“No, nine years of combat training and being the most decorated operative in my squad will. That and my shiny new rifle.” He hefted one of the weapons off the wall as he spoke, petting it fondly. “But like I say, old timer, I have a vibe.”
“I’m not Host.” Valiant turned and showed her the back of his head. “I’m not Hybrid either. I’m Human through and through, but I’m not going to hurt you.”
Madeleine peered inside the vault curiously, sucking hard on her dirty thumb.
The wariness on the StarChild’s face was unmistakable, but some of the tension in her shoulders eased at the sight of the child. “And?”
“What’s your name?” Valiant asked gently.
She tipped her chin. “Pushpa. In my culture, my real culture, not the one they’ve tried to trick my mind into believing, it means flower.” Her knuckles turned white she clenched her hands so hard. “I will not forget who I am. They can’t make me.”
Valiant knew fortune when it smiled on him.
He eased closer, keeping his arms open in a nonthreatening manner.
As part of his training, Valiant had studied the different cultures that existed within the Alliance. The motto was OEOP, but the reality could not be further from the truth. Like the CatEyes, true StarChildren didn’t leave their continent much. MainLanders weren’t all that friendly, despite the government hype that led the do-gooder Flush to believe otherwise. It was safer for the purer bloods of the old races to stick to their own, but you got the occasional few who broke away from their societies to brave the world’s capital.
Valiant wasn’t narrow-minded enough to see this alien takeover as a black and white situation.
There were two sides to a war, and always two sides to every story.
Yes, she was a Hybrid, but they were born Human. They had mothers, brothers and sisters, whole families, and lived for years as Human. Some of them had to retain a lingering sense of loyalty to humanity.
He wished hard on the laws of science she was one of them. All the signs pointed to the conclusion she was.
He knelt in front of her and set the rifle down. “How’s it going Push? I’m Valiant.” He offered his hand to her. “Come on,” he coaxed. “There’s no hurt here. I’m not the religious type, I’ve got Z for that, but I think we were meant to meet.”
“Maddie,” Creighton hissed. “Where are you?”
23.
It was a dystopian HoloVid come to life. Kali contritely acknowledged what was fun as a VirtuaGame was brutal as reality.
They were not allowed to save all the prisoners.
Blue had been firm on that point. He’d made it clear there was not enough resources to take care of that many people, and his ability to fight the Novae would be markedly diminished if he was worried about hundreds people rather than the small group he already had to protect.
Commanding regimented Hybrids of superior intelligence was easier than managing a large group of dangerous and frenzied Humans, apparently.
At first she had been horrified, the thought of extracting her parents, a few others, and leaving the rest to their fate left her sour, but the short look Blue sent her way was a reminder his people risked their lives on this rescue. She was grateful for what they were doing, and questioning him on whether it was morally right to be so selective on who they saved would add more strain to an already precarious situation.
It still felt wrong.
The plan was straightforward; she was on Igor’s team, and they were to sneak into the encampment. Zeke was there to identify Valiant, and she was there to point out her parents and Madeleine. If they were found, Igor would pretend to randomly select “prisoners” and demand they come with him. Kali had been dubious on that aspect, and asked what his excuse would be for taking them. The Hybrids were confident he would not be questioned as long as he did not act in an illogical manner. Blue was adamant there would be no suspicion at the encampment, as long as they all did their part. Once they were all out of sight, they’d return the way they came then run like hell. Blue’s team was up on the roof to provide a distraction if anything went wrong during the breakout. When he was happy they were clear, his team would rendezvous with theirs and meet Kenshin who was waiting in reserve with Natalya, Baby and Howl. They’d boost the first FloVes they could find, something Max was tremendously excited to be a part of, and make a straight shot for the bunker as long as they were not followed. If they were chased, Igor and Blue would, “deal with it.”
What could go wrong? They’d go in, take their people then get out before anything seemed amiss.
The slave encampment used to be the Alliance Supreme Court. Zeke knew his way around from before his official capacity as a Starless Operative. That made things easier. He had transported high profile criminals in through a rarely used side door and knew where the holding cells were.
He estimated no more than five hundred people could be kept in the cells, more if they were given no room to move.
Igor hissed an order for them to freeze.
Kali held her breath.
It didn’t take long to hear what alarmed him. There was shouting, the sounds of feet stomping, screams, and weapons firing.
Expression curdled, Igor ran through multiple scenarios in his mind and could only come up with one that seemed likely. “Your comrade started a riot, didn’t he?” he asked Zeke.
The soldier’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I wish I could answer no to that question.”
Igor cursed. “How would he get out of his cell?”
Zeke hesitated then held up his wrist when he remembered Caesar’s warning about the mind reading. “The men in my unit were injected with an OmniLock chip that acts as a skeleton key.”
The muscle in Igor’s eye spasmed crazily. “We shall discuss this with the Omicron.”
Without further comment, he motioned them to follow.
Zeke looked peaky.
They reached the cells, and they were empty, the doors swinging. A few people had been trampled in what seemed to be a frantic mass exodus.
Heart plummeting, Kali stood in the door of the empty cell and shook the bars. Sad, mad and all the emotions between she welled up when she recognised the battered young man whose bones were broken and jutted at a funny angle. She knelt down to close Christian’s bulging eyes.
“What now?” she asked.
There had been no guarantee all the people they sought were held there, but she still suffered a wicked stab of disappointment.
“We leave,” Igor replied, turning on his heel.
They retraced their steps with an air of the dejected.
Slipping outside, Igor made a hand motion towards the roof off the building opposite them, and navigated them into the shadows edging the brightly lit open space, so they could leave as undetected as they entered.
The door they’d come from slammed open and a redheaded terror stuck her head out, thumb firmly lodged between pouty lips. Dress raggedy, bare feet dirty, Madeleine ambled across the open space in their direction, her eyes fixed on Kali, someone she recognised, someone who she associated with her older brother.
She didn’t see the creature that rounded building behind her.
Horror at what unfolded had Igor swearing virulently in his native tongue. Zeke sighted his weapon on the alien, trying to keep his hands from shaking.
Sensing the noxious tension, Maddie glanced over her shoulder and spotted the alien standing in the middle of the courtyard. She froze mid stride as if caught in a suspension beam. Her small body quivered with fear as the towering being advanced.
She burst into tears, not understanding what else to do in her predicament.
Spurred into action by the petrified sobs, Kali was sprinting towards her before she consciously made the decision. Skidding to a stop she dropped to her knees and grabbed Madeleine’s small shoulders, touched her chubby cheeks, and rubbed her speckled arms to shush her.
Giving into the urge to see if the Novan was headed towards them was a serious lapse
in common sense. Kali met the alien’s gaze and got tangled, stuck in a mental trap with biting teeth that had no intention of letting go.
She stood and stared. Her lips parted, mind blank.
Kali had to move. She knew she should be screaming, running, and crying, and bumping into things in a rush to flee, but she couldn’t move. Her eyes were deadlocked on the alien looming not five feet from her. Madeleine had fainted what seemed an age ago. She could feel the little girl draped over her moon boots.
The Novan’s nostril slits flared and contracted, and its pointed jaw worked. Thin eyelids slid over inky pools of black, shuttering like a camera lens and making the surface even shiner with iridescent liquid when they pulled back.
Madeleine snuffled and pushed herself up, frizzy red hair all over the place. She stilled like a frightened bunny when she caught sight of the alien’s feet. Her freckled nose twitched, and her eyes widened until they swallowed her doll-like face.
She whimpered, and pushed back into Kali’s legs.
Protective instinct roared to life. Though the laser knife she’d eased from her pocket shook in her fist, Kali lifted it warningly, and did so with the intention of using it if that thing came any closer to the child.
“Throw it,” Max hollered from what seemed miles away. “Kali, throw.”
She knew how to do that, how to throw a knife.
Kali fumbled with the hilt and began to hyperventilate when her body didn’t respond the way she expected to. She knew this, remembered learning it, so why wasn’t it working?
The Novan’s head whipped round, and glared towards Max’s voice. The seam of its mouth appeared, the lipless hole parting wetly. It hissed, baring row upon row of lucent fangs.
Madeleine fainted again.
Igor cocked his head. “The Creator is surprised. No wait.” An odd expression passed his face, surprise mixed with uncertainty. “Not the Creator, this Novan is surprised to see you here. Use his distraction, Kali, shuffle towards me.”
“I–I–” Kali shook her head when she couldn’t get past that first word. Sucking in a breath she managed, “Take her.”
“It might startle him.”
“Do it.”
Focusing his energy, Igor yanked on Madeleine and she flew towards him as if fish hooked by the middle.
The Novan didn’t advance or make any kind of movement. It stared at Kali, inquisitive.
What is it?
Not real.
Unstable.
How has this happened?
Demanding voices swirled around Kali, making her dizzy.
Destroy it.
They cannot find out.
Destroy it now.
‘You do not belong,’ a reedy voice whispered in her mind, separating from the rest. ‘You should not exist.’ The Novan reached out long, sinuous fingers that curled oddly. ‘Go back to what you are.’
Kali felt funny, unhinged. Her skin crawled, and her muscles became liquid-like. Stranger, she could feel some distant part of herself fighting back, refusing to let whatever bonds he was trying to break within her snap.
Kali watched dumbly as the slimy finger drew closer to her forehead. Move. Burrowing deep and clasping something inside, she found the strength to stagger back.
Power shot through the air and thumped into the distracted alien.
The mental shriek from the Novan was deafening as it took a halting step back.
Kali clamped her hands over her ears as her eyes watered. Blue appeared from nowhere and grabbed her tunic to drag her back. He pushed her towards Igor and reached for Lara.
The moment her fingers touched his they froze in motion, she with one heel lifted off the floor, his stance off-kilter, reaching. Their pupils contracted until they were black pinpricks in the centre of stark white. To the Hybrids their auras intensified and pulsed, coalescing to shoot up into the sky and spread over their heads in a vast rainbow of psychic energy.
Small lines of strain appeared around Lara’s eyes.
Blue looked impatient.
“Your weave is strong, but you’re too slow,” he said in a monotone. “Speed up or the whole web will falter.”
“I’m nearly done,” Lara panted. “There.”
They let go and the Novan screeched, making them wince and back away as it tilted its head and wobbled violently in anger.
Max snatched Madeleine from Igor and buried his nose in her hair, rocking her gently. “Why didn’t you throw,” he demanded of Kali. “I’ve seen you do it.”
She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “I’m not the same,” she whispered. “I– Papa!”
Frazzled, Creighton burst from of the door Madeleine appeared from. His eyes immediately zeroed in on Kali. He ran to her, sweeping her up in a crushing hug as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed.
Free of the burden of a child to protect, Igor planted himself in front of the group protectively. “Time to leave.” He backed away, forcing those behind him to retreat.
Zeke spotted Valiant, and bobbed his head in greeting.
Valiant strode over and hauled him into a one armed hug, thumping his back hard. “Knew I’d find you.”
“You owe me for rescuing you,” Zeke protested.
“Rescue?” Valiant shoved him away and snorted. “Can’t you see me working here? I’m in the middle of an escape.”
Zeke swept out an arm. “How’s that going for you?”
“Don’t make me hurt you.”
It was the only time for reunion they got. Both soldiers fell into line, and covered each other’s back. Weapons sighted and ready to fire.
“We must leave,” Igor repeated firmly, his head swinging from side to side. A sensation unlike any he’d known crept over him. His chest tightened. “Bella?”
Lara waved a hand over her shoulder.
Igor was relieved when he spotted Christabella struggling to clamber from the slanted roof Lara, Max and Blue had jumped off when they’d seen the trouble brewing.
Host appeared out of the shadows. Drifting forward, a few of the larger bodies hovered in front of the Novan, but no order to attack was given. They seemed to be waiting for something.
The alien was focused on Kali, its fluid swaying taking on a defensive rather than offensive tone.
Valerie stormed out of the side door holding a canister filled with red mist.
“They have Crimzon,” Lara warned.
She picked up her duffel, and shouted at Christabella to run when the girl finally managed to scramble down, dirtied and beaming victory.
Max looked fierce as he glared at the enemy that surrounded them. He’d die before any of them got their hands on his sister again. “What do we do?”
Blue fixed his attention on the Novan. He had what he needed. “We’re stealing its ride. Move. Now.”
“Its ride?” Valiant repeated, and grabbed Push’s hand when they all took off, because she was looking quite lost.
Lara sent the Host blocking the exit flying.
Kenshin ran to meet them. The FetchMes prowled around his legs in agitation, sensing the coming danger.
Blue let the group rush past him, yelled at them all to head for the FloVes he could make out in the distance.
“Where are we going?” Valiant demanded, heading up the rear with Push.
“To a spaceship,” Blue replied.
He witnessed the moment Valerie embraced suicide and ripped open the canister. The flesh eating nanobots gushed out. The dense cloud devoured her in an instant, consuming all bio matter and leaving nothing but shredded fabric behind.
They swarmed around the Novan and Host before rushing forward looking for fresh flesh.
Blue centred himself. Whips of energy hit the base of the buildings flanking him. There was no time for finesse. The lashes were wild and thrown to cut deep. He sensed Igor beside him. Concrete, glass, and steel was ripped, gouged, and shattered by the force of their minds. Blue’s heart stalled when the mist gathered speed and reached
the point of no return he’d mapped in his mind. The buildings imploded. The stories crumbled and thundered like an avalanche to form a dense rampart of debris that blocked the advancing Crimzon.
Valiant blanched at the demonstration of power and elbowed his friend. “Z, who the hell are you running with these days.”
Zeke shrugged coolly, badass by association. “You know how it is.”
Jittery with relief, Blue staggered in exhaustion. Igor held his shoulder to give him time to recover. His gaze flicked to Kali, and seeing she was safe with her father, he turned his attention to the information he’d lifted from the Novan’s mind. It had been a true thought. The Novan hadn’t expected him to boldly take a look inside his mind when he was distracted.
They headed over to the FloVes and the group had to split. There were two vehicles in working order, a sleek three-seater and another sturdier craft used for building maintenance.
Blue told Igor and Valiant where to go.
“What about the FetchMes?” Kali asked.
“They have to make it on their own,” Blue said. “They can follow Valiant’s craft.”
Creighton hugged Kali to him and went with Valiant and Push in the smaller vehicle. Push sat in the passenger seat to navigate, and Valiant was pilot.
Zeke pointed his weapon at the boot.
“Wait.” Max jabbed an accusing finger at Zeke. “Are you insane? Do you have any concept how much credit this craft is worth? You can’t just shoot it. It’s a collector’s item.”
Expression mocking, Zeke fired at the vehicle. He tore the boot lid off and handed the bullet-ridden sheet to a devastated Max. He clapped the younger man on the shoulder. “Priorities, kid.”
Climbing into the luggage compartment, Zeke wedged himself in with his pulse rifle at the ready.
He gave them a cocky salute as they shot off.
Natalya, Howl and Baby raced down the street after them.
The other members of the group climbed into the larger FloVe, eager to be gone too.
Grumbling under his breath about craft-defacing heathens, Max settled into the pilot seat and reached for the controls.
Lara slapped him upside the head and shoved him across the seat. “You driving? Yeah, in what galaxy was that ever going to happen?” Throwing her duffel in the back, she jumped into the vacated seat and snapped on her seatbelt. “Let’s take off people.”
Chaos Theory Cosmic Lovely Page 19
