?
“Coming to Earth in the first place,” Dagger answered. “At least, if these aren’t humans in disguise. Which, judging by their furniture, they are not.”
Millicent’s mind drifted back to that blue dot that had been moving faster from the others—and away from them. It was up one more level. It hadn’t broken away from the rest until the systems had gone down.
“This is a distraction,” Millicent blurted out.
An explosion rocked the floor. A body flew out of the doorway and skittered across the ground. Millicent ducked behind a massive chair.
“Keep your eyes open,” Ryker yelled.
Another explosion flung a second trooper. He hit the wall with a sickening crack and slid down to a crumpled heap at the base.
“Make a new doorway,” Ryker yelled, clearing to the side.
Three men heaved a massive couch out of the way while a muscular trooper dropped to one knee, swinging a long metal weapon onto his shoulder.
“Clear away,” Millicent yelled, waving her arm to the side. Troopers got out from behind him just in time. A small flare of heat and fire erupted out the back of the weapon as the rocket sped away from the front. It hit the wall and blasted through. Debris rained down and the ceiling cracked.
“Not the best weapon you could’ve used,” Millicent muttered, jogging forward with her gun in hand.
Another explosion sounded to the right of her. Pieces of wall and plaster rained through an open doorway. On the side Millicent could see, little discs waited in the walkway.
“Look where you’re stepping,” Ryker said, clearly noticing the same thing. “They’ve got land mines in clear view.”
“Dagger is right—they think we’re idiots.” Millicent stepped around the land mine.
Dusty Eagle, Millicent thought. A heavy handgun with maximum power and great balance filled her hand. These beings might be big, but if a gun would hurt them, this gun would blast them into tomorrow.
There was another explosion in the distance. The rebels were closing in, surrounding the enemy. Whatever these giants had planned would happen soon.
Millicent checked their whereabouts. The blue dots had slowly gathered together in the middle of the room, clustered. They knew they were surrounded and were waiting for the showdown.
She shook her head again. That lone blue dot was up yet another level, nearly to the top of the building. Was it going to the roof?
“Nothing is on the roof,” Ryker said after she voiced her suspicions. “While we were being picked up, I had our crafts survey the building.”
“Then where is it going?”
“I don’t know. I can send them up again to try and get a closer look.” Ryker eyed the door in front of them. Troops moved through the darkness on the right, gingerly picking their way from one place to another, stepping around the explosives. Through the windows, which had been covered with a sort of film, Millicent could barely see a silver craft drifting past in the distance—one of theirs. Soon, the open space amidst the furniture was covered by more rebels.
“They’ve gathered in a position that can be totally surrounded,” Millicent said, taking a step back and having no idea why. She itched to run. This was wrong. “The room is massive. It’s taking all of our forces to surround it, spreading us thin. Getting here was easy.” She took another step back. “It was too easy. Nothing in war has been too easy.”
“Think they are the type to sacrifice themselves?” Ryker asked, passing out charges to waiting hands.
She thought again of that one blue dot working its way up. She cataloged her team’s movements and that of the enemy. Their defenses. Their offense. And now this . . .
Danissa’s fingers curled around her upper arm. Her sister squeezed, a silent comment on her own matching hunch.
“Let’s blow them to hell and get out of here,” Millicent said in a rush. “I don’t like this.”
“I agree,” Ryker said, suddenly all action.
“You were right, sir. She’s got good instincts.” Dagger ran forward with Ryker. “Let’s go, let’s go! Place those charges, men and women!”
“Danissa,” Millicent said, flashing through the various scenarios of what the enemy might be doing. “We need a heat map on this building. Can you break into Moxidone and work with their satellites?”
“I don’t ha
ve to break into anything. I have access to both conglomerates. But we already know where they are . . .”
“We know where their tagged organic matter is within this building. That is what Marie was tracking. The brains in those robots and the beings locked in that room. I want nonorganic heat. Crafts, specifically. Then get information on the organic heat in the other Toton buildings. Send that to the headquarters. I imagine the rebels and conglomerates will need it when we get out of here.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Fight, what else?”
“Go!” Ryker dropped his hand. A pulse passed through the charges the rebels had planted—the system checking the spacing—before small explosions blazed across the floor. Walls disintegrated, crumpling to form jagged holes. With the spacing, the wall’s integrity would remain intact, keeping the ceiling from falling down on top of them. It would also prevent them from having to use the doorways.
“Light and sound!” Ryker yelled, rolling light spheres into the now-open space one by one. “Max power.”
“Blare it!” Dagger yelled. He fiddled with something. Loud, jarring music with a deep bass blasted out from his hands. With a big grin, he tossed in the portable speakers. “Oldie but goodie.”
“They carry music into battle?” Danissa asked, not looking up from her wrist until a loud female moan drifted up from a pair of glasses that were being thrown in. “And porn? They carry porn into battle?”
“I’ve long since stopped asking questions.” Millicent jogged forward. More light spheres went in, and then the troopers followed. Ryker glanced over his shoulder at her before ducking through the wall. She followed a moment later. For all her big talk, she wanted to stay in sight of Ryker. She didn’t always make the best decisions . . .
Through the wall, with music and light assaulting her senses, she got the first look at their enemy. Giants all, easily topping Ryker’s height by three feet or more, their chests broad and heavily padded, though not defined with muscle like Ryker’s. Humanoid, with two arms and two legs, they wore heavy masks covering their faces and much of their bodies, except for their arms and feet, which each had six digits and scaly skin.
They crouched within a self-made blockade of furniture. As the troopers swarmed into the room, one of the creatures held up a strange sort of metal implement Millicent had never seen before. It held its arm in front of its face, clearly trying to block out the light.
