Chiral Justice: A Hard Science Fiction Technothriller (The Biogenesis War Book 3)

by L. L. Richman

  The doctor’s breathing was ragged, and his hand shook as it lifted the barrel of his weapon, but he brought his other hand up to steady his aim, his intent clear.

  Thad reached for his pistol with one hand, still holding Ell with the other, but before he could draw on Janus, the flash of a dagger caught his eye as it came sailing across the pool of liquid waste to bury itself in Janus’s neck.

  The doctor’s hand spasmed, his weapon discharging harmlessly above Thad’s head before clattering to the steel platform. Janus staggered back, hands clutching at his neck.

  A loud crack sounded, the discharge of Jonathan’s rifle bouncing off the reclamation plant’s metal walls.

  The doctor’s body jerked once more, his knees folding in an odd, disjointed way that told Thad the pilot had severed the man’s brain stem, before the corpse tumbled over the railing and into the vat below.

  With Janus no longer an immediate threat to him or Ell, Thad became aware of his surroundings, and of the blood seeping through his fingers from where they pressed against the wound in Ell’s chest.

  The sight caused his own heart to seize painfully.

  “Ell-o-die,” he whispered brokenly. “Don’t you dare die on me, you hear?”

  The smile she gave him was faint, and she whispered something he didn’t catch.

  He leaned closer as bodies crowded around him, ignoring hands that pushed insistently at him to try to get to her.

  “Dacina has a medical kit,” he heard Jonathan say. “Let her treat Ell.”

  Thad shook the pilot’s hand from his shoulder and leaned closer. “What did you say?” he asked gently, squeezing Ell’s hand in his.

  Faint humor flickered briefly in her pain-filled eyes. “Joule says you owe me at least five steaks for that one….”

  JOINT OPERATIONS

  En route to Junxun Academy

  Central Prefecture, Eridu

  The flight to Central Prefecture occurred without further incident. Jonathan piloted the massive prison transport, with Dacina riding shotgun to give directions. Thad sat beside Ell, who was fast on her way to recovery, thanks to the syringe filled with CQDs that the assassin had injected into the sniper.

  Carbon quantum dots were capable of molecular recognition and self-assembly, and were especially effective at reconstructing tissue and closing wounds. Thad spent a frantic few moments desperately searching his memory for whether or not CQDs were a medical therapy that worked with Ell’s physiology.

  “It’s fine,” she assured him, her voice already stronger as she struggled to sit up.

  Thad shoved her gently back down to the bench where he’d laid her down when they boarded. “You sure ‘bout that, cher?”

  She smiled. “All good. No medical history of rejecting CQDs.”

  The dots were the backbone of field medicine, and if he’d been thinking clearly, he would have recalled that she wouldn’t have been allowed on the teams if she’d been one of those rare individuals who didn’t respond to the treatment.

  He nodded and, once he was convinced she wouldn’t do anything rash like try to sit up again, he gave her hand a quick squeeze. “We’re going to have ourselves a little talk about this, that, and the third when we get home, cher. Just warning you about that now.”

  A smile lit Ell’s eyes. “This, that, and the third, huh?”

  With another squeeze, he stood. “Be back in a bit.”

  * * *

  Jonathan looked up when Thad joined them at the front of the transport.

  “All good?” he asked his friend.

  “All good.” The Marine turned and scowled over at Rin Zhou. “Not that I’ll be forgetting any time soon what you did back there.”

  The former minister was seated behind the Dagger. Out of the side of his eye, Jonathan saw the woman incline her head.

  “I would point out that the needs of the many—”

  Thad jabbed a finger in her direction. “Don’t even start with me, lady. We’re here because of the needs of the many, but that does not give you the power of life and death over the few. Especially when they’re not your own people.”

  “Your Ell gave me permission.”

  Jonathan’s friend looked like he was about to go nova. “Want to run that by me one more time?” Thad’s voice was dangerously low.

  “She’s right,” Jonathan interjected quietly. “You and I both saw it.”

  Dacina cut in, redirecting their focus. “We approach.”

  An icon with a tag written in Aka’a appeared, identifying the building they were closing on as the Junxun Academy. It had a large, open expanse at its rear, and it was to this that Dacina directed him.

  “The killing fields,” Che murmured.

  {Bloodthirsty lot, aren’t they?} commented a member of the fireteams seated in the back.

  Jonathan silently agreed.

  The woman who met them when they disembarked didn’t resemble the Dagger in any way, but her mannerisms somehow managed to convey a sense of family.

  The other woman’s gaze flickered over those assembled, her eyes coming to rest first on Che and then Rin Zhou. She dipped her head briefly in respect before her attention returned to the Dagger.

  “Serae,” murmured Dacina. “Stage one was a success?”

  The smile that crossed Serae’s face did not reach her eyes. “It was.”

  “And stage two?”

  The female warrior held out a hand, a small pile of glittering disks in her palm. “Awaiting delivery.”

  Dacina turned and looked expectantly at Che.

  Che, in turn, looked at Thad. “Are your people ready for this?”

  “We are on this end. Let me confirm with those on the other end.” Thad’s head dipped, the man appearing to study his boots, his P-SCAR rifle cradled in his hands.

  A moment later, the Marine’s voice sounded inside Jonathan’s head.

  {Well, hoss? Wanna do that woo-woo thing you do, and see what’s going on back home?}

  SHELL GAME

  Douglass-Washburn Testing Facility

  Beziér Proving Grounds

  The stargliders had taxied into position at the end of the runway, and Micah felt his palms grow slick with sweat.

  This is it.

  He surreptitiously slid his hands along the moisture-wicking fabric of his pant leg and then gripped the yoke once more.

  He’d begun shadowing Garza’s movements the moment the prime minister began taxiing from the Douglass-Washburn tent, toward the end of the runway. Now, he was about to take the place of the vessel’s SI—without the man knowing.

  As Garza rolled to a stop, Micah jiggled the yoke in the prearranged pattern that the prime minister would be expecting, the one that would tell him the SI was performing its safety check. He felt Garza’s hold lighten, releasing the yoke into Micah’s hands.

  Exactly as the SI would do, Micah sent the starglider through a full range of control surfaces checks, moving the yoke forward and back, and side to side. He knew Isobel was doing much the same with the starglider on the tarmac outside the hangar doors, the one that would replace Garza’s after the race’s third lap.

  Micah’s eyes remained riveted to the countdown timer, and when it hit zero, he felt Garza push the throttle forward, adding back pressure to the yoke as he sent the vessel hurtling toward the end of the runway. When the ship hit eighty kilometers an hour, a slight pull of the yoke had the nose lifting as the vessel rotated.

  So far, so good.

  Now airborne, Micah kept one eye on the ship off Garza’s right wingtip, piloted by Jiu Liam’s body double—an accomplished pilot in his own right.

  The race itself wouldn’t truly begin until they crossed the starting flags, held aloft by drones at the aerial racetrack up ahead. Until then, the two stargliders would keep a careful pace.

  As the starting line neared, Micah made a small correction, nosing the prime minister’s vessel to the left and opening the space between the two ships. The vessel on his right waggled i
ts wings once and did the same.

  The moment the vessel’s nose crossed between the two flags, Garza opened the throttle. The two stargliders leaped forward, racing down the straightaway, the first turn now half a kilometer ahead.

  With one eye on the pylons and the other on the vessel beside him, Micah fought the urge to trim the ship to its fastest configuration, knowing that the SI that was supposed to be on board would not cut as many corners as he was willing to do.

  He felt the little craft whip around the first curve in a tight, coordinated turn, and let out a low mental whistle.

  The man’s not half bad.

  Garza eased out of the turn, righting the ship with almost painful care.

  That earned him a mental chuckle from the test pilot. {Student pilot, right there.}

  Garza punched it on the straightaway, and Micah noted the man now led by about two lengths.

  Jiu Liam’s pilot was no slouch, though. He quickly made up the deficit, going into the next turn ahead of the prime minister.

  The two ships continued to jockey for position, first one taking the lead and then the other, until they entered the final straightaway.

  {Launching decoy ship now,} Micah heard Isobel say.

  As the ships flew past the finish line, Micah saw the other man’s vessel waggle its wings once more before the pilot pulled back on his stick and sent his ship into a flashy snap roll around Garza’s starglider.

  Micah could still hear the prime minister’s startled inhale as the other vessel inscribed a loop around him, and then his own ship’s ‘SI’ took control.

  Micah nosed around, following the first ship’s lead. He cut Garza’s comms at the same time he flipped the starglider up into a knife-edge, crossing behind the mountain range and out of sight of the fairgrounds.

  {You’re clear. Cut loose and head home,} Isobel announced. {I’ve got it from here.}

  {That’s a good copy.}

  Snapping the ship back into standard configuration, Micah began an immediate descent to the Proving Grounds airfield.

  Isobel waggled the wings of her own ship as it crossed paths with his and joined up with the An-Yang ship. In moments, the two stargliders had popped back up above the mountain range, their noses pointed toward the fairgrounds.

  Micah throttled back as the Proving Grounds runway grew larger in his forward screens. He landed with a slight bump, taxiing the ship directly to the Douglass-Washburn hangar. He could see the hangar doors open, saw a phalanx of guards, their weapons held at the ready.

  Garza must be shitting his pants right about now, he thought. Wish we’d been able to tell him our plans ahead of time, but the security they had around him was just too tight. Just a few more seconds….

  He maneuvered Garza’s ship through the hangar doors and powered the ship down. His hangar console secure, Micah sprang to his feet and jogged toward the ship.

  He saw the moment Garza realized that those who had abducted him this second time were the good guys.

  “Captain Case,” Garza said with some relief, “I understand you are the mysterious SI who hijacked me?”

  Micah crooked a small grin his way. “Sorry about that. I would’ve told you if I could, but they had you covered pretty thoroughly.”

  The other man grimaced. “Raphael said, but I didn’t dare hope. So it’s true? He’s being rescued?” Garza’s gaze swung to Cutter. “You spoke with the governor-general?”

  Cutter nodded. “You were right. Well, your mirror twin was, that is.” His smile was a bit lopsided. “I gather you know I spoke with him and Rin Zhou.”

  Garza nodded. “He said as much to me, but we’ve both been a bit busy, and this mental communication thing is new. It’s difficult to….” He groped for words.

  “Keep all the plates spinning at one time?” Micah offered.

  The prime minister nodded. “Exactly.”

  Admiral Toland stepped forward, gesturing to the man. “For your own protection, sir, we’d like to place you in stasis.”

  She began to lead him away, but the man balked.

  “My wife—my kids—”

  Cutter lifted a hand to forestall Garza. “All handled.”

  Still, Garza hesitated. “Let me at least let my… Raphael… know.” He spared Micah a glance. “I’m sure you can understand how unsettling this is going to be for him.”

  Micah dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Don’t worry, sir. We’ve got this.”

  The emotion in Garza’s eyes defied description.

  “Thank you,” were the only words he said, but none other were needed.

  The admiral’s hand came down on his arm, and Garza turned wordlessly and walked away.

  Micah heard Sam speak softly as she detailed why this measure was needed. He saw understanding cross the man’s face, and was grateful when, as the unit opened, the prime minister climbed in without hesitation.

  As the chamber slid shut and Sam brought the stasis pod online, Micah heard a commotion at the back end of the hangar.

  “What’s going on?” he heard one of the An-Yang officers ask.

  A warning siren sounded, and Micah pivoted, seeking the source of the threat.

  “Perimeter breach.” The Douglass-Washburn manager’s face looked pale as she said the words.

  “What do you mean perimeter breach?” Cutter demanded.

  “That tone’s the general alert for the Proving Grounds,” Isobel told them.

  “That’s a large area,” Micah said. “The Grounds cover nearly four hundred thousand hectares.”

  “So how do they know we’re here?” Sam asked, laying a hand protectively on the pod.

  Micah shook his head, as stumped as the rest—until his gaze landed on the now-shut hangar doors. “Shit.”

  His head swung over to Cutter and Toland. “Those doors weren’t quite closed when the prime minister popped the fuselage on the starglider, were they?”

  “No, they weren’t,” said the admiral. “Why?”

  Micah swung around to face Isobel. “Is this hangar shielded?”

  The test pilot’s expression sharpened. “You’re thinking they have a tracker somewhere on him?”

  Sam’s lips pressed firmly together. “Well, it’s cut off now, there’s no way a device like that can work in stasis. Do you think they’re here for him?” Her gaze slid from her uncle to the stasis pod.

  The woman shook her head. “There’s no way to know for sure. I know it’s a large area, but we have decent sensor coverage, starting at the surface and continuing a thousand meters up. Problem is, they’re pretty basic. They’ll let you know they’ve been tripped and that we have intruders, but not much more.”

  “They also sound if one of the drones goes offline,” one of the techs standing nearby reminded her.

  “Drones?” Micah looked over at the tech. “What make and model?”

  It was Isobel who answered. “They’re made from the same basic specs as the sphere of drones your Helios deploys when you go full stealth.”

  “So not likely to give a false reading, then.”

  She shook her head.

  {Any way to pinpoint the breach, or at least narrow down its location?} Gabe’s voice interjected.

  Micah knew that there were two fireteams of Unit soldiers dressed in drakeskin suits and evenly spaced around the hangar. He could see their concealed forms projected on his overlay, thanks to the predictive systems upgrade the Navy had given his wire when he’d joined Shadow Recon.

  “I can answer that.” A figure decloaked, and Major Reid stepped forward.

  Her gaze became distant, and Micah guessed that she was in communication with the Proving Grounds security team.

  After a moment, she snapped her head around and motioned to the other shadowed figures, her response rapid-fire. “The alarm was tripped by a small invading force. They breached the perimeter two klicks away, and are closing fast.”

  Her voice took on a dispassionate tone as her gaze defocused once more. “Scrambl
ing Unit forces to intercept.”

  The president of An-Yang motioned his security agents over to Reid. “My people will assist.”

  Cutter nodded a wordless thanks and then wheeled to face Micah, his expression grim. “I can guarantee you that this first force is acting as a diversion for a smaller strike force at the tip of their spear. I need you to take Sam and the stasis pod and get the hell out of here, now.”

  OOBLECK

  Douglass-Washburn Testing Facility

  Beziér Proving Grounds

  There was a loud thud and then a crash just outside the hangar doors, followed by the sounds of combat. The enemy had found them.

  {I’ll go with them,} Gabe sent, and Micah saw the shrouded figure with the former NCIC agent’s ID label break away from his post and jog toward Sam and the stasis pod.

  The click of claws on the ceramacrete floor told him that a shrouded Pascal accompanied the man.

  Micah wondered briefly why, and then a thought flitted through his mind. Probably sent by Cutter as extra insurance.

  Gabe’s arm lifted. {Our best chance is through there. We need to head deeper into the facility; find a way out the other side.}

  Sam pushed the stasis pod forward, and Micah and Gabe converged on either side of her.

  Isobel appeared on Micah’s left. “I can show you all the exits. This place doesn’t have that many, but I know where they all are.”

  {You’re with us, then,} Gabe replied. {We just need to hang on a few more minutes. I have a transport on a fast intercept.}

  “And several Novastrikes are scrambling now to engage,” Reid called out from where she stood beside Cutter.

  {Good. We’ll take all the support we can get.}