by Isaac Hooke
“Ha, dumb-ass bitches!” Bender said.
Rade ducked behind the alcove as more robots burst inside, firing away.
“Got one,” Algorithm said.
“Me too,” Brat said.
Rade heard a pair of loud clangs in the hall and peered past; two more enemy combat robots lay on the deck.
Four intruders in jumpsuits peered past from the opening. Two of them faced Rade, the other two had their weapons pointed in the opposite direction. They were positioned high and low like the members of Rade’s own fire team.
Rade knew that Bender would be taking the lower tango; Rade aimed at the upper helmet, centering his sights over the head of the merc inside: Sino-Korean, judging from the features. Then again, the man could have been employing a holoemitter in his helmet to mask his true identity. The attacker could have been a robot for all Rade knew.
Rade squeezed the trigger and the target flopped over like a rag doll. The man underneath him fell almost instantaneously; both of them had boreholes piercing the faceplates of their helmets. The other two individuals facing in the opposite direction suffered similar fates.
Rade loosed a grenade from his harness and tossed it into the airlock. “Frag out.”
An explosion shook the deck.
“Bax, status?” Rade asked.
“The enemy shuttle is still attached,” Bax said. “The grenade landed in their airlock, and as far as I can determine, the explosion didn’t reach the interior of their craft. The airlock itself remains intact.”
Damn.
An enemy grenade came bouncing out into the passageway.
“Frag!” Rade accessed the side hatch beside him, opening it; he and Bender dove inside the compartment and the door sealed behind them.
The explosion ripped through the passageway a moment later. Rade glanced at the status indicators of his men, shown on his HUD as stacked vertical bars. Everyone remained in the green.
Rade opened the hatch and quickly resumed his place at the edge of the alcove as more tangos in jumpsuits fired from the airlock opening.
“Boss, Surus is under attack,” Bax announced.
“What?” Rade said. “How?”
“It’s Jackal,” Bax said.
“I thought I told you to have the robot suit up!” Rade said.
“Jackal did suit up,” Bax replied. “But apparently the Phant possessed the Centurion before it could finish donning the jumpsuit.”
Rade tried to tap in Surus. “Surus, do you read? Surus?”
No response.
“Bax, I need a video feed on cargo bay six,” Rade said.
“I’m sorry,” the Argonaut’s AI said. “Jackal has shot out all lightfield cameras.”
“Are you able to reach Surus, or any of the other robots in the cargo bay?” Rade asked.
“Negative,” Bax replied.
“I’m going to have to check on her,” Rade said. “Bender, you’re in command here. Algorithm, let’s get some suppressive fire!”
Algorithm and the other robots laid down covering fire, forcing the tangos in jumpsuits to retreat. Rade left his cover and ran through the passageway away from the airlock, and quickly ducked around the bend. He hurried through the corridors, making his way toward cargo bay six.
“By the way, Bax,” Rade said as he jogged. “Could the Phant really have moved that fast? I mean to arrive at the armory all the way from engineering before Jackal finished suiting up?”
“Yes, judging from the speed it crossed engineering earlier,” Bax said. “But just barely.”
“What about the anti-Phant emitter inside the suit?” Rade said. “How does the Phant expect to emerge from the suit, without first taking it off?”
“Maybe it doesn’t,” Bax said. “But then again, I have reviewed footage from the armory. Jackal turned its back to the camera after retrieving the jumpsuit chest assembly: the robot could have torn away the emitter and deposited it in the jumpsuit locker during the short interval while I was unable to see. The Phant obviously seeped inside, likely through the foot region, before that point.”
“Damn it,” Rade said. “Remind me to upgrade all our cameras to LIDAR sometime.”
“I have already reminded you,” Bax said. “Several times. Your response has always been: ‘that costs too much.’”
Rade reached the hatch to cargo bay six. The door opened when Rade approached.
Inside he discovered Surus’ host, Ms. Bounty, with her arms in the air, her wrists flexicuffed to an exposed conduit running along the overhead. The upper half of her fatigues had been ripped open, exposing her naked chest; her sternum had been removed entirely, leaving a large metallic hole between her breasts.
The four Centurions he had assigned to guard her lay on the deck, their bodies riddled with laser bores. The stun rifle Rade had given Surus lay broken in half beside one of them.
“Surus is gone,” Ms. Bounty said.
“Captured?” Rade asked.
“No,” the stunningly beautiful Artificial said. “She left to pursue the Phant. She intends to possess the first combat robot she is able.”
“Are you all right by the way?” Rade asked, cutting her down.
“Yes,” Ms. Bounty said. She self-consciously hauled up the remains of her fatigues, securing them with a hairpin so that her chest was covered once more. “The Phant only removed my comm node. It wanted me conscious to answer any questions it might have.”
“Questions, like what?” Rade asked.
“The location of a certain artifact,” Ms. Bounty said. “But it turned out it didn’t need to ask any questions. Because the artifact was precisely where it guessed.” Her eyes drifted to a metallic vault on the far side of the room. The vault was open, its contents ransacked: clothing, holographic storage sticks, and other miscellany were scattered about.
“I don’t want to know what was in that vault, do I?” Rade said.
“Surus is returning to my body,” Ms. Bounty said, gazing off into the distance.
Rade stepped back. He glanced at the deck, but didn’t spot the telltale liquid that signified the presence of the Green. The Phant must have been entering directly through the sole of the foot, via the deck. He could understand why Bax hadn’t noticed the enemy seeping into Jackal.
Ms. Bounty looked at him. Rade saw green condensation momentarily flash over her eyes, and he knew Surus had returned.
“Surus?” Rade asked.
“I’m back,” Surus replied through Ms. Bounty. “I have some bad news.”
“Wait,” Rade said. “How do I know it’s you, and not another Green?”
“Bax, I’m granting you remote access to my thought patterns,” Surus said. “Confirm that they match previous scans I have allowed you to make.”
“It is Surus,” Bax said a moment.
“What was in the vault?” Rade asked her.
“The Purple stole the Time Selector,” Ms. Bounty said.
“The Time Selector?” Rade asked.
“Yes,” Ms. Bounty said. “You remember a certain pyramidal artifact we acquired from the conquered world of the Xaranth? The species your team referred to as gatorbeetles?”
“Vaguely,” Rade said.
“It is an artifact that could affect the flow of time when used in conjunction with a matching Acceptor,” Surus said. “An artifact that, in the wrong hands, could be used as a Time Weapon, capable of wiping out a species before it ever evolved from the primordial soup of its homeworld.”
“Oh no.” Rade ran into the hall. “Bax, I need Jackal’s location.”
“Jackal is no longer aboard,” Bax said.
“What?” Rade said.
“The Centurion has taken a lifepod and ejected from the ship,” Bax said.
Rade glanced at Surus, who stood at his side. “That explains why you returned to Ms. Bounty.”
“Yes,” Surus replied.
“Boss,” Tahoe said over the comm. “The boarding party members have returned to their shuttles, a
nd they’ve forcibly broken away, tearing away the outer portions of the airlocks. Atmosphere is venting on the port and starboard sides of deck three. Breach seals have closed, protecting the rest of the ship. All of us are safe—we activated our magnetic mounts and held on during the explosive decompression.”
“Thanks for the update,” Rade told his friend.
“One of the shuttles just rendezvoused with the jettisoned lifepod,” Bax said. “They’ve attached grappling hooks and are retrieving it.”
“Shoot them down with the mag-rails!” Rade said.
“The two shuttles are fleeing in a zig-zag motion,” Bax said. “Which makes targeting difficult. They’re also firing their cobras repeatedly at our mag-rails, and have taken several of them offline in the process.”
Rade hesitated. It seemed obvious that the shuttles were going to get away.
“Bax, how big are the passageways aboard Marauder Model IIs?” Rade asked.
“Wide enough for Hoplites to fit in single file, if that’s what you’re thinking,” the Argonaut’s AI said.
“Good guess,” Rade said. “Inform the Argonauts of the situation involving the missing Time Selector, and have them gather in the mech hangar bay. Prep the Hoplites for launch.”
“What about the Centurions?” Bax asked.
“They are to remain aboard, guarding the ship,” Rade said. “Just in case another Phant is stowed somewhere aboard.”
He hurried through the passageways, hatches and scuttles, opening breach seals as necessary. Surus followed close behind him.
He glanced at her. “I want you to suit up as soon as we reach the hangar.”
At the bay, Rade went to the internal lockers and threw on a jetpack. Surus meanwhile swapped out her fatigues for cooling and ventilation undergarments, and began donning the jumpsuit components. She chose the one specifically set aside for her that didn’t have an anti-Phant emitter, allowing her to come and go from the suit in her native form as she pleased. Rade helped her put it on.
“We have to assume the Phant has found a matching Acceptor,” Surus said. “It might even be aboard one of those vessels.”
“I know,” Rade said, holding the leg assembly while she slid into it. “Why do you think I’m pursuing them right now? There’s no time to lose. Literally. By the way, how did the Phant know you had the artifact?”
“I’m guessing it had me under surveillance for a long time,” Surus said. “Purples are known for their clandestine ways. I suspect the Phant infiltrated one of the Artificials at my secret base and somehow accessed my database. It would have found a log of all my missions there, along with where I kept the artifact.”
“So this is all due to lax security on your part, you’re saying?” Rade told her.
“Hey,” Surus said. “Even with all the security you have aboard the Argonaut, we still lost it. So I’m not the only one lacking in the security department. It’s your fault for accepting the package from an unvetted client in the first place. It’s not like I don’t pay you enough to secure your services exclusively.”
“You agreed the team could accept side missions if such operations didn’t interfere with our main objective,” Rade said.
“And so I did,” Surus said. “But perhaps it is time to change that. In light of recent circumstances.”
“While laying blame for what happened might make you feel better,” Rade told her as he helped her fit into the chest assembly. “It doesn’t change the fact that the enemy of humanity has just stolen one of the most powerful weapons in the universe from you.”
“No, it does not,” Surus said.
“Why would you even keep that aboard?” Rade said. “And not in some secure location somewhere?”
“My supposition that my base was infiltrated tells me that there is no such thing as a secure location,” Surus said. “And what better place to guard such a weapon than in my own quarters? Or so I thought... besides, I was studying it.”
Rade shook his head. “A time weapon. We had a time weapon aboard, and you lost it. I seem to remember you saying at one point that the special kind of Acceptor the artifact needed didn’t exist anymore?”
“No,” Surus told him. “I said very few of them still existed, and that there might not be any left at all. I doubt our Phant friend would have gone through all of this trouble to steal the Time Selector if it had not found a matching Acceptor.”
She pulled on her boots and attached the helmet, finished donning the jumpsuit. With that suit on, she wouldn’t have to worry about replacing the missing comm node in her Artificial body, because she could utilize the node in the jumpsuit to interface with the rest of the team.
By then the other Argonauts had begun to arrive.
“Get jetpacks,” Rade told them.
The crew members rushed to the jumpsuit lockers to obey.
Rade clambered into his Hoplite, Electron, while Surus took Sprint.
“Welcome aboard, Rade,” Electron said after the cockpit sealed and the inner actuators enveloped him.
“How’s it hanging?” Rade asked.
“It is hanging well,” Electron replied. “We are going to kick some bug ass, I presume?”
“As always,” Rade said. He tapped in Shaw, voice and video. Her face appeared in the upper right of his vision. “I couldn’t help but noticing you weren’t among the men. When I told Bax to have all the Argonauts report to the mech bay, I meant it.”
“I know,” Shaw said. “I want to come with you. I really do. But I can’t leave the twins. Not while there might be a rogue Phant still aboard.”
“There probably isn’t,” Rade said. “The Phant found what it came for. You heard, right?”
“Yes,” Shaw said. “Bax updated me. Something about a time device.”
“A time weapon, actually,” Rade said. “This Phant could be holding the key to destroying humanity in its hands.”
“But why would it even want to do that?” Shaw said. “I thought Phants used the inter-dimensional imprints produced by humans and other living things to create geronium? What would they gain by destroying humanity?”
“Honestly, I have no idea what the Phant intends to do,” Rade said. “But as I said, I believe no Phants remain aboard. But the choice to come, or not come, is yours.”
Her eyes gleamed and Rade knew she was excited by the prospect of joining him.
A part of him hoped she would indeed come, but another part badly wanted her to remain behind. The dangers would be immense: boarding a mercenary ship and facing off against a Phant and whatever machinations it had aboard would not be easy.
Shaw slumped, lowering her gaze. “I’m going to stay. My place is here. Even if no Phants are aboard, there’s still a chance those Marauders will attempt another attack. I have to be ready to evacuate the ship if the enemy weapons come back online.”
“I understand,” Rade said. “And I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll always love you,” Shaw said.
Rade didn’t like the finality he heard in her voice. And he didn’t want to encourage it, so he simply said: “Back at you. I’ll see you soon.”
Shaw smiled sadly, then disconnected.
Rade checked his HUD and confirmed that all of the Argonauts had boarded their war machines.
“Prepare for launch,” Rade said.
“What about Nemesis?” Tahoe asked, referring to Shaw’s preferred Hoplite.
“I want it left behind, in case Shaw needs the mech for whatever reason,” Rade said. He was still somewhat disturbed by her words, which had triggered his protective instincts. He suddenly didn’t want to go, but he knew there was no turning back, not now. “Bax, vent the bay and open up the doors.”
The air evacuated from the bay and the hangar doors opened wide.
“Argonauts, away!” Rade ordered.
The nine mechs leaped out in rapid succession.
Rade thought of his last words to Shaw as the weightlessness and darkness of space took hold.
> Back at you. He felt like tapping her in again and telling her more than that. Much more.
But he had a mission to complete.
Unfortunately, though he had not known it then, this might prove to be the last time he would ever see her.
four
Rade glanced at the overhead map. The three shuttles had split up, each one heading toward a different Marauder.
“Electron,” Rade said, “coordinate with Bax to highlight the shuttle that retrieved the lifepod.”
A few moments later a small yellow square appeared in the distance. Rade zoomed in on that area and saw the shuttle towing the lifepod. On his tactical map, the craft was also highlighted in yellow. He set the object as a waypoint, and a dashed yellow line appeared on the map, joining his unit to the target.
“Argonauts, follow the yellow brick road,” Rade said.
He fired his jumpjets on an intercept course and deployed his shield in his left arm. “Maneuver your shields in place to protect against any cobra attacks from the shuttles. Meanwhile, let’s see if we can cause a little damage.” Rade slid his cobra into the notch at the top of the shield. “Electron, target the laser turrets of those shuttles in turn. Coordinate with the other AIs to concentrate our fire. Bring down their weapon systems.”
“Aye, boss,” Electron said. “The Hoplites are already taking cobra impacts from the shuttles, by the way. Shields are holding, for the moment.”
“Good, fire when ready,” Rade said.
A moment later Electron announced: “We’ve eliminated the laser turrets in the shuttles. I am targeting the engines next. They have begun to initiate evasive maneuvers, however, making target acquisition difficult.”
“Do your best,” Rade said.
“Look at those bastards run,” Lui commented. “They don’t want any salvage after all.”
“Salvage was probably never part of the agreement in the first place,” Tahoe said. “They came for the artifact, and nothing more.”
“I wonder if the Phant even told its mercenaries what they were helping it steal,” Fret said. “Or if the mercs even knew who they were really working for?”
“Wait, did we ever decide if there was more than one Phant?” TJ asked. “Or are we leaving Shaw potentially trapped aboard with an alien entity?”
