Something slammed into Rache, knocking him away from Casmir.
In the darkness that had fallen over the cargo hold, Casmir had no idea what had happened, but he welcomed his chance to escape and scrambled farther away from Rache. Weapons fired. What the hell? He hadn’t ordered the robots to attack yet.
A crimson bolt struck the wall inches above his head. Casmir dove for the hulking segments of the gate, for their protective cover. He tapped his chest controls, and his helmet unfurled and clicked into place. It gave him a semblance of night vision, and he glimpsed Rache’s armored men whirling and trying to find a target. A dark figure pushed away from Rache, sprang to the top of one of the gate pieces, and ran out of sight, chased by energy bolts. A cloak flapped behind him, one bolt scouring a hole through it.
Casmir shook his head. He didn’t understand what he was doing here, but unless some other knight had sneaked aboard, it had to be Asger. And all of Rache’s men gave chase.
Attack! Casmir silently ordered the robots through his interface with their network. The men in black combat armor, he added, hoping they could differentiate between Rache’s mercenaries and him and Asger.
He scooted back into a narrow aisle between long gate pieces stacked two high and crouched down as the robots streamed out, firing at the armored men. A cacophony of noise rang from the walls, and Casmir winced at the assault on his ears. But better than an assault on his body.
Zee stood behind him, ready to defend him. Even though it felt cowardly, Casmir kept himself behind cover. There was nothing he could do against those men. He had to let his suborned robots fight his battle for him. Which was easier than he could have hoped—they had been programmed to defend the ship, and they did, attacking the mercenaries with more coordination than Casmir could have managed if he’d been manipulating them one by one.
The fight raged out in the open, between the stacks of gate pieces and the door. The mercenaries, accustomed to their armor protecting them, weren’t quick to duck for cover. Casmir had no idea where Asger had gone. He also had no idea where Rache had gone, and that worried him. Would his twin see this as a betrayal, the very booby trap he’d suspected, and take the opportunity to kill Casmir?
The robots crashed into the men, a tide of machinery slamming to the deck. Unfortunately, the mercenaries crashed back. Casmir winced as one of his new allies was hurled against a wall so hard that one of its limbs flew off.
Nearby, a crunch sounded, and someone screamed.
“It’s a knight!” a man shouted. “He’s got a halberd.”
“Comms only,” someone barked, which Casmir took to be an order not to shout anything else, to communicate quietly over their helmet speakers.
The doors opened, and the mercenaries Rache had sent to the bridge flooded in, joining their comrades.
Casmir cursed under his breath. Even with Asger helping, the odds were against their side.
Something clattered across the deck and skidded toward him. The stunner. He almost laughed. The mercenary who’d snatched it from his tool satchel must not have had a secure place to put it, and it had fallen out of some pocket or pouch in the fight.
Casmir grabbed it. Unfortunately, there was still nobody he could use it effectively on.
He backed farther down the aisle between lengths of gate pieces stacked atop each other and pulled up a schematic for the ship. Was there anything built into the hold that he could use? The lights were still off—he assumed Asger had done that to create confusion and surprise—but with his helmet on, he had night vision, and it was clear the mercenaries did too. Maybe he could key into the mainframe from here and do something that would make more of a difference. Like stopping the ship’s spin? Would suddenly having to fight in zero gravity convey an advantage to his side? No, it would change the situation but affect both sides equally.
There was an environmental-controls access panel in the back of the room. Not sure yet how he would use it, Casmir turned, slipped past Zee, and jogged toward it. Once again, he hoped inspiration would come along the way.
As the access panel came into view, a thunderous scrape sounded above Casmir and to the right. He skittered to the left, his shoulder bumping against the stacked gate pieces. The top gate piece on the right shifted off the pile and toward him.
He squawked and sprinted for the end of the aisle. That thing had to weigh tons. It would crush him.
It fell before he reached the end, and he flattened himself against the other stack, praying the aisle was wider than it looked.
It wasn’t, and the piece blocked out the light as it fell, but it halted an inch from smashing onto his helmet. Zee had dropped into a low squat, his arms overhead, holding up the gate.
“Escape, Casmir Dabrowski,” Zee ordered.
Casmir gave him a thumbs-up and sprinted out of the shadow of the massive slab. He dove as he exited the aisle, certain that had been a trap meant to kill him or drive him from hiding—or simply occupy Zee.
He was right. Rache was waiting.
He swung a rifle butt at Casmir’s head, but he hadn’t anticipated the dive. Casmir flew under the swing. There wasn’t room to roll or stop himself in a competent manner. He slammed into the back wall of the cargo hold. His suit and helmet insulated him somewhat, but it still took him a split second before he could think to jump to his feet and get out of the way. A split second too long.
Rache gripped him from behind, grabbed the top of his helmet, and supposedly impervious Glasnax crunched in Casmir’s ears. He threw an elbow backward, wishing he’d spent more time sparring with Kim. Even if he had connected—he didn’t—it wouldn’t have mattered, not with his assailant in armor.
Rache broke his helmet and ripped it back, exposing Casmir’s face and neck. Terror coursed through his veins as Rache spun him around, slamming his back against the wall. He’d missed his opportunity, said he wouldn’t work with Rache, and now Rache—his twin brother—was going to kill him.
Rache ripped the stunner from Casmir’s grip and pressed the cool muzzle of a DEW-Tek pistol against his temple. Casmir begged his brain to stay calm, as he doubted Rache would bother keeping him alive again if he had a seizure in his arms. At least he hadn’t strobed some light in Casmir’s eyes. No, he wanted something.
“What’s the passcode for navigation?” Rache demanded, the cacophony of the battle raging on the other side of the cargo hold almost drowning out his words.
Was Asger still in the fray? Dare Casmir hope the knight could somehow help his robots win the day? Was there any point in delaying giving in? Would Rache kill him as soon as he did give in?
Casmir licked his lips, tasting the sweat on them. “It’s long. Numbers, letters, symbols. Would you like to get out a piece of paper and a pen?”
“Just say it, you ass. I’ve got a—”
Rache broke off, jammed the stunner into his armor’s utility belt, and spun around as a shadow dove toward him. Asger.
The knight’s halberd swung at Rache’s head, but Rache sprang to the side. The ends of the gate pieces hemmed him in, but he contorted and leaped with uncanny agility, avoiding the weapon and Asger.
Casmir scurried sideways along the wall to get out of their way. Rache glanced at him, keeping tabs on him no doubt, but was forced to deal with this new threat. Asger was almost a foot taller and bigger of arm and broader of shoulder, but whatever implants Rache had, they let him move faster than any human being should.
He was a match for Asger, not simply avoiding him and dodging the swipes and stabs from the deadly pertundo, but rushing in and driving Asger backward as he fired a stream of bolts at Asger’s chest plate. The energy attacks bounced off, but Rache came in behind them, lunging and grappling with the knight.
The stunner slipped from his utility belt and clattered to the deck. Neither man noticed. Asger heaved his foe away, but Rache sprang back in, launching a side kick that caught Asger in the hip.
The force spun the knight, and Rache grabbed him from behind, sm
ashing him into the wall, much as he’d done Casmir.
Where was Zee? If Casmir could get both of his allies fighting Rache…
That gate piece was still in the air, still being kept from crashing down. Casmir scooted back to peer down the aisle, ready to order Zee to release it and come help.
Zee was indeed still holding it aloft, now with one hand, but two mercenaries faced him. They fired rifles at his torso. Most of the energy bolts were deflected, but Zee’s mercurial facade had numerous dents in it. He was too busy holding up the gate to focus on repairing himself. More than that, he was blocking those mercenaries from getting through and attacking Casmir. Was that why he was standing there like a boulder?
“Zee,” Casmir called softly, hoping his crusher would hear but the mercenaries wouldn’t. “Scoot back here. If you drop it, and you’re fast enough, they’ll be flattened.”
Rache punched Asger with the power of a mechanical battering ram, and Asger flew through the air right in front of Casmir. Asger’s hand banged against one of the gate ends, and his halberd clattered to the deck.
Casmir sucked in his belly and pressed his back to the wall as Rache blurred past, throwing himself after his foe. Too late, he wished he’d stuck out his foot to impede Rache, but with the power and momentum those two were employing in their battle, his leg might have been ripped off.
Asger. Casmir risked sending a chip-to-chip message, hoping it wouldn’t distract his ally at a crucial moment. Back him up to the end of the aisle here. Right in front of me. Zee will help.
Before Asger could reply or react, Zee sprang out of the aisle.
He no longer held up the gate piece, and it clattered down hard enough to make the deck shake. The shouts of men trapped under it echoed through the chamber. Casmir hoped they were still alive, protected by their armor, but also that they were out of the fight. He didn’t ever want to be responsible for people’s deaths, and he’d already given Rache enough reasons to detest him.
When Rache glanced back at the dropped gate piece and the appearance of Zee, Asger had the opportunity to spring to his feet. He snatched up his halberd and swung it at the back of Rache’s head.
Either through instinct or a helmet camera, Rache saw the blow coming and ducked—almost.
Zee lunged toward him and grabbed his arms, arresting his movement. The halberd sliced through the top of Rache’s helmet, lightning flaring as it sheared off a piece.
Casmir sucked in a scared breath. From his position, he couldn’t tell how much had been sheared off—and if part of Rache’s skull had gone along with it.
Zee, still gripping Rache by the arms, lifted him several inches off the deck, as if to hold him so Asger could strike again.
Rache coiled his legs into a tight ball, then shifted in Zee’s grip and pounded his heels into his captor’s chest. Even the strong crusher couldn’t keep from reacting to the force. Zee stumbled back, one hand slipping from Rache’s arm.
Asger readied his halberd for another swing and rushed in. Somehow, Rache twisted in the air while his other arm was still stuck in Zee’s grip, and he kicked backward, catching Asger in the chest. Asger staggered back, but he set his jaw with determination and kept his footing. He lowered his weapon to use it like a lance, to ram it through Rache’s spine.
Casmir, his back to the wall as this unfolded in front of him, realized that as good as Rache was, he wasn’t going to come out on top, not unless more of his men figured out where he was and got back to help him. Judging by the buzz of fire and the battle shouts from the other side of the hold, they were still busy with the robots.
Rache twisted in the air again, almost evading Asger’s attempt to ram the long point of his halberd straight through him. The weapon clipped the side of Rache’s armor, and white lightning branched from its tip, engulfing him.
Rache screamed in pain, startling Casmir. Then he realized why. His helmet had been breached, so he wasn’t fully protected any longer.
That ought to mean…
Casmir lunged away from the wall, grabbed the stunner off the deck, and fired at Rache’s head. He didn’t have the right angle to shoot into the hole in the helmet, but the nimbus must have been enough to catch him. Rache went limp in Zee’s grip.
Asger had stepped back to ready himself for another attack, and he roared in glee and lowered the tip of his halberd for another stab.
“Wait!” Casmir lunged forward, raising his hands.
Thank his imperturbable ancestors, Asger paused.
“What?” he demanded.
“Drop him, please, Zee.” Casmir stepped between Asger and Rache, not trusting Asger’s battle fury to not get the best of him—or simply his desire to see the infamous pirate dead at his feet. “He’s stunned,” Casmir added for Asger’s sake.
Zee released Rache, and he flopped lifelessly to the deck, his armor clunking down hard. Casmir peered through his faceplate to make sure he truly was stunned, but his mask was still on, hiding his eyes. Casmir had to trust that Rache wouldn’t be lying on the deck in front of enemies if he was conscious.
“Sounds like an excellent time to finish him off,” Asger said.
“Isn’t there some knight-chivalry thing about not beating up on helpless opponents?” Casmir asked.
“Chivalry means I open doors for ladies. It doesn’t mean I let heinous enemies of the crown survive to harass—to slay—our people another day.” Asger loomed above Casmir, his grip tight on the shaft of his halberd. Would he simply pick up Casmir and set him aside so he could finish off their enemy?
Casmir waved Zee forward. “I need you two to help the robots with the rest of the mercenaries. I’m not convinced our side is winning. I’ll keep an eye on Rache.” Casmir waved the stunner.
“Or,” Asger said, “we could kill him now and then go defeat the mercenaries, who will be like headless chickens with their leader dead.”
“You’re not killing him.” Casmir, realizing he had no right to give orders to a knight, groped for a way to convince him. “I have a plan. Please, Asger. I’ll explain it as soon as we’re sure we have the ship secured. I want the mercs knocked out and stripped out of their armor.” He looked at Zee.
The crusher nodded, sprang atop the nearest stack of gate pieces, and strode toward the front of the hold.
Asger scowled, but all he said was, “Don’t take your eyes off him, and don’t hesitate to shoot him again.”
“I won’t. Thank you.” As Asger strode away, Casmir added, “And thank you for disobeying my wishes and staying behind to help.”
Asger waved his halberd but didn’t look back.
Casmir looked down at the brother he’d never known about, dozens of thoughts and feelings tangling up in his brain. The idea of killing Rache, or letting one of his allies kill him, repulsed him. As he’d just admitted, he didn’t want anybody to be killed because of him, but the thought of ending someone who had the exact same DNA as he did was even more unappealing.
The problem was that Rache would keep coming after Casmir as long as he had the gate, the gate that Rache had been willing to sacrifice so many people to get. To keep Jager from getting it, he said. Casmir had no idea if that was the truth. He had no trouble believing that Rache hated Jager, but what of his own personal ambitions? Maybe he dreamed of having power over and controlling more than a mercenary ship, and he saw the gate as a way to do that.
The obvious solution was to hand the gate over to Captain Ishii and the Kingdom military officers, ideally in a way that Rache would believe he’d had no choice. That ought to keep him from fantasizing about avenging himself on Casmir. Which he might after this. After having Casmir get the best of him—or at least escape his clutches—two times.
Though Casmir had to wonder if his ability to execute those escapes represented a similar ambivalence from Rache. After all, Rache had admitted he’d posted that bounty and had Casmir brought to him out of curiosity. Maybe deep down, he didn’t want to kill Casmir either.
Unfor
tunately, depending on what Casmir did next, that might change. And Casmir regretted that.
He’d been raised as an only child, and he’d occasionally wondered what it would be like to have siblings. He hadn’t imagined a twin, but more an older brother who might have been young enough to chum around with but old enough and big enough to protect him from bullies at school. Someone who would have been a friend, even if Casmir was a big doofus and they had nothing in common, because that was what blood meant, wasn’t it? An automatic tie. His parents were wonderful, but he’d often felt alone as a boy and longed for more ties with others of his age.
“What did you long for as a child, I wonder?” Casmir murmured. “And what did you have? More than I did? Less?” It was hard to imagine someone with Rache’s bitterness having grown up in a normal loving family. Something had to have shaped him into a killer.
Casmir crouched beside him, careful to keep his stunner ready, and fumbled for access to remove the rest of Rache’s helmet and check to see if there had been a head injury. The helmet broke in two, the Glasnax having lost its semi-fluid folding ability. Casmir pushed the pieces to the sides. He was tempted to take off Rache’s mask so he could tell when he woke up and his eyes were open, but then he would have to explain to Asger why there were two identical faces looking at him.
Unless Asger already knew? He knew something.
And so did Rache. If he’d had the medical resources, Casmir would have been tempted to try Ishii’s truth-telling drugs on him. Though it was possible Rache had the same food and drug allergies Casmir had. Maybe. That seemed a deficiency of the immune system, something that might have been fixed when Rache was gene-cleaned as a baby, or something his subsequent genetic and cybernetic tinkering might have addressed.
A wrenching sound came from the front of the cargo hold, and Casmir jumped. It had grown silent save for that noise.
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