by J D Astra
I turned the handle ever so gently—but it was locked. Woong-ji pushed me off to the side, then stood in front of the glass. Her ry glimmer shifted, revealing the face and chest of the man from the guard station. She knocked twice.
A moment later, the door opened. “We’re busy, Ichiro. Why didn’t you use the intercom?” the woman on the other side asked?
“My system’s down up front. Didn’t you get a notification?” Woong-ji replied in a masculine tone.
“Fine, I’ll look into it.” Before the woman could close the door, Woong-ji punched the woman in the gut with a blast of zo munje. The operations officer went down, and Woong-ji scooted her aside, charging in the door.
I heard a smack and a thud before I could get to the opening. I dragged the unconscious body of the woman into the room and closed the door behind us. Woong-ji pushed the open-mouthed snoring man to the back of the claustrophobic room on his rolling chair and stood over the controls.
“You’re up, Apprentice.”
I stepped to the controls and dropped my taxing ry glimmer. My body ached in every centimeter. I expanded out in all directions all at once. My bones decompressed and stretched, skin loosened, becoming more elastic, and the muscle fibers thirsted for blood. A pained grunt escaped my lips, and I dropped my head.
Finally, the transformation ended and my whole being throbbed. I let out my held breath in a sigh and ceased my ry cycling. I swapped over to triple ma generation, then placed my hands on the thin metal panel before me. Was I ready for this?
“Best way to learn to swim is to jump in the ocean,” Mae remarked.
I grunted in amusement. ‘Best way to drown, too.’
I blew all the air out of my lungs and unleashed my ma munje.
All at once, a flood of images and sound filled my head. Screaming, wailing, begging, shouting, all to the pictures of crushed bones, bleeding legs, and crying faces.
My stomach turned from the overload, and I swallowed bile. I stepped back in my mind, willing myself not to look at highways, but at cities. The details slipped away and became a quiet hum in the background. I saw the zips of data snaking through a detailed, orderly block. I pulled back farther, until clusters of information became blinking masses connected by thick super-highways.
“You’re doing it,” Mae whispered with excitement. “Okay, look at the cluster straight ahead.”
I focused on the bundle directly in my line of sight, and it blinked. Text appeared below it, but I couldn’t make it out. Mae fed me the translation from Anglish: E-289 Rear-Left.
“It’s English, and that’s a system directory name. You were looking at the footage for that particular Enjiho’s rear-left camera for the last fifteen minutes. The rest of the data, everything before fifteen minutes ago, is being archived to another location—likely Yamato Corp.”
‘That would explain how he was viewing the footage from the day we’d arrived. It also means there’s a definite way into Yamato Corp from here.’
“First things first—we need access to the Enjiho’s voice control system.”
‘I bet we can control all of them at once from his headquarters.’
Mae hummed. “That seems like something he would’ve built in, being a budding dictator and all. He would need a way to talk to all of the citizens at once, but something outside of the government’s control.”
‘Exactly. The Enjiho have voice controls that project the operator’s voice, and I bet sending the same voice to all of them at once isn’t much more complicated.’
She tutted. “You’d be surprised. Coding isn’t like magic, Jiyong.”
I pulled back from the information a hundred times over until the massive city was just another tiny dot in my vision. All the tiny dots Enjiho stations around the city, and they all led back to one central highway. It looked like an angular tree made of light, with little twigs running off the thick, main branches.
I focused on the main highway, and my view rushed forward, traveling faster than my conscious mind could comprehend. It was all a blur of bright color and sound, set to a fast-paced beat, almost like a heart. The highway sped me along the underside of the city, dodging pipes and passageways.
Blinding light towered in my vision ahead, highlighting the physical form of Yamato Corp.
‘Is the entire building part of the system?’ I asked, confused as to why I could see it so well.
“That would explain how I was able to get so much information from his computer before I was locked out. Security has so much to watch out for—physical perimeter breaches mainly, since I doubt anyone has Dokun’s level of technology yet. But this time they’ll be ready for a digital attack, I’m certain.”
‘If only we could camouflage ourselves,’ I pondered idly.
“Jiyong, that’s it! We make ourselves look like the data passing in around us. Give me twenty seconds.”
With that, she went quiet.
“How’s it coming?” Woong-ji asked, her voice sounding a million miles away. It echoed off the streams of data zipping past me.
I strained myself to speak aloud while maintaining focus on the machina space around me. “Progress made, but not there yet. Stand by.”
“Okay,” Mae said. “I think we can sneak by, but we’ll need a distraction—something that will pull the focus away from this intake point.”
There was a gentle tap-ta-ta-tap-tap on my spine, and I smiled. Right on time. Learning to keep a low effort connection to vibrational sensitivity on Thespra had taken near all twenty of the days we had to prepare, but it was completely worth it.
“I’ll take over the infiltration from here; you focus on Thespra,” Mae said.
‘Thanks,’ I thought, grateful to have Mae as a partner.
I shifted my attention, pulling back from the Enjiho system infrastructure and back to my body. I didn’t open my eyes, but wiggled my fingers on the control panel. Feeling them grounded me in my body.
Then I projected my consciousness out again and found Thespra. It was warm pressed against Ko-nah’s back, and the oil in my joints let me move without squeaking. With a thought, I released a trickle of my uw munje into Ko-nah and absorbed his en munje in return. It wasn’t enough to harm him—just like with the birds—only enough to fuel myself. I retracted my hooks and crept down his back to his legs, completely obscured by his outer robe layer.
“This machina here?” Ko-nah asked, but in my voice. A shiver shot down my spine.
I dropped Thespra’s abdomen until my camera got a clear line of sight on Dokun. He was standing across the room, and gestured to a tall metal box to his right.
“I know, it’s hard to believe we put so much information in this small a space, but the technology of the ancients is powerful, as I’ve said.”
Ko-nah crossed the room, and I moved to the other side of his leg, pointing away from Dokun. I pushed Ko-nah’s robe aside a fraction, then dropped down into a gap between towers. I pulled myself through and scooted around the back side, then paused. No one seemed to notice.
“I wish none of this had happened,” Dokun said.
My blood boiled at the mention. He was responsible for these events. If he wished it so, he could’ve not done them!
“I wish my mother wouldn’t have taken that potion and that Father wouldn’t have left...” Ko-nah trailed off in a sigh.
“But sometimes it’s the worst things in life that cause you to become better,” Dokun said, his voice far off.
“What do you mean?” Ko-nah asked.
I wanted to stay for more, but knew I needed to get started on the infiltration. I had to make a scene here so Mae could get through below with all my ma munje behind her for this digital heist.
I looked around for a plan. The room wasn’t large, and there were a vast number of those tall towers here. Above me, hundreds of wires snaked across the ceiling and joined together just out of sight.
Dokun’s voice was quiet as I skittered toward the wall. “What I meant to say is, your mot
her taking that potion led you here, to a great moment in your life. You could help me track down and stop the terrorists trying to destroy Kokyu. While it’s a horrific thing they’re doing, you can be part of the solution because of a painful moment in your past. Perhaps this moment, though painful, will fuel another good deed in the future.”
I listened to his speech and climbed the wall, keeping my eyes on the pair at the terminal. Ko-nah was sending glowing munje into the controls, thought it didn’t seem to be doing much. I’d only seen two others activate machina without a control interface: Pa-ne, the ma instructor from last year who had activated simple machina with one or two functions, and Hiro... I hoped Ko-nah was as convincing an actor with his ma munje as he was everything else.
I looped my long legs around the wires snaking across the ceiling and pulled myself above them. There was ample space above, where even more machina whirred. This could’ve been a cooling system, or perhaps power. It would make an excellent target if it were.
“So, are you two getting anything?” Dokun asked. There was a hint of suspicion to his voice, and I feared he was onto our plot.
“Not yet,” Ko-nah said.
I leaned over the edge to see Dokun advancing on Ko-nah.
“Perhaps if you let me help.” He grabbed Ko-nah by the shirt and pulled him close. “Who are you and what have you done with my joka-yi?”
Ko-nah gasped. “What are you saying?”
“Don’t play dumb with me! I can see the ry melting off you!”
Munje swirled around Dokun’s upraised hand. I couldn’t see the color, but I thought I could detect a pull on the ma in my body. I climbed up into the vibrating machines and hunted for the spot where the wires converged. Metal pipes and ventilation systems ran crisscross through the ceiling between hanging lights.
“I’ve seen good body fakes before, and yours is one of the best... Is that makeup?” Dokun asked.
I heard Dokun growl after a few inaudible mumbles. There was a loud thud and a yelp. Hang on, Ko-nah! I raked my gaze over the space and found a metal ring holding several of the wires in place. If nothing else, it was a good start.
I climbed over the hanging obstacles and reached the harness. The drill tip of my diamond claw whirred to life, and I punctured the outer shell of the wire cluster. When I punched through, I sent agitated en to my diamond claw. The munje blasted into the confined space at temperatures close to my melting point.
I ripped my claw free and leapt back as the metal band holding the wires in place snapped like a dry branch. I ran across wobbling pipes, over the square vents to another section of the ceiling. Before I could get my drill into another cluster, a droning blare vibrated through the room. The overhead lights blinked darkly, and the horrible sound went on.
I gritted my teeth through the skin-crawling sensation of jiggling everywhere at once, and drilled into the tubes. The second blast of en munje threw me from the spot, and I tumbled between a set of pipes, body ringing. I could barely hear anything, but I could still see—somewhat.
Everything was blurry from the unceasing vibration, but I could see Dokun. He had Ko-nah by the throat.
“You think a potion will make you strong enough to defeat me?” Dokun asked.
Ko-nah clutch an empty vial in his hand, his eyes wide with fear. Dokun yanked Ko-nah from the ground and tossed him like a ragdoll. The boy hit the wall hard and dropped straight down. He was still and a trickle of dark liquid—blood—pooled under his cheek.
I stared, unable to breath or think. Was he... dead? No. It must’ve been the Nevermore Draught. It just took effect, and he seems dead. The blood isn’t flowing easily, so his wound must be minor. He can still make it.
Dokun dashed across the room, and I followed him from above, holding tight to the wires like a bug clings to leaves. He reached a circular table at the center and pressed a few buttons. The massive face glitched to life, projecting out from the tiny glass hexagons on the tabletop.
“What?” Dokun demanded of the face.
“Sir, there is a perimeter breach,” a gentle masculine voice projected in very strange accented Kokyugo. Mae realized in an instant that it was old Japanese.
“Yes, I heard. Overhead. How did it get in here and where is it now?” Dokun asked, irritated.
“For the first question, I believe—”
“No, where is it first,” Dokun said. “Regale me with your failure after I’ve destroyed it.”
“It is hanging above you,” the face turned into a pointing hand, the finger directed at me.
I climbed over the edge of the wire and scrambled across the uneven space. A dragging sensation pulled the ma from my systems, but I fought to escape his grasp. I climbed the side of a huge, rubbery tube leading straight up. This looked important...
I drilled my diamond claws into the tube—all of them—and sent every last bit of en down my arms into the apparatus. There was heat and a flash of brilliant loudness, and I snapped back to my corporeal form. I winced and braced myself against the controls.
“How was that?” I asked with a sickened groan.
“Perfect, I was already in, and your third attack was a major success. Hook us up,” Mae ordered.
I pulled up the empty chair for Woong-ji. “I need a leg,” I said with a wry smile.
Woong-ji moved back from guarding the door and detached her prosthetic. After a moment of fiddling with it, she pulled Mae’s secondary device from a compartment hidden in the oversized calf. She passed it to me along with a specially designed wire.
I grimaced as I held the wire up to my chest. Without a second thought, I jammed the wire into the tiny port we’d created. I lost control of my legs and stumbled, then my vision went dark. I hit the floor with a thump, but kept one hand on the Enjiho control panel, letting Mae use up all my stored ma munje. Images blasted through my brain with clarity and force.
Enjiho upgrade specifications, including a fine-mist sprayer, added to their arms. Then blink, and gone.
Next were designs for machina shaped like a missile; propulsion system, storage—
A mining operation unlike anything I’d ever seen, pulling clear, steaming liquid from stores buried deep in the earth. The liquid was filling smaller tanks, then those tanks were loaded onto the backs of trains.
A tree, taller than any I’d ever seen, loomed in the distance behind the silhouettes of flying beasts I’d only heard of in legends: dragons. They flapped their wings and turned into a suicide dive, then sprayed fire from their mouths. The orange flames reflected off their machina enhanced bodies—so they weren’t made of just flesh.
Lines of English scrolled past my mind’s eye so quickly I grew sick to my stomach. I swallowed and breathed, trying not to see everything Mae was stealing. I stepped back from the images, then again, until they no longer took over my senses.
Woong-ji was strapping her leg back on when I came to.
“But we’re not done,” I said, words slurred from the dizziness. “We have to hide the device in your leg.”
“No time, you’ll have to carry it.”
“Why—”
Bang!
A massive, fist-shaped lump appeared in the door.
“I’ve got enough!” Mae declared through the speaker on my chest.
Woong-ji knelt beside me and waved a hand over my face. I felt my skin shift, and my muscles sag.
She dragged me to my feet. “I hope you saved something for our escape.”
Chapter 37
“BUT THE BROADCAST!” I protested.
If we didn’t show the people of Kokyu what a villain Dokun was, this could all be for naught. Discovering his plan was important, but if he took control of the city, he could turn the power of Kokyu against Busa-nan.
Another thump rang out and the door dented again. There was an Enjiho on the other side that wanted nothing more than to be inside. Fine.
“Open the door on my mark,” I said.
I closed my eyes and released a stream of re
d munje into my mouth. I inhaled deep through my nose and set my sights on the metal machina on the other side.
“Now!” I yelled and blew the munje out with a whoosh.
Woong-ji opened the door and my uw munje coated the Enjiho on the other side. It stepped forward, but its second step took a herk-jerk, then it stopped. I forced my way into the Enjiho’s systems and took control, then spun it around.
It was like the vision of a spider, seeing through four different eyes at once. In the forward view, I saw the other Enjiho. “What are you doing?” the operator on the other end of the machina asked me.
I activated my long right arm and punched the other Enjiho in the chest. It skidded backwards through the hall, and I pounced with my powerful machina legs. I landed on the Enjiho with a clank and set to work pummeling it into the ground.
When it went still, I opened my eyes and recalled the remaining magic. The tainted gold munje flowed out of the machina and into me. With a glitchy whimper, the first Enjiho collapsed to the floor.
I pushed the stolen munje down my arm and into the control panel. ‘Now or never, Mae. Can you access their vocal systems?’
“Get the visual feed running and I’ll tell you when I’ve got it,” she replied hurriedly.
Well, visual evidence without words was better than nothing. I let my consciousness drift through the network, seeking out the tall towers where we’d implanted the stream hijacking devices.
They were all still integrated into the system, and their munje reserves were full. My heart hammered, and I prepared the images I wanted to display. I didn’t know if I was ready to project my thoughts out for the whole of Kokyu to see, but I had to do it, for their sake.
I focused on the images and released the munje at a steady trickle into the projection devices on the sides of the buildings. Dokun strangling Ko-nah and throwing him across the room. Dokun yelling at the man who’d downed the train in Sonma. Then the new images of the mining operation, the missiles, and the monsters.
