Realization dawned on Kaiden. He now knew why there were so few of the terrorist enemies in every wave and none in this one.
They had fallen back.
He moved his hand away from his shield. “Jaxon, how long is left in the countdown?”
Jaxon opened the map. “Ten seconds.”
Kaiden looked at the Tsuna a few blocks away and back to the building holding his other three teammates. “This was inevitable. We were never supposed to make it.”
The timer hit zero, and all the bots and droids erupted. Kaiden was consumed in the explosion which tore him apart.
His vision went blindingly bright for a moment before plunging to utter darkness.
Chapter Eight
Kaiden winced as he pulled himself out of the Animus pod. He could feel searing pain throughout his entire body and nearly toppled over onto the ground after catching his boot on the bottom of the pod. Biting his lip to keep back an exclamation of protest, he staggered for a moment before resting with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
“God, why do I feel like I just got run over by a carrier?” Cameron groaned. Kaiden looked over to see the others in various states of duress. Cameron leaned on the desk in front of the hub while Silas and Flynn sprawled out on the floor. Jaxon was the only one seemingly not in a traumatic state of pain, but he hadn’t moved far from his pod. His arms were crossed and eyes closed while he stood very still.
“Increased Animus oscillation combined with the massively traumatic damage. We were victims too,” the Tsuna stated, his voice monotone and hushed.
Silas shifted his head slowly to look at Jaxon. “The damage I get, but I’ve never known the effects to be this painful when I de-synced. I mean, I’ve been exploded before, and it didn’t feel like this.”
“‘I’ve been exploded before.’ I doubt many people can say that so nonchalantly.” Flynn chuckled before seizing up and crumpling slowly into himself like a dying roach. “Oh, hell, it bloody hurts to laugh.”
“Animus oscillation…” Kaiden murmured as he hobbled his way slowly over to the others. “That’s what they call the syncing between the Animus and the mind of the user, right?”
Jaxon nodded once very slowly. “After repeated uses, the syncing becomes much more natural, and the mind grows accustomed to the…oddities of syncing with the Animus.”
“So what? Are we just jacking straight in now?” Cameron asked, trying to keep himself up using the table. His hand slipped, and he failed to catch himself as he fell to the floor. He wheezed before taking a deep breath, now facing away from the others. “You all forget you saw that…”
Jaxon shook his head, again slowly and only once. “No, it simply becomes less intensive. Fewer countermeasures the advisors have to deal with at the hub, and our EIs no longer have to make up for various deficits or help with the syncing process. They become more like conduits between us and the Animus rather than guides.”
“So that means that the more we use the Animus, the more ‘real’ it begins to feel?” Kaiden asked.
“To a point,” Jaxon said. “Since we are always aware that we are in the Animus, we can never die as we are conscious of the fact that we are not really dying. However…” He shrugged as if loath to continue.
“We can certainly wish we were dead,” Flynn finished harshly.
“Not how I would have put it,” Jaxon said. Kaiden could see a large number of bubbles floating around Jaxon’s tube. “I will admit that I am not in the greatest condition myself.”
Kaiden straightened and leaned against Jaxon’s pod. “You seem to be looking good compared to the rest of us.”
“It is quite painful for me to move, so I have chosen not to.”
Kaiden chuckled, feeling a shock of pain through his lungs and chest. “Oh, God, it does hurt to laugh.” He winced as he folded his arms across his chest.
“You want me to see if Doctor Soni is in?” Chief asked. “Or if you want to keep pouting your way through the pain, we can see if that works.”
“Maybe we should call the med bay,” Kaiden suggested.
Jaxon, in his first show of quick movement since exiting the pod, held a hand up to Kaiden. “I recommend we do not.”
“Why’s that?”
“If they must come and retrieve us, along with seeing our current condition, they may ban us from private use of the Animus or, at the very least, reduce our usage for some time.”
“I may not be opposed to that, honestly,” Silas muttered.
“I personally do not wish to fall behind,” Jaxon stated. “On top of that, it may incur unforeseen repercussions for myself and the other Tsuna.”
“What do you mean, Jax?” Cameron asked, looking over.
Jaxon folded his arms again, looking at the others. “Tsuna integration with the Animus took a number of years to approve due to apprehension. Even after it was approved, it took a few more to make the process effective. A large group of the Abisalo Conclave has continued to voice concerns. To see one of us asking for medical assistance so soon would only confirm their fears and may end up with us being sent back or temporarily suspended from Animus activities.”
“Abisalo? Is that your homeworld?” Kaiden asked.
“Yes,” Jaxon affirmed, not moving his head this time. “And while I would welcome a chance to see it again, I have enjoyed my time here and have learned many things quite quickly compared to my training at the disciple schools. I would like to continue my training here so that when I do return, it is on my terms and with the advances I have made here, not by the machinations of the Conclave.”
“I haven’t heard Geno say anything about your people’s leaders being paranoid, although to be fair, that would mean the Tsuna and Humans have another thing in common.” Kaiden chuckled.
Jaxon cocked his head as he stared at Kaiden. “Geno?”
“Yeah, Tsuna Engineer? We hang out time to time. I would assume you know him. I mean, not to sound racist… Speciesist? But all of you live together in the same dorm. I would imagine you’ve run into each other.”
Jaxon shook his head, one of his eyes snapping shut as he winced in pain, “No, no, I do know him. We are…belay that. It’s just that what you called him is… I’ll have to discuss something with him next time we meet.”
Kaiden gave Jaxon a questioning look as he slid down the side of his pod. “Well, regardless of the potential doom-speak of your annoying council, I understand why you’re concerned.” Kaiden sighed as he pushed himself up slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position. “Guess we’ll just wait to heal up a bit and get some pain meds from the med bay later. That’ll probably be enough.”
“I agree,” Flynn responded, uncurling and sitting up.
Silas followed, grunting as he pushed himself to his knees. “Surprisingly, it takes more will to get up than to take on a battalion of droids.”
“No kidding.” Cameron used the edge of the table to pull himself up before leaning against it and turning to the others. “Guess we’ll sweat this out for a bit.”
“My thanks.” Jaxon acknowledged their decision with a slight bow of his head.
“Don’t mention it,” Kaiden said. “If this is gonna become normal, we should probably get used to it.”
“Yeah, pain builds character, right?” Flynn mocked.
“At least my locks are fine” Silas reached back and felt them. “Although even they feel like they are also somehow in pain.”
Kaiden rolled his shoulder to ease the stiffness. “Besides, it’s not like I haven’t built up a high pain tolerance working with Wulfson.”
“The head of security?” Cameron asked. “What happened with him? Did he catch you drinking on campus and beat you down?”
“That would be hypocritical of him.” Kaiden laughed. “I’ve been training with him. I should probably bring you guys with me the next time I’m with him. We can have fun together.”
“That sounds foreboding rather than fun,” Flynn mumbled.
/> “So, how long do you guys think it will be before we’re good to get out of here?” Silas sounded eager to leave.
The five of them looked around at each other, utterly silent for a minute before they saw Jaxon uncross his arms and stretch them for a moment. He then took one step forward; the others gave impressed looks before they noticed Jaxon didn’t move the other foot.
He remained frozen for a moment, then crossed his arms again. “I have chosen to not move again.”
They all chuckled or sighed, each mentally agreeing that they probably couldn’t do much better at that moment.
Kaiden used the pod he was leaning on to help him stand and provide support as he looked at the others with a small smile. “Y’all happen to have any good stories or jokes to pass the time?”
Chiyo watched the feed on the corner of her display as a guard, a floating security drone, and a technician went into the server room. The technician opened the gate to an aisle of servers as the guard and drone took positions on either side of the gate. She waited patiently as the technician went down the line. Now around forty feet away, she pressed a button on her holo console, causing the lights to go out on the other end of the room.
She saw the guard look towards the glitch, then back at the technician as he pointed to the lights. The technician brushed him off, seemingly telling him to go check it out while he finished. The guard shrugged, took his rifle in both hands, and began to walk over, leaving the drone in its place.
In a few seconds, she would have her chance.
She windowed her feed, opening a command prompt of her fast-hacks. It comprised preset abilities that allowed for quick and effective—if somewhat brief—distractions and commands that she’d made so she wouldn’t have to create them each and every time. Infiltrator basics, really, but very convenient.
Holding her breath, Chiyo waited for the guard to get far enough away. She looked up at the feed to see the technician plug a cable into one of the servers from a device strapped to his left hand.
She smiled. It was a specialized computer that was tied to the user’s vital signs using a vita tether. The device was increasingly common in companies that dealt in sensitive information and would shut down if it was ever removed from the specific user. They were given to high-ranking technicians such as the one she was observing, and only those with this device could access certain devices within the company.
Like the server, she needed access too. She couldn’t hack it remotely, not to get what she needed. However, what she could do was set off a system that warned the technicians of corrupted data, causing them to send one over to access the server and clear up the discrepancy.
She saw that the technician had accessed the system and she pressed a button on her fast-hack prompt with the face of a fox. It was essentially a go signal for Kaitō to tell him to begin their plan without risk of using communication or getting her EI hacked.
She watched the security drone—the one she had Kaitō take over as they made their way into the server room. It entered the gate, the technician too busy looking through the files for the presumed corruption to notice it hover close to him, a black baton descending from the bottom of its circular body.
Chiyo activated another fast-hack, jamming the guard’s radio and vita tether signal to the technician. He would be none the wiser and wouldn’t hear the call that would soon come. At least for a couple of minutes, but that was plenty of time.
The drone flew a few feet above the technician before descending behind him to press the baton to his neck. The man shook for a moment, his free arm reaching for the cable connected to the computer, trying to pull it out. His fingers groped uselessly before his arm slumped down again. The cable had to be deactivated from the console on his wrist before it could be pulled out manually, something that she was sure he was aware of. But, considering he was pumped by a bajillion volts, it probably didn’t spring to mind right away.
She was good at exploiting little issues like that. The frenzy of the mind when in distress, or how the vita tether only deactivated when it read a heart rate that rapidly decreased, not one that suddenly spiked. Also, how access to the servers stayed open as long as long as it was cleared by the proper technician and they were still connected.
The man slumped soundlessly to the floor. The drone retracted the baton and hovered in front of the server, connected a toggle to it, and quickly downloaded the information and files Chiyo had previously requested. She flipped to a camera showing the guard. He shuffled awkwardly, looking for intruders but hampered by the semi-dark area she had created specifically to keep him occupied.
She was an intruder, technically, just not in the building. He could scour the area to his heart’s content and be none the wiser.
Chiyo changed back to the previous screen. Kaitō didn’t have much time. The guard might be unaware, but the sudden jolt to the heat would probably be read by a safety system, alerting nearby guards or the security station. When they didn’t get a response from either the guard or the technician, they would send others in or possibly activate an alarm and lock the entrance.
Not to worry, though. She was counting on both.
The drone put the toggle away and floated quickly back to its position in front of the gate. The door to the server room opened and two guards walked in, their guns at the ready. They strode over to the drone, and one pointed to the downed technician. By this time, the other guard had hurried back, clearly agitated. She activated the audio system on the drone to listen in.
“The lights went off. I went to check the area, my tether signal didn’t go off, and my radio has been silent,” the first guard protested, his demeanor indignant as he defended himself.
Another newcomer pointed to the technician. “Someone knocked the tech out and probably fled when we arrived. Why didn’t the drone do anything?”
Chiyo opened a command prompt for the drone, deactivating its motion sensors and visuals, and she pressed Kaitō’s command prompt again. This signal told him to wait. She saw the first guard walk over to it and examine it.
“Damn thing is malfunctioning. The lens is dark.” He growled his frustration.
“Probably a jammer. We’re most likely dealing with a specter,” the third guard reasoned, and Chiyo grinned. “Alert the others and activate the lockdown. We’ll get this bastard.”
“Bitch, if we're gender-specific,” Chiyo murmured quietly to herself.
“What do we do with it?” the first guard asked, motioning to the still inactive drone.
“Leave it here. If it was just a jammer, whatever was blocked will reactivate soon enough, and it might be able to get a visual on the intruder if they double back.” The third guard seemed to have some experience, though it clearly wasn’t enough. “If not, then we’ll come back and take it to tech for repair or destruction. Right now, our priorities are finding the intruder and getting this technician somewhere safe.”
The others nodded. One of the guards holstered his rifle and walked over to the technician. He heaved him up onto his back as the other two took point, and the three left the room. As soon as the door closed, Chiyo reactivated all the drone’s functions before hitting the loop action on her prompt. The cameras would now loop their feed for two minutes for anyone looking at a different feed to hers.
She activated Kaitō ‘s command again. “Scrambling ready, madam?” Kaitō asked.
“Ready three minutes after you took control of the drone,” she said, flipping to another screen and pressing an activation button. It paused the drone’s signal to outgoing sensors, making it appear as if it hadn’t moved.
The drone quickly moved down the length of the room. Chiyo remotely opened an A/C hatch in the same corner where she’d shut off the lights. It flew in, and she switched to the drone’s visual display.
She watched the drone weave through the tight spaces until it reached another hatch, Chiyo opened it, and the mechanical entered an unoccupied office. It moved to a window, used a small, tri-pr
onged arm to unlatch and open it, then closed it on the way out.
Chiyo closed her screens, stood up, and walked out of the coffee shop where she had been sitting. She strolled into the park across the street, taking the path that led to the left and the side of the building she was infiltrating. With a quick look around to ensure no one else was around, she stopped beneath a tree and looked up. The drone perched on a branch, hidden by the leaves. She retrieved a USB memory stick as she motioned for the drone to come down. It landed in her hand and opened a hatch on the top in which Chiyo placed the USB.
With that, she saw the words “Mission Complete!” appear in front of her. With a smile, she watched the world around her disappear.
Chapter Nine
“Wow. This blue stuff is great.” Flynn sighed happily, lying on a medical bed on Kaiden’s left.
“I’m certainly feelin’ a lot better,” Silas agreed from Kaiden’s right. “Also kinda…fluffy?”
He turned to look at the sniper. “Right? Makes the various beatings I’ve taken seem almost worth it.”
“As much as I enjoy the fact that my serum is quite helpful and enjoyable to you, Initiate Jericho,” Dr. Soni began as she walked over to the side of his bed, “I would still much prefer that you not become so accustomed to it. Which, if you’re wondering, is a request to not be quite so injured each and every time you come in.”
“Maybe I look for excuses to see you.” Kaiden chuckled at her unamused expression.
“My hypothesis was that you simply had masochistic tendencies. But if what you say is true, then you don’t need wounds to pay me a visit.” She scowled. “Which means that I owe Wulfson ten credits, as the explanation might be idiocy.”
Flynn and Silas snickered, and Kaiden shrugged. “It apparently has its bonuses, though.”
“Not for some time after this. I’m out of the serum and currently waiting on my next batch, which will come in about a month at the soonest,” she revealed with a smile that could almost have been smug.
Animus series Boxed Set Page 37