CHAPTER TEN—TALON
Into the Brig
Sage used the blade built into her artificial arm to saw through the fins of an exhaust vent on the exterior of the Ascendant. Talon watched anxiously.
“I’ve gotten in this way before,” she said over their com-link. “They repaired it, but it should only take a few more seconds.”
Talon took those seconds to study his surroundings. Transport ships were rising from the shaft-hangars of the settlement carved into Fortuna, likely responding to the ADIM-led attack, already underway. Sage and Tarsis were perched on the hull of the Ascendant. Nearby, hundreds of androids followed them. He’d only ever seen their kind standing like tin cans in front of shops and bars on Ceres, repeating the same phrases every time somebody passed by. Presently, their pale eye-lenses seemed to be growing a little brighter and they were crawling across the ship with the kind of dexterity he’d only seen in ADIM. He was happy they were on his side.
“Off,” Sage said.
Talon turned his head and saw the exhaust vent drifting out into space. Sage wasted no time pulling her weightless body inside. He looked to Tarsis. The Vergent’s nostrils were flaring, and against the blackness of space his veins were as bright as Neptune. They exchanged a nod, and then followed Sage onto one of the three most heavily defended vessels remaining in the Circuit. For once he was glad for all of the missions he’d undergone for both Zargo and Zaimur Morastus. His experience with deadly assignments was helping him keep his nerves at bay, though he could still feel the thumping of his heart all the way in his throat.
“Crawl quickly,” Sage said as she shimmied through the shaft of the vent. “This vent is only used in-atmosphere. We’ll be let out right in the main hangar.”
At first it was easy for Talon to follow, but as they got further the ship’s powerful gravity generators kicked on with force. His limbs grew heavy and sore, but he gritted his teeth and continued pushing. Nothing was going to stop him. Not an army of Tribunals, and definitely not the Blue Death. Tarsis was behind him, groaning with every motion, but unable to slow down with the androids pushing at his feet.
Sage turned a corner up ahead, but as she did her legs froze in the opening.
“What’s wrong?” Talon asked.
She was staring forward, at a suit of white nano-armor that was half-hidden in a gash cut into the side of the shaft adjacent to a grille. Talon had seen her in it enough times to know the gorgeous set belonged to her. She’s not lying, Talon thought. There was no reason for her to ever have been in the vent before unless she really was sneaking onto the Ascendant. And as far as he knew there was no reason for an Executor to have to sneak onto a New Earth Cruiser like a fugitive unless she was one.
“So you have been in here before,” Talon stated.
“Yes,” Sage answered.
“We’ll come back for it.”
The edges of Sage’s mouth lifted as if she were considering a smile. She didn’t allow them to get very far. “No we won’t,” she decided. “I can’t wear it anymore. Switch off oxygen now and conserve your supplies. Let’s go get her, Talon.”
Sage’s metal fingers wrapped around the vent grille and she heaved herself forward. Talon heard gunshots going off through his helmet. He pushed off with his feet to follow her. When he emerged she was kneeling over a patrol of at least six Tribunals, blood spilling across the pearly floor.
Beyond them, the Ascendant’s main hangar was filled with Tribunal fighters and small transports being refueled or repaired. A line of vacant Mechs ran down the long wall, cartridges for their rail-guns lying on the floor. Talon counted an unexpectedly low number of soldiers. Only a few squads spread throughout. The rest, Talon assumed, had either been dispatched to defend against ADIM after he infiltrated one of the aft galleys or were still on Fortuna.
Cassius was right. They were caught completely off guard.
The soldiers who were present opened fire. Pilots rushed to get inside of Mechs and arm themselves. Sage was able to leap behind the empty chassis of one before she was hit. Talon yanked Tarsis out of the vent and pulled him along behind Sage. The Vergent and his clunky exo-suit were moving slower than ever.
The androids had their own strategy. Under ADIM’s control, they burst into the hangar like a swarm of insects on Ancient Earth. The first wave absorbed the brunt of the Tribunal defenses, then the second clambered over the shield. Bullets from their pulse-rifles lashed across the room, creating a bright line of fire that would’ve left Talon deaf if not for his helmet. Tribunals were cut down by the handful. Alarms blared throughout the hangar.
The battle had begun. More Tribunal defenders flooded in from every adjacent room to do battle with abominations they’d always assumed were useless. How I’d love to see the look on Benjar’s face now, Talon thought.
“This unit has reached the lower level and is encountering heavy resistance,” ADIM said over the com-link.
There was no time for Talon to revel in the bewilderment of his enemies. The inner seal of the main hangar’s airlock was opening for transport ships arriving from Fortuna. Soon the hangar would be teeming with Tribunals. The androids would have to handle them until they returned with Elisha.
“Lead the way, Sage,” Talon barked.
They sprinted down the corridors of the Ascendant. Sage was so fast that he and Tarsis could barely keep up. She bolted from corner to corner, shooting anyone in their way with unwavering precision. Talon didn’t even have to keep his rifle aimed. Anyone who she couldn’t knock unconscious with a blow from her artificial arm got a bullet through the center of his head. A short nap or a painless end—she was extremely efficient.
They reached a stairwell. Talon and Tarsis took the steps, but Sage leapt from level to level over the railings. She ducked to avoid bullets that zipped by her head and jumped when they came near her feet. Talon weaved his way around corpses until he reached the bottom. Sage waited for him there, having hardly broken a sweat. Tarsis, on the other hand, struggled to keep up. He held his chest, which was heaving so much it was visible even through his suit.
“You okay, Tarsis?” Talon asked.
“Fine,” he wheezed. “Just tell her to slow down.”
“ADIM should be on this level,” Sage said. “We proceed with caution now.”
She took a step into the adjoining corridor. Talon saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. He yanked her backward. A bullet screamed by where she’d been, embedding itself into the wall. Talon dove headfirst through the opening, holding down the trigger of his pulse-rifle until there was nothing but a heap of bloodied, green armor across the way.
“With caution,” Talon snickered. Sage’s artificial arm lifted him to his feet like he was a child. Her eyes were opened wider than he’d ever seen them. “About time I get a chance to save you. Let’s move.” He patted her shoulder and signaled ahead. Sage nodded.
This time they all worked together. Tarsis watched their backs, while Sage and Talon exchanged turns checking corners. The passages they traversed were mostly vacant, though they could hear the echoes of a firefight elsewhere on the ship.
“ADIM’s drawing attention away from the brig,” Sage said. She stopped a few feet away from a sealed door. “It’s buried on the inside of this level, behind this door.”
“The other units have begun pushing back towards the hangar,” ADIM replied over the com-link. The door obstructing them whooshed open, and the red eyes of ADIM glowed behind it. “The child is in here.”
Talon tore off his helmet and sprinted forward. The wide corridor he entered had familiar cells along the walls, their entrances sealed by the orangey shimmer of plasmatic shields. The bodies of the Tribunal Guards were already strewn across the floor, dead by ADIM’s hand.
“Elisha!” he called out. “Elisha!”
Gaunt Ceresians sat in each cell. They jumped to their feet as they noticed intruders. “Help us!” they yelled. Talon ignored them. He knew who he was searching for.
&n
bsp; “She is here, Talon Rayne,” ADIM said out loud.
Talon froze. “Allow me,” Sage said. She stepped in front of him, extending her artificial arm. The long blade built into the wrist slid out with a rasp.
ADIM extended his hand to stop her. “That is unnecessary.”
He placed his palm on top of the control panel outside of the cell. The tiny lights around his eyes began to spin even, and the lights throughout the entire brig flickered. In a few seconds the cell’s shield powered down, allowing Talon to peer inside.
Elisha was sitting against the far wall, her untidy hair bunched up over her eyes. Her arms were so skinny that her elbows bulged, and her skin was stretched tight against her cheek bones. She looked up languidly and Talon saw her eyes. They were sunken into darkened sockets, and the youthful glee he’d always seen in them was nowhere to be found.
Talon couldn’t breathe. He tossed his gun aside, ran in, and threw his arms around her. Tears streamed from his eyes. He pulled her head to his chest and kissed it over and over.
“You’re…alive…” he stammered. “By the Ancients you’re alive!” He extended his arms to get a look at her face. Her lips were trembling, but she didn’t say a word. She just continued staring blankly at him. “It’s okay. You don’t need to say anything.”
“Talon,” Tarsis said. He shook Talon’s shoulder. “Talon, we need to get out of here.”
“This unit is picking up a battalion of Tribunal Soldiers approaching our position,” ADIM announced. “The Creator has been informed of your need for retrieval. You must leave now.”
Sage extended her synthetic arm. “I can carry her for you, Talon,” she said.
Talon turned to her, his eyes wet with tears. She wasn’t lying, he repeated to himself over and over. She’d really done all of this just to save his daughter. “It’s okay, Sage,” he whispered. “I’ve got her.” It didn’t matter how sore his arms were. He never wanted to let go.
“What about the others?” Tarsis stepped out of the cell.
Talon had completely forgotten about them. They were never part of the plan.
“You will need them,” ADIM replied. “The exit is blocked.”
Again the lights in the area blinked before ADIM caused every cell’s shield in the brig to be powered down. Confused prisoners came stumbling out, their legs weakened by disuse.
“You were on Eureka weren’t you?” one of the prisoners asked Talon, his voice hoarse. “You switched off the generator and got my brother off alive.” He bent over to pick up one of the loose weapons lying on the floor. “You want to die here boys, or bring the fight to them?”
“For Lutetia!” the rest of them hollered in response. They followed in the first prisoner’s footsteps and snatched up whatever weapons they could find.
Talon tried to thank them but he could only manage to mouth the words. Sage checked the clip on her gun.
“This unit must continue carrying out the Creator’s will and commandeer the prototype weapon used against Kalliope,” ADIM said. He turned and walked in the opposite direction. He stopped next to Talon and touched Elisha’s cheek. “Goodbye, human child, Elisha,” he said to her. Talon quickly pulled her away, but ADIM didn’t flinch. “May you prove worthy of the Creator.” In the next instant the android leapt up into the ship’s air dispersion system and was gone.
“Leave him,” Tarsis said. “C’mon Talon, there’s no time.”
He handed Talon his helmet, and they exchanged a nod before following Sage and the rest of the prisoners. The door they had entered the brig through was now closed and Sage ran up for cover in one of the cells closest to it. Talon and Tarsis followed her in. The rest of the prisoners crowded into other nearby cells. Everyone with a gun poked around the corner.
“The battalion is waiting through there,” she raised her visor and said so that everybody could hear.
“Is there another way?” Tarsis asked.
“This is the fastest—” Sage was cut off when through the ship’s speaker system a voice spoke.
“Well done, Sage Volus,” it said. Just hearing it caused her cheeks to go pale. “I knew you’d come for the girl eventually, but this? You were trained well. Too bad you’ll never get off of this ship. Who would’ve thought you were truly in league with the traitor Cassius, and the very abomination that helped him rob our Tribunal Freighters, ravage Titan, capture a Solar-Ark, and murder Her Eminence Nora Gressler! I knew he couldn’t possibly be dead. A shame, I was hoping this was the doing of the Ceresians so I’d have an excuse not to show them mercy.”
Rob Freighters? Talon thought. He realized that he never had found out who was really behind the freighter attacks until then. If Cassius was behind it, then he was the one who got Talon into this entire mess in the first place, and ADIM was there every step of the way.
Ravage Titan, take down a Solar-Ark, and kill a Tribune, he considered further. How could ADIM be in so many places at once?
“Like the mercy you showed on Eureka, or to this girl?” Sage snapped in response. “Like the mercy I hear you showed the innocent mining colony on Kalliope?”
“We had nothing to do with Kalliope,” Yavortha said, “but I’ll happily clean up the mess your master made. How long will you continue to listen to that man’s lies? I suppose not much longer. It’s time to die, Sage Volus. The Tribune is grateful for your former service.”
The entrance to the brig slid open and a barrage of rifle fire accompanied it. Talon jumped behind Sage and wrapped his free arm around Elisha’s head so he was covering her ears. It was at that moment that he realized the only possible truth. His heart skipped a beat. Even now Yavortha denies any responsibility for Kalliope when he should be boasting. And if they had the bomb and were willing to use it, why didn't they bomb Eureka when we were all inside and end the war in one move?
It was so obvious that he thought he was going to be sick. The reason ADIM saved Elisha was to have proof that his creator couldn’t have possibly been behind Kalliope. It was just like in a game of cards. ADIM was the hand on top of the table, drawing everyone’s gaze while Cassius pulled strings from the shadows. Exactly like how he faked his death. They thought ADIM was on the Ascendant to retrieve a weapon, but it was a weapon that only Cassius would create. No other faction would dare waste Gravitum on a bomb. He had it the whole time. Sleight of hand.
Cassius stole Tribunal Freighters first and let Ceres take the blame, and then a Solar-Ark to punish the Tribune for what happened to Kalliope. All of those ships were filled with Gravitum. Tons of it. The Tribune didn’t start this war. He did. Cassius Vale destroyed Kalliope.
CHAPTER ELEVEN—ADIM
Out of Control
With the human child sprung from her cell, ADIM had other business to attend to. His creator wanted the Ascendant crippled, and that was exactly what he was going to do. He’d uploaded the schematics of the ship when he synced himself with the controls of the brig. Unfortunately, the New Earth Cruiser was run by multiple split-systems, so he couldn’t perform his task unless he accessed the central computer located on the command deck. There wasn’t much time either.
With the Tribunal reinforcements from Fortuna arriving, the android army he controlled in the main hangar was being driven back. It didn’t help that he had to divert a segment of them to provide aid for Sage and the others in the brig. He knew Cassius wanted her to get out alive even if ADIM himself didn’t want that.
While he controlled them, his main body headed back to the breach in the hull of the ship. He heaved himself out of the shredded maw into space. The Shadow Chariot clung to the side of the Ascendant just outside.
Traveling through the ship was a shorter distance, but he’d calculated that the amount of defenders between himself and his destination would slow him down more. So he magnetized his chassis and started clambering along its smooth, metallic hull. There was at least a mile between him and the vast viewport of the Ascendant’s command deck, enough time for him to hand almost complete
focus over to the androids so that they might last longer. His ability to maneuver them was slightly hampered by the increased activity of every unit. It was enough that he decided to transfer the control of the White Hand, which was still within range of his influence.
Creator, this unit is placing you in control of the White Hand, he said through their personal com-link. Only direct communications between us will remain active.
Is everything alright, ADIM? Cassius replied.
Yes. There is, however, greater resistance than anticipated. The others should be escaping shortly.
What about you?
This unit will use the Shadow Chariot as we discussed after disrupting the weapons systems. ADIM turned the head of his main body as he crawled, his gaze tracing a line across the stars. Do not worry, Creator, space is not an obstacle.
Cassius sighed out of frustration. Just keep me updated. Remember, it’s not Benjar’s time to die yet.
This unit will keep you updated.
Silence returned as Cassius cut the feed, but it didn’t come with the usual sense of emptiness. Not when ADIM had a task with which to fill the long minutes when he was apart from his creator. He didn’t doubt that he’d see his creator again soon; he only wanted to ensure that Cassius would be content upon their reunion, with his will wholly fulfilled.
By the time ADIM reached the spanning translucency which wrapped the command deck, he saw through his numerous other eyes that Sage and the others had joined the androids in the main hangar. His army was dwindling, but the odds of their survival remained relatively high. He hoped that would be the case, because presently ADIM had to draw most of his concentration to his main body. The command deck was packed with a multitude of green capes belonging to Benjar Vakari’s personal honor guard. According to Cassius, they were the cast-offs who weren’t strong enough to be named Executors. They weren’t worthy of the Creator, but like Sage Volus they aspired to be. As a group they might pose a challenge.
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