Warriors at the Gates- Trojan Wars

by Rick Royster

  Soldiers, unconscious. No, dead.

  Tressa pulled out her gun as Rabbit stepped through the door, and she followed in behind him.

  Cracked monitors sizzled as sparks gave the room a sparse yellow tent that went against the blue glow of the screens; a row of mercenaries, seated at their workstations, one after the next, dead.

  Tressa looked down at the carnage, seeing the two masked men from the halo-portation, motionless on the floor. Their weapons were still holstered, so either they’d known their killers or hadn't seen them coming.

  Whichever the case, this was the work of a professional.

  Rabbit examined the scene, looked over the bodies. No doubt by now he'd come to share the same conclusion.

  She counted seven among the dead.

  Rabbit shrugged his shoulders.

  Now she thought of the more important question – where was Kwan and where was her daughter?

  Then her heart began to race; did the GU beat her here? Were they still here?

  Tressa peeked at the stairs, felt the sweat trickle down her forehead. She pointed at the stairs, Rabbit nodding in agreement as he went inside and up. She followed behind.

  Goliath's voice in her ear startled her. "What's going on? I have nothing on the scope."

  "It appears someone beat us here."

  Rabbit was looking back down at her on the stairs as they made their way to the second floor.

  "There is a lone shuttle on the roof; other than that, all clear."

  Tressa continued to climb.

  Goliath buzzed again, "I don't like this. Maybe you should get out of there?"

  "I don't like it either, but they have my daughter. I'll search every square inch of this place if I must. We're approaching the elevator to the second floor now."

  Goliath cleared his throat. "Well you'll be totally exposed, and if it's a trap, which certainly seems highly likely, the super train is our only escape. The hyperloop doesn't appear to be an option."

  Tressa and Rabbit crept into the second floor's hallway.

  Two doors split open and, in the doorway, stood a man wearing sunglasses, dressed in a red cloak with Coalition armor underneath.

  Kwan Chang.

  Tressa looked over at a couple of the bodies that littered the floor. Scorched laser burns marred their skin and put holes in their armor. The doors to the fire exit stairs opened on both sides of her: a robust, well-built man exited one and a young, beautiful woman likely hailing from used-to-be Manchuria based on his features, stepped out the other.

  They also wore Coalition armor.

  In a swift motion, Rabbit brought his gun up to bear on Kwan.

  Kwan casually strolled out of the elevator, unfazed by the laser rifle pointing at his head.

  "What is this?" Tressa asked.

  "These were my most loyal warriors, but we had a disagreement," Kwan responded, looking down with what seemed to be regret at the bodies from the second-floor catwalk.

  "I'd say." Tressa glanced down, following his gaze.

  Kwan walked across the spacious hall to a door to an office. Rabbit kept close to Kwan. His rifle still pointed at his head.

  With his hand on the door handle, Kwan turned to Rabbit. "You won't be needing that. We're all friends here."

  "I'm sure the dead guys thought the same thing," Rabbit said.

  Kwan opened the door and pushed inside. The office was decorated like a small residential space. It had a couch, holo-screen and small kitchenette.

  Kwan had his arms relaxed, clasped together behind his back.

  "Where is Sarah?" Tressa spat out.

  "My men were to guard her with their lives, but they decided to get ambitious. They want your daughter and the Cube," Kwan said.

  "That's not my concern; where is my daughter?"

  "Is a bit of a mess now," Kwan said.

  "Let’s make a mess of your brain matter splattered against that wall," Rabbit roared. He was still wary of the other man and woman but kept a kill-shot trained on Kwan's head.

  "That not necessary; we are allies," Kwan remarked while coolly removing his eyewear.

  Rabbit frowned, trying to remember. "I know you. You used to be part of the Coalition special forces. You were confirmed KIA maybe five or six years ago."

  "I went dark, part of a deep-cover intelligence team. It's where I met Sarah," Kwan said.

  Tressa looked to the left and right at both the man and woman.

  "These are the only people in this world that I can trust. My older brother Ito and my younger sister Xie," Kwan said while motioning to the other two individuals. He then turned to face Rabbit head-on. "You have nothing to fear, soldier. Everyone here want the same thing."

  Tressa folded her arms. "I want my daughter, and I'd like to put a laser bolt in your head. So, let's get on with it so the former happens, and we prevent the latter?"

  Kwan looked over Rabbit, his sister and brother, then pointed at Tressa. "Just me and you, to talk, in private on the rooftop."

  "Out in the cold, wind and rain," Tressa asked?

  "All the better. Good setting for what we discuss."

  Rabbit chimed in. "No way are you going anywhere with him alone. I don't trust any of this."

  Kwan opened his cloak with an air of bluster. "I am unarmed."

  "I'm going. We don't have time for this," Tressa said.

  Kwan ambled toward the elevator.

  Tressa followed behind him, and they both stepped inside. She tried to whisper but emitted something closer to a hiss. "Where is my daughter?"

  "We'll get to that," Kwan responded, arms tucked behind his back.

  "What really happened in the hall down there?"

  "Some men, when presented with the opportunity for vast power, can't resist the urge to snatch. The Cube can offer something all men wish for, but it's something we should never have," Kwan said.

  "Which is?"

  The elevator came to a stop. The door slid open, revealing a pounding thunderstorm from which only a small canopy adjacent to the elevator exit provided shelter. "You won't like the answer." Tressa opened her mouth to protest. Kwan rolled his eyes with a bit of mirth, held his hand up to acquiesce to her coming demand, then extended his arm to the roof. "After you, then I'll tell you."

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  God thinks that he can free mortals... the system works for no one...perhaps now, Styx is certain.

  ― Sister Maria Crocifissa della Concezione

  "I know you think I'm evil or the enemy, but as you soon will learn, we are allies, on the same side of a pointless war," Kwan began.

  Tressa took a drink of water from her hip-mounted water canister. Discretely, she pulled a small package from her belt, then poured the liquid into the container and carefully shook it out of Kwan's view until it turned a murky blue with perfect subterfuge.

  She observed Kwan's uniform; other than the color, it was very familiar and top of the line. She was sure it wasn't from the Global Union. If she had to guess, it was Coalition-made.

  Kwan's plan to get them here was played out in meticulous detail. The one thing she couldn't make out was if Kwan's regret from killing his men was real or an act. If it was an act, he belonged in the holovids. In any event, as she accepted Kwan's invitation to join him on the building's roof, it became clear to her that there was much more to this puzzle of a trap she found herself ensnared in.

  From the roof's surface, they watched a few sky-cars float by. On the edge was a canopy and video equipment covered by a large umbrella. The pair moseyed through the rain and entered the shelter, a small bench and lamp throwing a weak pale light across the ground.

  "I spent five years undercover in Global Union," Kwan said, "There were things I witnessed and heard in my time there that left me sleepless many nights."

  Kwan pulled out a bottle of fine brandy from beneath the bench, took a heavy swig and passed it to Tressa. He recoiled at the bitterness of the taste and wiped his lips with his forearm.

 
Tressa stared at him intently.

  "This Cube - it must be destroyed completely," Kwan said in a low growl.

  Tressa thought of chiming in but decided to let Kwan continue without interruption.

  "Drink with me," Kwan said.

  They passed the whiskey back and forth. The alcohol seemed to burn a tunnel through Tressa's nostrils as well as the back of her throat. Kwan was staring up into the sky as deep booms of thunder echoed off the surrounding buildings.

  "The moment I found out what the Cube was I knew we had to destroy it, no matter who dies," Kwan said.

  Tressa glanced around, searching for Region Twelve patrol droids that might be gliding through the air.

  "We knew they'd send Desani to capture it. And we also knew we could give you the motivation to betray your teammates and bring it to us. To me."

  Tressa felt a violent cold tremor roll down her spine, invading the very marrow of her bones. She willed down a flash of anger and shame.

  The wind and rain picked up the pace, almost as if there were physical beings trying to push over the canopy. Fortunately, it was so firmly anchored that the structure was able to withstand hurricane-force winds.

  Kwan had no idea how close his insult had brought him to death's door.

  "You have every right to look at me that way, to take your blaster and wipe me off the face of the planet."

  Lightning flashed across his face, and the sky roared like the sound of children banging on a set of drums.

  "Something that you must understand, is the destruction of the Cube is more important than me, you or even the Coalition. Let alone your daughter," Kwan said, wiping the water dripping from his hair away from his eyes.

  "Let me interrupt you and ask the obvious question? Why?"

  "The Trojan Cube is a three-fold threat to humanity. First is that is has the name and location of every agent in the Coalition who is currently undercover. Obviously, if the GU had this information, they would kill or capture them all. Second problem is someone with high-level clearance wants it for themselves. An Admiral or a General, maybe. In the wrong hands, it is a weapon beyond any that's ever existed."

  Tressa turned back to face him. "What's the third thing?"

  Kwan stared into his hands.

  "Once the Coalition find out you're still alive, they will come for you as well as your brother and sister," Tressa said.

  "When you join an intelligence agency, you join with the expectation you won't get out alive. You pray for the day you learn something so important, the very knowledge can cost you your life. Then you need the comfort to know what is coming."

  "I'm guessing there is more, something for my ears only? It's why we're on the rooftop in the middle of a storm. You think that maybe someone in my crew, or even your brother or sister could betray you, or–" She saw the expression on his face, "betray me?"

  Kwan stood, took another shot of whiskey.

  "Here on the roof, even if we have traitors below, the GU will not be able to hear what is spoken between us." Kwan eyed her intently, sat back down. "I'm going to tell you how the Coalition was formed, what it was designed for, and its ultimate purpose."

  Tressa sat down next to him and leaned forward. "Its ultimate purpose?"

  "Yes. What I'm going to tell you is far more sinister and evil than you could ever imagine." Kwan stared at Tressa for a moment before looking away. "She does look like you."

  "Who?" Tressa asked with genuine curiosity.

  "Your daughter," Kwan said.

  Tressa moved closer to him, ready to rip his throat out if he delivered a vile threat, ominous news, or another insult. "Where is she? Tell me now."

  He must have sensed her anger because he quickly raised a hand in peace, glanced up at Tressa and put his hands down at his side. "She's safe. Her whereabouts are kept secret for now, for her protection and yours. This is way above your head, Tressa, but soon, I reveal you where she is."

  "Explain it to me; make me understand," Tressa said.

  "Even though your daughter has just reached the age of twenty, she's a very brilliant, very accomplished young woman. Early on, she found out who you were and was determined to follow in your footsteps."

  Tressa's heart stopped. Her daughter wasn't a member of the Coalition. Did that mean she had joined the Global Union?

  "She's a soldier?" Tressa asked. "Where?"

  "Yes," Kwan responded to Tressa's widening eyes. "But not how you think."

  Tressa eyed him, waiting for further explanation.

  "Your daughter is a genius unlike anything we've ever seen before. Maybe as good as Scanner."

  "So, she designs weapons and gadgets for the Federation?"

  Kwan stood. "Not exactly. Her expertise is the mind. Sarah created a device which can transfer human consciousness."

  "What? So, she's helping the clones?"

  "No. This is different, way beyond that or anything that's been done before. She created a device that can transfer consciousness from one living being to another," Kwan explained.

  Tressa shook her head. "I don't understand. The what or the why or who the hell you're talking about?"

  Kwan sighed. "To get closer to you, to one day meet you, your daughter has been working with the Coalition's intelligence team."

  Tressa cast an incredible stare. "What? When? How? She's only twenty, how does she join an intelligence agency? This is absurd; what are you trying to pull here?"

  "Listen, we no have time for this now. The device is called the Trojan Mind. It works like an invading virus on a computer. Complete essence transfers could only be completed on clone or an Iteration's body. Trying to implement it on a living host always led to death. Until now."

  Tressa shook her head in further denial.

  "I'm not stupid. What you are suggesting is impossible, and suggesting my daughter created this… I should just kill you here and now."

  "I told you it wouldn't be easy to accept. With the Trojan Mind, my consciousness can be downloaded even into your body," Kwan added with a perverse smile.

  Tressa tilted her head and pressed her lips into a fine line. "If I play along, what you're saying is that I cease to exist, and you become me? Wouldn't it be easier to just clone me rather than conduct extensive R&D on an experimental device?"

  Kwan rubbed his hands together. "Easier, possibly yes. Not nearly as effective. With this, you’re still there, inside somewhere, but a prisoner inside your own mind. A prisoner inside your own body. I control the motor functions. I get to access your brain. What it gives me is complete access to all your memories. I become you wholly."

  Tressa felt as if she was going to throw up. This device was worse than death.

  "Why would someone create such a vile and evil device?" Tressa asked.

  "This is war, Tressa. She did it for the soldiers – all the undercover Coalition agents who had their cover blown and were tortured and killed inside the GU. Now if the Coalition could capture a Centurion and have a Coalition agent take over his body, surely, you must understand how invaluable that is."

  Shaking her head Tressa, Tressa stood as well.

  "Where is she now?"

  "She's safe; she had to make sure you made it. She has a second part to the Trojan device. It won't work unless you have them together."

  "You said earlier that there was a third component?"

  Kwan stood. "Yes, that would be her – she was smart enough to make certain she's the only one who knows exactly how it works. And considering you slaughtered all of the scientists and intel agents on the sub, not sure anyone else knows how to begin to design another one."

  "The submarine? Why did you have me go there and steal the Cube? Why not take it yourself?"

  "We were called back to base. We didn't know why. We received a wayward transmission, probably a mistake. One that said Sarah was to be taken to Air Station Alpha. The base was to be burned down and all the scientists there executed." Kwan looked out into the traffic. "We couldn't take the base,
but we knew your crew could. We needed you to bring us the Trojan Cube while maintaining secrecy."

  Tressa rubbed the back of her neck and had to admit it was a brilliant piece of technology, as long as it wasn't you getting trapped and imprisoned in your own mind. The thought that she could go undercover as a GU soldier left her mind spinning in wonder.

  And as she dwelt on doing that after having endured the stress and strain of all that she had done, the world became a stream of white noise and spinning stars.

  The entire building shook like a cartoonish alarm clock buzzing about, throwing them both onto their backs. Covered by the canopy above them, they heard muffled percussions. An intense pressure built up in their heads, rattling their eardrums until blood nearly gushed from the sides of their heads. They rushed to the building's edge and peered down at street level.

  They saw the blazing flames gashing out of burnt-out windows.

  "Gael!" Tressa screamed.

  Down below, the patrons of the shops and restaurants were scrambling about, staggering, running, shouting into their commlinks, some vainly using their umbrellas to try and deflect hefty, burning debris which hadn't been doused by the heavy rain.

  Tressa and Kwan raced down the fire stairs. The stairwell was already filled with burning concrete and black smoke. The heat from the floor and the unstable nature of the building made it impossible to get much farther than the landing. Tressa stopped Kwan from running headlong into the burning wreck. He was murmuring incoherently but consistently. At first, she thought he was praying, but as she got closer, it turned out to be a string of creative expletives.

  "My sister, my brother, they are down there."

  Tressa gritted her teeth and sprinted down the corridor, and, leaping over the blown-out front door, burst into the apartment. The place was an inferno. She saw where the blast hit and could immediately tell it was caused by some type of missile or rocket launcher.

  She spotted two bodies engulfed by flames, roasting on the ground. There was no sign of Rabbit. She ventured deeper into the room as a beam crashed down, spewing sheets of fire and sparks in a wide arc.