by Vowron Prime
MC narrowed his eyes at that. “How large are these ships exactly? What kind of armaments are we talking here?”
Nova brought up a holo projection of the ship. A grayish oblong mass that looked almost like an ovaloid rock or asteroid rather than a constructed vessel. Antennae protruded from all over the ship, and a series of guns jutted out along its sides.
“At three hundred yards in length, they are the Dyn’s largest non-spacefaring airborne hovercraft,” Krar explained. “The Tensa are heavily armored and armed. Their offensive armament consists of a full array of energy-based and ballistic cannons, yet their main power lies in their carrier and mobile command center capabilities. Each Tensa hosts a complement of one hundred Hasta-class fighter-bombers—highly maneuverable light attack craft. A single Hasta would be enough to destroy your Reaver gunship.”
“And you’re saying he’s got four of those things stationed on this planet? So potentially four hundred fighter-bombers?”
Krar wobbled in acknowledgment. “He is ordinarily unable to deploy them without Conciliate approval, but now that this planet has been cut off from the rest of the Dyn, I fully expect him to override that directive.”
“Well, isn’t that just peachy. I want the Eye in the Sky Network finding those ships, ASAP.”
“If they make a move, we will know,” Krar replied. “They are impossible to detect unless in motion. It takes some time for us to correlate and analyze the data, but we can reliably track them if they move. Thus far, they have not.”
MC spent the rest of the meeting formalizing a plan of attack with his leaders. The Legatus’s proposed date was in exactly one week, giving them some time to prepare. It would have been more tactically advantageous for the Legatus to keep the Resistance in the dark until the last moment, though he may have had his own reasons for broadcasting so well in advance.
MC would accompany their scouts to lay down a network of subterranean tunnels right underneath the meeting site, taking a page from his battle against Baron Zeikon’s forces at Dervegen.
The Legatus would no doubt have his own scouts already stationed there. That meant their excursion would serve as the perfect opportunity to replace the Legatus’s soldiers with undercover Resistance agents. With MC’s help, their agents would kill whatever forward troops the Legatus had stationed, and would then assume their role. After the battle, they’d slip into the enemy’s ranks.
The strike team would consist of MC and Krar. The latter would be disguised as Nova. They’d meet the Legatus as planned, then pretend to make the trade. They only needed the deception to last until the hostages were safe, so even if the enemy did bring an Omni-sensor, Krar and the others felt the plan was still viable. They’d just have to move quickly upon detection.
All the while, MC and the remainder of the Resistance stationed there would search for an opportunity to take out the Legatus, who would no doubt be accompanied by his troops. They knew that MC’s powers were blocked by Zevan shields, so there were sure to be Zevan mages there, as well, and likely several chariots.
Reaver would be high in the skies above, monitoring the situation and providing artillery support if needed. Between the gunship, their one-hundred-odd troops, and the orbital mass driver, the Resistance ought to be able to hit everything the Legatus could possibly throw at them.
Hopefully.
The trickiest part would be the hostage exchange. Krar and the others felt confident that the Legatus would bring Nova’s actual family out for the execution, as opposed to projecting a holo-recording, to help convince Nova that he was acting in good faith.
Yet keeping her family alive while transporting them away safely when shit hit the fan was going to be tricky. It was for that reason that MC agreed to create a handful of teleportals which they’d station in the tunnels below the battlefield.
The idea was that once Resistance snipers had dropped the Zevan shields, he’d relocate Nova’s family right into the mouth of the portals, moving them away from the battlefield as quick as possible. It didn’t fully guarantee the hostages’ safety, but then, what plan could?
MC was dead tired after returning from his raid, yet there was no rest to be had. He still had to sync up with Krar, Sarek, and several others to ensure that the preparations began and that there were no impediments or oversights to the plan. He also fully intended to level up his own abilities ahead of the battle, to give himself as much of an edge as possible.
He made a beeline for his bedroom, thinking to drop off his pack and freshen up a bit before dealing with his managerial responsibilities. So it took him by surprise to see Nova pacing outside with crossed arms, visibly nervous.
She looked up when he rounded the corner, flashing him a worried smile. “Magnus, may I have a moment? I need to tell you something.”
Forty-Nine
“Come on in,” MC said, beckoning Nova into his bedroom. She timidly followed, eyeing the room like a kid in a candy store. Or as a scientist observing a research specimen. Which it technically was, from her perspective—alien cultures and all.
“Can I get you anything?” MC gestured to the wet bar in one corner of the generously-sized bedroom.
“No, thank you. I am fine.”
Originally the base commander’s office and quarters, the room had been converted to align more with MC’s aesthetic. Luxurious silk carpets covered the ground, sometimes piled two or three high to hide the metal flooring beneath. Bookshelves dominated an entire wall, jam-packed to the brim, and a coffee table sat surrounded by two lounge chairs beneath the only window—a one-way window that let him see out into the hallway and looked like metal from the other side.
Along with the various flags that hung on the walls and the old-fashioned incandescent overhead lighting, the room had a decidedly warm and homey vibe, which helped reduce the jittery angel’s anxiety.
MC motioned towards the chairs, which either she failed to notice or just ignored, because she plopped herself down on the soft mattress instead. Finding that somewhat amusing, he took a seat beside her.
“So, what’s on your mind? I take it you didn’t come here to chat about the lava-heated bath you girls want me to install.”
Clearly distraught, she hesitantly looked up at him. “Magnus, do you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“I—There is something you should know. About your condition. Something I’ve yet to tell you.”
“The parasite in my head? Please tell me this isn’t more bad news.”
She averted her eyes.
So, it’s bad.
“Well, lay it on me. You gonna tell me I don’t have as long to live as you’d thought? Something else?”
“Not quite. Every fully fledged Ultimator is installed with tracking and surveillance systems that guarantee absolute obedience. A remote Dyn operator can take total control of their body at any time, overriding their own will.”
MC’s eyes narrowed. “You’re saying they can do that to me?”
“No, you have yet to be surgically altered with Ultimator equipment and weaponry,” Nova said, shaking her head. “Candidates are considered disposable until they survive the parasite’s integration, but the Dyn do install a safety mechanism for uninitiated candidates as well, should anything go wrong.”
“You don’t mean…”
Knots were already forming in the pit of MC’s stomach.
“A—” Nova choked on her words. “A kill switch,” she said, as if forcing herself past some form of inhibition. “By sending a signal unique to the parasite in your head, the Legatus can destroy your nervous system, killing you instantly.”
MC shot up. “You’re shitting me! You’re only telling me about this now?” he exclaimed, pacing around the room. “Do you have any idea how bad things could have gone if the Legatus had activated it on a mission? Or when we were escaping the Dyn? Shit…”
“I am truly sorry, Magnus. This may sound like a lie, but I had... forgotten? No, not forgotten. I feel as though s
ome of my memories have been… difficult to access. I had to force myself to recall this information, and even now, parts of my memory are shrouded in haze.”
MC stopped and stared. “A ‘haze’? Don’t you have eidetic memory?”
“I do. I usually do. Magnus, this has never happened before. I do not understand it.”
He fell silent for a moment as he processed this new information.
“I have a theory,” he said at length. “What you just said would be abnormal for a normal person. But for you… genetically engineered to be perfect? This sounds like foul play. Do you think your memories have been tampered with?”
“I do not know,” she said, frowning. “I am not aware of the Dyn possessing such technology. And… I sincerely hope they do not.”
“Hope for the best. Plan for the worst. It’s how you survive in a dog-eat-dog world.”
Nova smiled wryly. “Wise words. But there is more, Magnus. When we first met at Kyron, I told you that my crime was attempting to thwart your parasite’s programming. While true, such a transgression would not have warranted the severity of the Legatus’s punishment. I can’t believe I never reflected on that at the time…”
“I’d had my suspicions about that. The asshole really seems to hate you. What else did you do?”
“It seems that I… attempted to activate the kill switch for every Ultimator on the planet,” she whispered.
“Goddamn Let me guess. You’d forgotten?”
“Yes. My memories of that time have been emerging in spurts. From what I remember, I could no longer bear to see my own creations persist in endless slavery, with death as their only salvation.”
MC’s expression darkened. “I suppose if you’d succeeded, you would’ve killed me, too. So that’s why the Legatus is so obsessed with you. You have the keys to his Ultimators.”
“Not anymore. I am sure the Legatus has changed the locks needed to trigger the signal. But I could conceivably reverse engineer the specific activation sequence if I had enough time and resources.”
“That could be incredibly useful; we’ll have to look into that. So, why didn’t you go through with it?”
“Well, I—” she paused, abruptly. Nova fell silent. “I cannot remember! Why can’t I remember? These memories are—aagh!”
Nova shrieked in agony, clutching her head.
“Nova? What’s wrong?”
Her breath grew ragged.
“I do not know,” she said through gritted teeth. “Pain. Strange visions of… suffering? No. No, it couldn’t be. It is nothing. I am fine.”
“It sure as hell doesn’t sound like nothing! Talk to me, Nova. What’s going on?”
She shook her head. Her face was already stained in tears, and MC struggled with the heart-rending sight of seeing her in pain.
“Nova, we need to get you to the medbay. This conversation can wait.”
“No!” she yelled with such ferocity that MC jerked back. She forced herself to look into his eyes and continue. “I said I’m fine. I need to say this or I will never overcome my guilt. Even now, it is hard for me… but I have to! If the Legatus confirms your identity, he could very well use the kill switch.”
MC’s mind lingered on Nova’s behavior. If his hunch about her memories being tampered with was true, her failure to tell him about the kill switch wasn’t her fault. And who knew what else had been done to her? Ironically, her situation was like his own.
“Nova, how long have you been dealing with these memory issues?”
“I noticed that something was wrong a while ago, but nothing more than small headaches when my mind drifted toward certain thoughts. I thought nothing of it at the time.”
“Well, I’m glad you brought this up sooner rather than later.”
“You’re… not angry?” she asked bashfully.
Sighing, MC sat down on the bed beside her. She leaned into his shoulder and her wings closed around them.
“It honestly sounds like this was out of your control. You have good intentions, Nova, but y’know we have this saying back on Earth… ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’ Lack of intel could easily get me killed. There’s definitely something bigger going on here, and we’ll get to the bottom of this, but I just wish you’d brought this up earlier, even if your symptoms were minor.”
“I am sorry, Magnus.”
“We’ve got another saying on Earth. ‘The best doctors make the worst patients.’ I want Sarek to run a full checkup on you as soon as possible,” he said, staring deeply into her luminous eyes. “Can I ask that of you?”
She nodded, wiping her tears. “Of course.”
“All right. So how do we deal with this?”
“There are countermeasures we can employ,” she said. “For one, your armor will protect you from the kill signal.”
“Is that why you were so adamant about me taking the X-42? And why you didn’t want me revealing my face to your people?”
Nova had spoken up during their planning meeting earlier, much to everyone’s surprise, demanding that MC take the suit regardless of the Legatus’s desires.
“Indeed. I analyzed your suit and determined that it has enough shielding to block the signal. You must wear it when you meet the Legatus.”
MC scratched his chin. “Somehow, I doubt the Legatus would be cool with me showing up in a fully armored and armed mech suit.”
“We can craft another illusion field generator for you, to make it seem as though you are unarmed.”
He smiled at that. “Deception all around, huh? I like that.”
“Still, I have prepared another option, just to be safe. Though I fear that you will not like it,” she said.
“All right, what is it?”
“I have modified the Ultimator anti-magic neurotoxin by reducing its dosage and by altering some other properties. It will impede the parasite’s functions temporarily, making it less responsive and less likely to recognize the Legatus’s signal.”
“Less responsive… So, let me guess. That’s going to screw with my abilities, too?”
“Indeed. That is why I hesitated to prescribe it thus far. The parasite is the source of your powers. If compromised, I would imagine that your powers would be as well. The level of degradation likely depends on the dosage, but we would not know how badly until we test the drug.”
“So I’d be trading my powers for additional security against the Legatus, then.” MC mulled it over. “Why don’t we go with a light dose? I’m assuming I’d be able to feel it when the Legatus tries to send the command?”
“Oh, yes,” Nova replied. “I imagine it will be quite painful.”
“All right then. Between the armor and the drug, I should have enough time to teleport away if I need to.”
But the angel wasn’t finished. “The drug will also help you resist the sway the Legatus has over you. He may not choose to activate the kill switch outright. In fact, I doubt he would risk casually destroying an Ultimator that has survived integration.”
“Well, I’ve picked up a thing or two about resisting brainwashing in my years as a mercenary. I think I’ll be—wait. What’s wrong?”
Nova was openly crying now.
“Magnus, he will order you to kill me. I know him. It is how he strikes fear into his enemies. You must resist. Come back to me, Magnus. Please?”
Without warning, she embraced him in a tight hug. As much as MC wanted to resist, his mental fortitude had just about run dry. Besides… could something bad feel so good? The pair fell silent. Emotions roiled in their chests. MC with his concern over the upcoming encounter. Nova with her guilt.
“I’ll bring them home, Nova,” he said after a while.
Her eyes fluttered open. “I know you will.”
“I lost my own family when I was a kid,” MC said. “Both of my parents, my younger brother, and my other sister. All dead in an instant—a terrorist bombing on one of my dad’s diplomatic missions. We’d all met him right as the conference wa
s closing up… then there were just bits and pieces of them, plastered on all the walls.”
“I’m so sorry, Magnus…” she whispered.
“But you know the worst part? I was so goddamned powerless to interfere. Totally, utterly useless. And no matter how many times I replay that scene in my head, I don’t see how I could’ve helped. It eats me up, even to this day. I keep thinking, what if? What if I’d distracted them? What if I’d called for help?”
MC held Nova’s shoulders and locked his gaze with hers, staring into her deep black eyes. “That’s all in the past, now. I can’t do anything for them. But I can make sure that you never have to end up like Nina and me. I will save your family, Nova. This, I swear to you.”
“Thank you, Magnus. For everything.”
With tears in her eyes, Nova nodded, hugging him tightly. “They mean the world to me. The Dyn do not share genes in the same sense as the Zevan or humans, but I was raised with them and our bonds have lasted over the centuries. 6748-γ was created just before me. He was something like a father to me. Or perhaps an elder brother.”
“I bet you two fought constantly.”
She chuckled. “Not as much as you would think. And 9123-φ is his opposite. Mischievous and crass. We couldn’t believe her antics at times! We’d fret over her through all hours of the day—though she thankfully grew out of those habits, much to everyone’s relief! I can’t wait to introduce you to them all.”
“Well, she certainly does sound like a handful. I look forward to meeting them, Nova,” MC responded with a genuine smile.
No further words needed to be exchanged as the pair continued to embrace each other on his bed. Apparently, Nova’s emotional ordeal had left her exhausted and she drifted off to sleep after just a few moments, her twin hearts beating rhythmically against his chest. Chuckling, he picked up her featherweight body, removed her sandals, and tucked her under the sheets before running his hand along her soft wing.
