Then he sees Zander approach upon the rockets embedded into the soles of his massive feet. The impact is lessoned by Tobias’ quick attempt to shift himself to the right, but he is nipped in the side by Zander’s heavy shoulder, and is certain ribs have broken.
Wheeling himself about to open fire on Zander, Tobias experiences great pain in the bottom three ribs of his left side. He connects with several shots to Zander’s rocket boots and watches as they fail him, and he falls to the catwalk. He is otherwise uninjured, and immediately gets up, leaping towards Tobias’ open-air position. Ginny has emerged from the weapon’s generator room and fires four of her forearm blades into Zanders back. He falls short of reaching Tobias and lands hard in the great room below.
“Check the thrusters,” he shouts to Ginny. “Can we move at all?”
She rushes to the console and turns to shake her head at him. “They’ve ruptured the transformers!” She shouts back.
“Take out these Hosts!” He cries back and dives to pick up Zander by his remaining horn and before Zander can reach him with his long arms, rams him into a wall. The idea was to sever the Host’s head from the force, but he is too well built and just falls again to the floor, toppling one of the Chimera with a devestating blow to the back.
Torch leaps down into the fray and charges Zander. These two make for a good pairing in a fight, thinks Tobias as he fires at Hosts attempting to interrupt the contest.
He can see Torch is being careful not to leave himself open to Zander’s fingertip projectiles - which could rip through him - and he slams a reenforced, metalic-gloved hand down on his opponent’s right wrist. The Host’s hand bends and snaps, now hanging, useless from a wire.
Tobias has to move to avoid multiple gunshots from below, piercing his right wing’s thin rubber. The attack is not damaging, but too close for comfort. He retreats to the control module.
Another booming sound followed by a ship-wide tremor, signals that the rebel-held corvettes are not yet done firing their energy lances against the crippled ships. Tobias urges Ginny into the control module with him. It is not a large space, built for three; a pilot, navigations and weapons expert. He seals the compartment. With the push of a button a transparent plastic rolls down behind them, allowing them to view the carnage, but not get caught up in it. It is a protective layer which is capable of stopping considerable energy weapon fire as well as projectile-type artillary.
“Tobias! Why are you locking us away like this?” She cries, throwing her hands up against the clear nano-plastic wall.
“I’m receiving another communication from Allfather. I can’t follow directions if I’m wrapped up in this exchange,” he explains.
“Well, make it quick. I want to help!”.
He has no intention of opening the sealed compartment. It is the only shuttle left at his command should he decide there is no other choice. He writes to his councel for guidance. None is forthcoming.
A thump at the nano-plast and Zander appears. He is hitting the clear wall with something wet. Tobias realizes it’s Torch’s severed head; spewing blood everywhere. Zander looks furious, but that is hardly a new look on his one-horned face. He’s lost a hand to his battle against Torch. He also looks to have taken several hits at close-quarters to his carapace - crushing blows from Torch’s heavy metal gloves and reenforced punching arms. Zander is wounded, but Tobias decides against opening the wall and finishing him off. He’s sorry to know that Torch is no more, but there is only one thing left to be done. Ginny pushes away from the plastic wall screaming at Zander, rattling Tobias’ nerves.
Tobias punches in orders on his EC to the Chimera aboard the other ships and tells Ginny to sit at the controls.
“I will need you to pilot this in a moment, Ginny,” he explains calmly. She is breathing heavily and close to sobbing. He places a hand on her shoulder. “Ginny, this is important. It’s about the survival of Chimera. I need you to fly the ship as though it were not broken when I tell you.”
She shrugs his hand from her shoulder and waves at the console. “Everything is red-lighting! How am I supposed to fly something without engines?”
“Just trust me,” he tells her while Zander continues to pound at the nano-plast.
Watching the new corvettes circle beyond his control module, Tobias waits for them to make the mistake he’s counting on.
______________________________________________________________________
Quinn watches as Zander cleaves the head from the mighty Torch with his forearm blade. He had tried to intervene earlier, but Torch had pounded him so hard that his battery nearly fell out of his carapace. Labyrinth is here to assist.
When Zander climbs the steps to fetch Tobias he takes the head of Torch with him.
Quinn has stabbed a single Chimera through the guts with his pointed spider legs but seen little action since Tobias’ initial exploding bullet pounded his carapace. Three Hosts now lay on top of him, hiding him from the melee, while Labyrinth works to repair his damaged carapace.
There can’t be many Chimera left now, he wonders on the carrier network with the remaining Hosts onboard his ship.
“Seven, Chimera.” One tells him. “Six.”
“How many Host?”
“Fourteen.” Is the reply.
Still good odds, Quinn muses, but not good enough to secure a win. He sends the order to enact the second stage of the assault to the attacking warships. Moments later he feels them below his feet, entering the shuttle bay of the ship.
They push through the carnage as they make their way up the ramp and into the great room where the fight is most heated. Quinn watches as this new House of Hosts prepares to deliver the killing blow to the Chimera.
______________________________________________________________________
As Tobias watches Hosts pour out of the shuttle bays of the three new ships to board and finish off the Chimera, he initiates his order to flee to all those who are capable, and claim the new ships.
He pulls a lever overhead and the control module pushes off from the main body of the corvette with an alarming jolt. A small impulse engine kicks in, the red lights disappear from the console, and Ginny navigates the small ship through an onslaught of altered Hosts, gliding through space. In minutes, she arrives inside one of the new corvette’s shuttle bays.
Two more shuttles join them from one of the other corvettes and Ginny scans the ship for atmosphere.
“They’re not running the life-support systems. In fact, I’m not sure they bothered to include one. Zero gravity as well, but they have heat, to keep their batteries from draining prematurely, I imagine. We’ll need to wear the suits provided in the shuttles.”
Tobias contacts the occupants of the two incoming shuttles which are landing behind them and relays that message. He pulls two of the three zero-atmosphere suits from a compartment under the console, handing one to Ginny. “Not a very warm welcome.” He says, detatching his wings and storing them on the terminal. Pulling the suit over his legs he winks at Ginny, driven by adrenaline. “We just need to keep them from reentering these ships now.” The suits are a thin white fabric, the same as what was supplied on the Earth to Moon shuttles. Very maliable, easy to move in and light wieght, not that weight would factor into this environment. They are fitted with internal communication devices as well should the wearer rather communicate more efficiently then with their EC’s.
“I’m sure there are Hosts left on the ship,” Ginny figures, her mind clearing with resolve to see Tobias’ secret plan through.
“There will be, but they will not be the strongest, or the fastest of them. Those, they will have sent to our ships.” He pushes the button which opens the nano-plast wall. Holding onto eachother for balance, they drift up toward the ceiling and crawl along it to exit the bay with the other eight Chimera who’ve emerged from their shuttles.
Tobias turns, points at his ear when he has everyone’s attention, and shows four fingers. They all internally switch their s
uit coms to channel four and are able to communicate.
“The Hosts here will have been warned by now that we’ve breached their ship and may be coming for us.” He watches as two more shuttles land in the bay and the occupants quickly suit up. Once out of their shuttles, they manually close the bay gate, seal it with an energy weapon, then float up to meet the others. Tobias signs the same orders to his four new comrades.
“Which ships are you from?” He asks the twelve Chimera.
“We eight are from corvette C011.” Answers a Chimera. “We came from Country State, India and followed you to the moon. Tobias, it’s an honour.” He bows awkwardly in the zero G.
“It’s good to meet you as well.” Tobias’ arms raise over his head to connect to the ceiling of the shuttle bay as he floats.
“We four are not from the same Country States, but ended up together after the melee at the moon shipyard. We come from corvette C03. I am Forge, from Country State, Canada. This is Lax, from Country State, Mexico, Sash, from Country State Germany, and Bull, from Country State, Kenya.” Forge is well-spoken and one of the largest men Tobias has ever seen. Even under the suit, he bulged with artificial muscle, at least, he assumes it’s artificial.
“Excellent to meet you all. I was just telling India that the Hosts still aboard will know we’ve arrived. We need to be stealthy. Do you each have a weapon you can fire which is not embedded to your bodies?” Tobias holds up a pulse rifle. Five more hold up the same. Including Ginny, that’s just seven of the fourteen of them who are armed.
“That will have to do. I doubt there are many Hosts still aboard. Does anyone know whether Chimera entered the other two corvettes?”
“We had the opportunity to launch all of our shuttles with one to four Chimera inside. We assigned two to target each ship. Thirteen of us escaped,” relays Forge.
“We were the only survivors from C011.” The brown-faced man speaking for Country State, Inda explains.
“Alright, there is a good chance the other two ships are also occupied by Chimera. Let’s investigate and gain control over this ship. I wish to carve those Hosts out of their comfortable existence and watch them burn as they decend to the surface.” Tobias feels especially anxious over their odds and finds himself overcompensating with inflated dialogue.
The group follows Tobias out of the shuttle bay and into the engine room. Here he aligns them with four gunners on one side and three along the other. They are easily manipulated in the zero G. He places three more in each group and addresses them once more, finding the ceiling, pushing his one hand against it for balance.
“We need to split up. We’re all familiar with these ships now. We meet in the great room. Then we ascend the steps to the catwalk on either side, move towards the central control module and call out clear at every turn. Understood?”
A resounding affirmation from each Chimera sets Tobias’ adrenaline pumping. He points to the group of seven and directs them to the left. He joins the group of six and they move to the right to begin their hunt.
Rounding the corner, both teams offer the ‘clear’. Moving along the narrow corridor, Tobias feels vulnerable picking up his pace. He enters the galley and ushers the others through the door. The kitchen is a void. Hosts require no sustenence save an electrical charge from year to year, so it makes sense that the galley is bare. No cupboards, sink, plumbing of any kind. It’s just an empty space. Beyond it, is the great room. Tobias gives the ‘clear’ from the kitchen and gets it back from the second group who have cleared the room parallel to his.
“Caution entering the great room,” he explains. “If they’re on the catwalk they have the high ground.”
“We’re going in,” says Forge. Tobias hesitates a moment, and then slowly opens the galley door.
THE TRIALS OF LEADERSHIP
Fran opens an incoming message request from Luna Base. Commander Darla and the chancellor appear in her holo.
“You have something more to report?”
“The Host ships which escaped earth’s atmosphere have engaged the Chimera in orbit.” The commander explains. “You can view the live feed now.” She sends the vid link to the general’s inmail via the moon’s satellites. “It appears as though the original three ships have lost weapons capabilities. The Host ships have fired on their thrusters, further disabling them, and unleashed a payload of Hosts to board the Chimera corvettes.”
“An interesting strategy. Perhaps they want to commandeer the Chimeran ships as well.”
“Perhaps, but in doing so they have lost control of their own warships.”
“How so?”
“The Chimera have launched shuttles and escape modules, managing to board the Host’s corvettes.”
“Impressive tactics.” Fran reviews the vid. “I have a flock of missiles heading their way. They should be there in less then twenty minutes now. The incapacitated ships will be destroyed, but that still leaves three working corvettes in the hands of the Shadow Brokers – sorry, Chimera.”
“That’s good news about the missiles, General. I can only imagine what’s playing out within the Host ships now.” Darla’s expression relaxes.
“With any luck, they’re killing each other for us,” Fran says unapologetically.
“How is the progress coming along with your Host reboot code?” Raymond asks.
“We’ll know very soon whether we’re right about the broadcast system. When we confirm that, we’re only another day or two from rolling the cure out en masse. I’m just waiting on my team to alert me. It should be any time now.”
“And the Shadow net? Have you located more Chimera?” He wonders.
“It’s an infestation down here, Raymond. As I understand it – from my Shadow net team - the Chimera are a group who wish to detach themselves from their human identities in favour of Chimera.” She pauses a moment to upload an image to his screen. “The Chimera is a mythical creature which combines a lion, goat and snake.”
“Yes, and that is the symbol they’ve branded onto their bodies,” Raymond explains. “The tech they’ve added is, I suppose, the basis behind calling themselves Chimera. They’re literally some of this and some of that.”
“They’ve been busy, Raymond. Though we managed to wipe a good percentage of them out upon their exodus to the moon, and more recently in their attempt to by-pass our Defsats, they seem still to have a substantial presence within the net. I’ve tasked military teams to follow up every lead and drag the so-called Chimera from their homes. Our detention centers are filling up. What to do with them is still in question, but they will be found guilty of mischief and aiding and abetting fugatives and terrorists.”
“What’s the average age of these vid-fed Chimera?” Raymond asks sheepishly.
“Fifteen is average. Many are younger.” She pulls up a fact sheet on her holo and forwards it to the chancellor. “Like any terrorist group, they’ve targeted the young and impressionable. Teens mostly. Looking for something more. Bored and gullible. Most are scared shitless in the detention centers. Some do have a few implants though, and many of those are dangerous, home-made energy weapons they created from an illegal instructional vid via the Shadow net.”
Raymond suddenly feels responsible for this culling of children from their homes playing Chimera on their computers. It’s not a good feeling.
“We’ve been too lax with the Shadow net for too long. I’m considering making examples of the Chimera.”
“In what sense?” The chancellor is taken aback by Fran’s statement.
“In the most extreme sense, Chancellor. This sort of rebellious nature is rarely broken in the rebel, but it can be discouraged from future endeavors by showcasing the consequences.”
“General - Fran, you’re not suggesting murdering children as a deterrent to rebelious thought?” The blood pounds behind his eyes.
“Aren’t I?”
“Fran. Please, that’s not what the public needs. Those children have families. Think about it. You will alienate
yourself and be forced into a dictatorship to rule.”
He looks traumatized by her resoluteness to move forward with this brutal line of justice. It amuses her to see him squirm. “Chancellor, your time to rule is over. Mine has only just begun, and it will include harsh penalties for attempting to undermine and overthrow a ruling party.”
“So, under your own adaptation of governance, I should have you hung, and all who follow you?”
“If you were in power here, Chancellor, I would willingly go to the gallows knowing I must pay for my crimes against those whose power I could not appropriate,” she tells him matter of factly.
“I don’t believe you will hold your title as dictator very long once you’ve murdered thousands of children.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because to lead with the sword is to die by it. Sooner rather then later.”
The chancellor ends the holo communication. Fran feels flush and runs a palm over her face. He thinks he knows her so well. He does not, she muses.
“Get me the Shadow team lead on holo,” she barks at a passing aid. Stunned, he scrambles to the console and calls up Captain Gardner.
“General,” he greets her with a nod. His chisled features and short-cropped hair call to mind her late husband.
“Captain, when we decide to make an example of the Chimera currently in custody, could your team manage to broadcast the event live on both the World net and Shadow net simultaniously?”
“There would be some difficulty with the Shadow net not pulling the feed down or interrupting it, but I think we could manage it, yes.”
“Then begin looking into it.”
“What event exactly are you considering?” There is a hint of apprehension in his voice. This agitates her.
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