Revenant

by Michael Anderle

  “We are in our second year,” Genos said tentatively. “Perhaps we should make resolutions?”

  “That’s typically for a new calendar year, Genos,” Kaiden explained. “And they aren’t exactly hard and fast rules either. I’ve already broken mine.”

  “And what was that?” the infiltrator asked.

  “I don’t recall specifically, but it was something about going to the medbay less due to injuries sustained because of Wolfson… That happened before this year even began.” He held a hand up as they approached a corner and walked forward to peer around. When he saw the coast was clear, he motioned for them to follow.

  Genos tapped his neck. “Well, either way, I wanted to suggest that maybe you should focus on dying less? We are training for future conflicts, and there isn’t a reset button once life is lost in reality.”

  Kaiden chuckled. “Not yet, anyway, and when they do make something to fix that, you can bet they will charge an arm and a leg for it.”

  The two humans looked at the Tsuna and both expected him to not understand the metaphor. In response, Genos simply looked at each one in turn. “That means it will cost a lot of credits, correct?”

  The ace nodded. “Indeed, you are learning— Ah, dammit to hell.”

  The group approached a chamber that was sealed off and barricaded by a large grate. Kaiden knocked on the exterior. “I can probably blast through it but it would make a hell of a lot of racket, though. And without my suped-up helmet, I have no idea what’s behind it. Although considering our little tussle a few minutes ago, maybe stealth isn’t in the cards anymore.”

  “It doesn’t look like they are pursuing us—neither mutant nor pirate,” Genos stated.

  Chiyo opened a holoscreen. “I can’t say for sure, but it doesn’t appear that any alarms have gone off, at least not in the systems. The best we can hope for is that if they did hear something, they chalked it up to the mutants. If we still have cover, we should at least continue to use it to our advantage until we find out exactly where we are.”

  The ace rested his gun on his shoulder and examined the grate for any possible weaknesses before he shrugged and turned to the others. “There was another path back there. Let’s see if it leads somewhere different or at least to a hatch or exit of some kind. Otherwise, we will probably have to go loud.”

  She closed her screen and nodded. “Agreed. At this point, we’re burning time and having to backtrack would mean that we risk fighting any remaining mutants in that maze-like area.”

  Kaiden nodded and set off back the way they had come with the others close behind. Genos tapped the rim of his helmet again “Chiyo, you mentioned before that much of this station isn’t in use. Should we be worried that we might end up in a section with no life support?”

  She shook her head. “No, the main systems of these colonies are programmed to feed all sections of the station with the minimum energy and LS necessary to function, with back-up systems in place in case of power failure. The only time that would be a concern would be if there was significant damage to a part of the station.”

  “Hey, we are dealing with pirates,” Kaiden interjected. “They might have gotten bored enough or drunk enough to spend a few night blasting apart a few of the unnecessary parts of the station for their amusement.”

  “Despite their reputation, there is some semblance of order in pirate groups,” the infiltrator argued. “Otherwise, no one would really fear them and they would simply be a problem that would eventually take care of itself. Besides, it’s not something we need to worry about. If such a thing did happen or there are massively damaged parts of the ship, they will simply be sealed off.”

  “We’ll keep a look out,” the ace promised before he added casually, “Did I ever tell ya’ll that I could have ended up in a pirate group?”

  Genos looked surprised. “Really? How did that occur?”

  “We’ll, when I was about sixteen, I took a trip to Baton Rouge and—” He stopped, shook his head, and sighed. “Another dead end, guys.”

  The others stepped up beside him and stared morosely at the obstacle—no grate blocked their path this time, only a metal wall. They glanced at one another and then turned their attention to the walls around them in the hope that they would see something that they might have missed.

  Genos brightened. “What about this hatch?”

  He hurried to a circular valve and gripped it in his hands. With a grunt, he forced it to turn and spun it a few times before the hatch opened to reveal a dark tunnel. Kaiden activated the light on his helmet and the beam reflected off of ahead. “Is that water?”

  “It must be a ravine of some kind,” Chiyo guessed as she crowded closer to peer into the semi-darkness. “There is a chance that there would be a maintenance entrance or tunnel somewhere in the area, but it could be a fair distance away.”

  Kaiden patted himself down. “This armor is basic. It has nothing to assist with swimming, not to mention what could happen to our weapons if they get dunked.”

  “Nothing good, I’m sure. But this could potentially lead right where we need to go. A ravine in a station like this has many uses, but one is to act as liquid cooling for the power source. There could be a path that leads to the core or at least a physical map we can use to find the location that the maintenance crew would use.”

  “That would be grand,” the ace said but still looked doubtful as he scowled down the tunnel, “But if there’s a possibility of us failing this, I’d rather die in a firefight than by drowning.”

  “Are you not a strong swimmer, Kaiden?” Chiyo teased.

  “I’m wearing nearly a hundred pounds of gear and weapons. Anyone in this kind of gear wouldn’t be a strong swimmer unless you were spliced with a dolphin or—” His train of thought ended abruptly and both he and Chiyo looked slowly at Genos.

  The Tsuna returned their stares quizzically. “I had intended to make a suggestion, but it appears you came to the same conclusion.”

  The duo nodded.

  Swarn paced back and forth as Walker and a couple of his men studied the security footage. “Are you sure you sent no men into that area, Swarn?”

  “You’re supposed to be the smart one. I guess that says nothing about wisdom,” he grunted, “I just got back. I don’t hand orders out the second I set foot on the station.”

  “I’m merely being thorough,” Walker muttered in return, “This would be easier if you would use some of the earnings in the war chest to update the interior security systems.”

  “I’m not sure if you noticed, but most of the rats we deal with don’t make it on board,” the captain snarked. “In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if you’re simply using this as an excuse to not finish our conversation about your idiotic—”

  “I have something, sir.” One of the men pointed to the screen in front of him.

  “What is it?” Walker asked and leaned in to focus on the display.

  “It looks like a group of our guys. The cams caught them looking around section-E—the area with all the watchbots—but another cam picked them up in habitat-C a few minutes later. It looks like they got in a scrap with the stalkers down there.”

  “What the hell are they doing anywhere near there? We forbade anyone from going into those hellholes,” Swarn demanded angrily. “How the hell have those things survived so long? Are those fools mincemeat?”

  “I don’t know, sir,” the man said apologetically, “Most of the cameras down there are damaged or not hooked up anymore. Maybe try calling them?”

  “Do you have their IDs?” Walker asked.

  “Uh…it looks like Doma, Skan, and Devi sir.”

  Walker straightened thoughtfully and tapped his chin. “Aren’t those members of BAT-3?”

  “BAT-3 came in for repairs about an hour ago,” another guard informed him.

  The leader tapped his earpiece in an effort to establish communication with the group. “They don’t answer,” he said, took a tablet from the table next to him,
and skimmed through it. “They don’t showed up on the board either. Obviously, they are blocking their signals.”

  “Spies?” Swarn asked.

  “That or they are trying to pull off a three-man mutiny,” Walker retorted.

  “Maybe they got drunk and are having a walkabout?” the man at the console suggested, which earned glares from both superiors. He looked away sheepishly and fixed his attention on his screen.

  “You two!” Swarn exclaimed and two guards in the corner to snapped to attention. “Get a group together and get your asses over there. They are either spies or three idiots who decided my words have no meaning. Either way, they deserve death, got it?!”

  They both nodded and ran quickly from the room to follow their orders while the captain walked up to the guard at the console. “And you find out who cleared them into the bay and bring him to me. Now.”

  “Yes, sir!” he said, pushed to his feet, and hurried out of the office toward the hanger bays.

  Walker looked at Swarn and frowned. “There’s no need to chop heads off for such a petty annoyance.”

  The captain walked passed him and over to the desk, where he opened one of the drawers. “This ain’t some white-collar gig like you had before you joined this little enterprise, Walker.” He drew out a pistol and primed it. The weapon had a long barrel and was a dark black. Notches and nicks covered the body and a red light now glowed on the underside. “You have to back your rank up with grit. When I say something, it gets done.” He raised the pistol to the side of his face and aimed it toward the ceiling. “And what I want right now is heads.”

  Genos removed the last of armor and stood in front of Chiyo and Kaiden in nothing but his underlay and gauntlet. “It is actually something of a relief to be out of that armor. Certainly, it makes me appreciate the suits we get from the academy.”

  “Unless you land a job with the military or a big corporation, the pirate duds might be closer to what you can expect when we graduate,” Kaiden warned him.

  “Are you sure about this Genos?” the infiltrator asked, her demeanor anxious. “Hopefully, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about down there, but if you’re caught unaware…”

  “I’ll be fine, friend Chiyo. And don’t worry. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.” He turned away and looked into the tunnel. “It is more my native element, anyway.”

  “As close as you can get outside of those special beds the give you,” Kaiden agreed. “But remember, only look around for about a klick or two. I don’t know how big this ravine is, but there is no use getting lost down there.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Chiyo handed him the device she had given Kaiden on the ship, “If there is a drainage valve or system we can use in there, Kaitō will be able to get into it faster than Viola. He will also act as a comm since you don’t have your helmet.”

  “Much appreciated, Chiyo. But are you sure this won’t be a problem in the water?”

  “It’ll be fine, although it is somewhat fragile, so try not to break it.”

  “No issues there.” The Tsuna opened the neck of his underlay and slid the device inside. “I’ll be back momentarily.” He grabbed the top of the hatch, used it to push himself down the tunnel, and slid into the water. Within seconds, he vanished beneath the surface.

  “Hopefully, he doesn’t have too much fun,” Kaiden joked. “I didn’t bring a deck of cards with me.” His companion looked serious, however, with her arms folded as she stared down the tunnel and didn’t seem to have even heard him. “Is something on your mind?”

  “Nothing in particular,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m worried, that’s all. I don’t like that he has no back-up in case something happens.”

  “Have you seen a Tsuna swim? They are like rockets.” Kaiden leaned against the wall. “Besides, if this ravine is supposed to house water for the station, it’s merely a giant pool, right? What would be down there?”

  The water was murky, even to Genos’ eyes, and there were glow strips along the walls but they offered little illumination. He decided he would swim for a while before he surfaced to look around for anything he could use. Arrows were painted along the walls, one marked as central station, he decided that was the best area for exploration.

  He swam easily along the ravine in search of his target and finally reached what appeared to be a central chamber. When he broke the surface, he examined his surroundings quickly and noticed a console on a catwalk above. He retrieved Chiyo’s device, looked at it, and shrugged. “Kaitō?”

  “Yes, Mister Genos?” the fox EI responded and appearing on a small holo-screen that beamed out from the side of the device.

  “There is a console up there. Can you get into it while I look for a ladder?”

  “I am within range, but this drive is meant for physical connection so the range is rather limited. If you could do your best to remain in this area, it would be most helpful.”

  He nodded. “Certainly, I should be up shortly hopefully.”

  “Very good, I wish to request what you want me to look for.”

  “See if there’s a way to drain the system. If not, see if we can obtain a proper map of the station if nothing else.”

  “Understood. Beginning now.” The screen disappeared and Genos saw a small blue light begin to glow on the other side of the device. He put it away and searched for a set of stairs along the wall. Seeing nothing, he peered up at the catwalk for a ladder or rope, saw something on the far left, and swam toward it. It was, in fact, a ladder but it was too far out of his reach. He wondered if the ravine was deep enough for him to build up speed and leap up to it.

  The Tsuna dove down and swam to the bottom. Once he reached it, he spun and prepared to ascend. As he planted his feet on for leverage, a noise come from farther down caught and held his attention. He looked up, but the dark water offered nothing. Tense and expectant, he continued his survey until he noticed that the glow strips on the left side of the ravine now flickered. No, he realized, not flickering. Something swam past them.

  A chill shafted through him at the truth that he was not alone. As if to confirm this, the figure turned in front of one of the lights to reveal a large silhouette with outstretched arms and a rounded head with four glowing orange eyes that stared directly at him.

  Chapter Twenty

  “It’s been about ten minutes. Has Genos hailed you yet?” Kaiden asked Chiyo, who was hunched over a holoscreen.

  “No, and I don’t know why. He seems to have found something. I’m linked into Kaitō and he’s working to access the controls for the ravine, but Genos doesn’t respond.”

  “Maybe that device isn’t as waterproof as you thought.” The ace pushing himself off the wall and walking over to look at the screen which might as well have been written in hieroglyphs as far as he was concerned.

  “If that was the case, then Kaitō would have been kicked out of the system,” she explained, “Genos has him accessing it remotely, which is why this is taking so long. It’s not a very complicated defense program, but without direct connection, Kaitō has to work much slower.”

  “It might be out of reach for some reason,” he suggested and tried to remain hopeful. “ As you said, your EI is top notch. I’m sure it could multitask enough to tell us if Genos had died.”

  She looked at him for a moment before she simply shook her head and focused on the screen once more. “Not funny.”

  “Eh, boredom. My bad.” Kaiden said with a shrug of the shoulders and a hint of apology. “I’m sure he would tell us if something is wrong, it’s not like…”

  “Kaiden, Chiyo, are you there?” Genos asked, his voice low and distorted.

  “What’s with the voice masking?” the ace asked and looked hopefully at her screen, although it still offered nothing remotely understandable.

  “He’s talking using Tsuna sound-speak. It’s being translated by Kaitō so he must be underwater,” Chiyo informed him. “We’re here Genos. Wha
t’s wrong?”

  “There is a being in front of me—well, above me—and it is staring at me and doesn’t move. I do not know what it is,” he explained. His words showed concern even if the translation was barely better than monotone.

  His teammates’ heart rates rose. “Get back here,” Kaiden ordered.

  “How much longer until the console is hacked, Chiyo?” Genos asked.

  “Genos, we’ll find another way. You don’t have to—”

  “How long?”

  She paused as she studied the information. “Approximately four minutes and eleven seconds.”

  “I’ll hold out then. We’ve come too far to turn back.”

  Kaiden balled a fist. “Genos, we have other options. They haven’t even discovered us yet!”

  He had no sooner said that when loud splashing and the thumping of boots echoed from the direction of the sewers. The duo shared an anxious glance. “I might have been misinformed, Genos.”

  “They found you?” the Tsuna asked.

  “Someone or something is coming,” Chiyo confirmed as she drew her weapon.

  “Then it appears we both have our problems.” Genos went silent for a moment. “I’ll contact you again when I have drained the ravine. Unless you can take them all out, this will be our only escape path.”

  “I’m sure as hell going to try,” Kaiden said grimly and readied his rifle.

  “I shall do the same. Stay safe.”

  “It may be a little hard to do that at the moment, but I can promise to take a few down in your honor. But stay alive this time. I don’t want you sacrificing yourself during tests to be a tradition now.”

  “I can promise that,” the Tsuna said cheerfully before he signed off.

  “How many do you think there are?” Chiyo asked and moved closer to the opposite wall as shadows appeared ahead of the defenders who would shortly come around the corner.

  Kaiden lifted his weapon, charged a shot, and fired as soon as the first red and black suits came into view. The blast slammed into one and hurled the first batch of pirates back.