by Alex Kings
“Captain Rurthk, a pleasure to talk to you again,” said Mr. Hand.
Hearing the voice, Rurthk's blood went cold. They'd been seen. Again. He steadied himself.
“Mr. Hand. The pleasure is all mine,” he said. He waved at Laodicean to keep going and keep covering the security cameras. “How has life been treating you since we last talked?”
“Wonderfully,” Mr. Hand purred. “Except, it seems a band of thugs is trying to steal something of mine. Can you imagine it?”
“I can indeed. Dreadful world, we live in,” said Rurthk.
Mr. Hand laughed softly. Then his tone changed suddenly. “If you don't leave, I will kill them,” he said. “Either way, you will not leave here with anything.”
Rurthk halted.
“Then kill them,” Laodicean said.
Rurthk turned to stare at him. What? he mouthed.
“By attempting to negotiate rather than killing them instantly, you have shown they are more valuable to you alive,” said Laodicean. “Therefore, by forcing you to kill them, we will be hindering you, if only a little. That makes it worthwhile. Moreover, I am not longer interested in the scientists. I want to capture you.”
“Who is this?” Mr. Hand said. For once he seemed caught off-guard. “Oh, now, wait,” he went on. “Let me guess. Tethyan, judging by the synthesised voice. The GEA Investigator on leave who ran away from Tethya a few weeks ago. Laodicean, is it?”
Laodicean was silent. He started moving forward again, blocking security cameras.
“Are you out for revenge, Investigator? I didn't think you'd be capable of such a thing.”
“I am out for justice,” Laodicean told him. “And in the name of justice, I will destroy you.”
“Yes, yes, of course you are,” said Mr. Hand. “Okay, Rurthk, if you're not going to turn around, let me leave you with one last gift. Someone on your team has betrayed you. Can you guess who?” He laughed. “It's not much of a challenge, is it? Mr. Iskultine is in part responsible for my victory last time you tried to stop me. Here are all the conversations I had with him.”
A small packet of data came through the comms.
“It's been nice talking to you, Rurthk,” said Mr. Hand.
The signal cut off.
Rurthk looked at Laodicean. “What was that about? Kill the scientists?”
“He is a manipulator,” said Laodicean. “It is better to call his bluff.”
Rurthk growled and shook his head. There was too much to think about. No doubt that was the point. He settled on the known facts: Mr. Hand knew they were inside.
He called Eloise.
“What is it, Rur?” she said.
“They're onto us. Mr. Hand is here.”
“You want to call in our friends?” she said.
Rurthk paused to think about it. “Not yet,” he said. “He might not know they're with us. I don't want to reveal our hand just yet. Let's just hurry.”
“I'm nearly at the first location.”
“One more thing,” Rurthk hesitated.
“Yeah?”
“He said Mero is a traitor. I'm not going to believe him just yet, but … be on your guard with Mero.”
“More than usual?”
“More than usual.”
“Alright,” said Eloise. “Well, I'm obviously going to find the scientists before you, so I'll tell you when I do.”
Rurthk allowed himself a smile. “Good luck.”
Chapter 51: Fix That Mistake
“You failed,” said Mr. Soul. “They're still coming. They could find us at any minute.”
“Yes,” Mr. Hand said, bleakly. His ears fell flat against his head. “And I was wrong. You were right. We should have killed the scientists.”
Mr. Soul was somewhat taken back by this admission. “So …”
“So, I am going to fix that mistake,” Mr. Hand said, gesturing at the screen. He gestured at one of the consoles, his fingers moving so fast they became a blur.
A sharp crack echoed through the walls. The floor juddered.
A series of small explosives placed at precise points around the structure went off together. At the same time, the automatic repair systems went down, and began to eat away at the outer shell instead of guarding it.
Mr. Soul stared at Mr. Hand. He knew what had just happened.
“We're going to scrub the whole thing. Let's put a time limit on things, and give us a chance to escape,” said Mr. Hand.
Around them, a deep creaking joined the sounds of howling winds and began to build up slowly.
“Come on, then, let's go,” said Mr. Soul. “They've probably found the main shuttle bay by now. We'll have to go to the hidden one.” He paused and thought. “And if they do have allies outside, they'll be too preoccupied with trying to escape to notice us.” He opened a tablet and gestured at it, summoning three Blanks. “An escort,” he said. “Just in case.”
Mr. Hand nodded. He strode forward, pushed aside a computer terminal, and opened a tiny door hidden behind it. Then he hesitated. “Go on ahead,” he told Mr. Soul. “There's something else I need to do.”
Mr. Soul paused and frowned. “What?” he said suspiciously.
Mr. Hand opened the casing of the computer terminal, and used the panel to shatter the crystals inside. Then he turned to face Mr. Soul and offered him a data chip. “Take this,” he said. “It contains my reference. I believe you are the most capable of guiding Vihan Yvredi if I should die.”
Bewildered, Mr. Soul took the data chip. “Good luck,” he said, and raced through the door. The three Blanks followed him.
Mr. Hand turned around, opened another terminal, and shattered its insides.
*
Rurthk looked around when he heard the sudden crack and felt the floor shudder.
“I really doubt that's a good sound,” he said.
“No,” said Laodicean.
“Screw the cameras, let's go!”
Rurthk sprinted down the corridor, stopping a door to his left. As he expected, it was locked. He connected a tablet to it and ran Yilva's program. The door slid open to reveal another corridor, lined with numbered doors.
Laodicean and the two Glaber caught up with him. The facility began to creak around them.
Rurthk opened the nearest door.
Inside, two humans leapt back, startled to see a Glaber standing at their door.
“We're here to rescue you,” said Rurthk.
The two scientists turned to each other. “Oh, thank god,” one of them said.
He turned to Laodicean and the two Glaber. “Get the rest of these doors open,” he said. Then he called Eloise on the comms to tell her.
They set to work immediately, opening the doors. The scientists gathered in the corridor.
“Singer,” said Rurthk. “Where's Singer?”
“Here.” Singer was a tall, thin human, with receding hair of thick grey curls.
“I hope this isn't a bad time,” Rurthk said.
“Not at all,” Singer said. “I've been finishing my work, but I had no way to contact you after they moved us here.” He looked around. “I think both Hand and Soul are here.”
“Good,” said Rurthk. “I'd love to hear about it as soon as we're free.”
There was a sudden squeal of tearing metal, and the floor lurched sideways, throwing them against the wall of the corridor.
As Rurthk was recovering, his comms chimed. It was Olivia. He accepted the call.
“What's happening in there?” she cried. “Part of the facility just came off.” The was another great squeal, and Olivia added, “And there goes the shuttle bay.”
“Things are getting a bit hectic. Make room in there for a whole bunch of scientists,” said Rurthk. “We're getting out now.”
“We still have to capture Mr. Hand and Mr. Soul,” said Laodicean. He turned to Singer. “Does this facility have a command centre?”
“Uh … it's on the floor above us. Head left, up a ladder, then keep going.”
“We don't have time!” said Rurthk. “This place is about to fall apart.”
“We must capture them,” said Laodicean, moving out into the corridor.
“Don't you remember what Yilva said? Capturing them would do not good,” Rurthk shouted, following him. “We came here to get the scientists.”
“And we will also get the Petaurs,” said Laodicean. He glided off down the corridor.
“Come back!” ordered Rurthk.
Laodicean ignored him.
Chapter 52: Sacrifice
Mr. Hand looked up to see motion on the camera feeds. The Tethyan, Laodicean, was gliding through the corridors. As assault rifle orbited his globe of water like a space station dedicated to death. Another Tethyan gun floated inside.
Mr. Hand smiled to himself, and patted the door Mr. Soul had entered. With the computer terminal pulled to the side, it was clearly on display. “Sorry, old friend,” he whispered to himself. “But your sacrifice was necessary. Remember your oath.”
On the camera feed, Laodicean stopped right outside the door.
“Abyss,” murmured Mr. Hand. That was quicker than he expected. The Tethyan knew right where to go.
Mr. Hand leapt into action, hurriedly disconnecting part of the floor plating and pulling it up.
Through the creaking of metal and roaring of wind, his sensitive ears picked up the tiny click from outside the door as Laodicean connected his tablet.
Beneath the floor was a tiny sliding door, which opened to reveal a coffin-like chamber, too small to hold a human and barely big enough for a Petaur. Mr Hand dived inside then grabbed the floor plating.
The door chimed to announce it was opening.
Mr. Hand dragged the floor plating over to cover himself as the door opened. The door of his little chamber closed silently.
*
Laodicean glided into the room, rifle at the ready.. Around him, the walls shuddered and creaked, and somewhere in the distance, there was an immense tearing sound.
It was clear what had happened: With the computer terminal pulled away from the wall, the door behind it led to an escape route. The Petaurs must have gone that way. They would be moments away from escaping!
The door was welded shut. Probably some automated system to stop them being followed. Trying to hack it with his tablet was pointless, and even under all the force of his effector fields, it didn't budge.
Laodicean was not prone to bursts of emotion, but for a moment he wanted to grab the computer terminal and hurl it against the door in frustration.
But he didn't do that. Instead, he called up a map of the facility. There was enough information about the corridors filled in now that he could make a reasonable guess about where the corridor beyond headed.
“Laodicean, get back here now, or I'm leaving without you!” Rurthk said
Laodicean ignored him. “Eloise, we have a chance to capture the Petaurs, but only if we act quickly. You will need to cut through the floor in this location.” He sent her a map with the location marked.
“I think you should answer Rurthk,” she said.
The facility shuddered again.
“We all agree time is of the essence,” Laodicean told them both. “If they leave while we are loading the shuttle, we won't be able to follow. If they get onto an atmosphere mining ship, we will lose them.”
Eloise muttered. “Fine,” she said. “I'm close. Rurthk, get everyone on that shuttle, and leave without me if you have to.”
“Hurry,” growled Rurthk. “And Laodicean? I'm this close to leaving you here to die even if you do make it back on time.”
“Thank you,” said Laodicean, and glided out of the room.
*
Mr. Soul bounded down the passage way to the secret shuttle bay. The corridor led directly onto the side of the shuttle door, which was open and waiting. As he reached the end of it, the facility kicked, throwing him to the side. He bounced off the wall and leapt into the shuttle. Looking back, he saw the two Blanks still scrambling to get up. They were supersoldiers, supposedly, but they were nowhere near as good at moving as he was. The human bodyplan was so awkward, he thought.
He settled at the controls and started up the shuttle.
It was hidden behind a piece of hull plating on the bottom of the facility. When he was ready to launch, the hull plating would pop out, and the shuttle would be free to escape. It had all the usual stealth technology, so he should be able to escape and hide on an atmosphere miner to escape.
When the shuttle was ready to leave, Mr. Soul turned and looked down the corridor. “Come on,” he muttered. “I'll leave you behind if I have to.”
The facility creaked. The two Blanks stood behind him, totally unperturbed.
Behind all the racket of the wind, there was a faint whining sound. Mr. Soul's ears swivelled to focus on the sound. It was nearby in the corridor.
The tip of a plasma blade was poking through the ceiling. It was moving quickly, cutting through the carbide.
“Abyss,” he whispered, and hurriedly activated his comms to call Mr. Hand. “Is that you?” he asked.
There was no reply. The plasma blade had nearly completed its circle.
Mr. Soul shook his head. He wasn't interested in waiting any more. He swept his fingers across the console, and the shuttle door closed. Outside, a cut-out circle of carbide dropped to the floor with a dull thud. He activated the launch sequence.
Nothing happened.
Mr. Soul swore loudly and tried again.
The piece of hull plating that was supposed to pop out was stuck. It must have become wedged in place as the facility collapsed.
He decided he'd have to force it out. He just had to push down hard enough. His hands went to the console.
A plasma blade penetrated the door of his shuttle. It cut out a tiny hole, a couple of inches across. The muzzle of a rifle poked through the hole before the automated repair systems could cover it.
Mr. Soul leapt out of the seat and bounded to the back of the shuttle. “Stop them!” he shouted at the Blanks.
The rifle fired. The plasma blade reappeared, efficiently cutting through the clamps holding the door in place. One of the Blanks grabbed rifle's muzzle and dragged it forward, slamming whoever was holding it into the door. Then it pushed the rifle out of the hole, and put its own rifle through the hole to fire into the corridor.
The plasma blade finished its work, and the door was wrenched open from the other side. Mr. Soul scrambled behind the cover of a chair at the back of the shuttle, grabbed his pistol, and peered over the top.
There was a sudden exchange of gunfire. Rifles roared. A Glaber entered, then collapsed as the Blanks shot it down. The plasma blade swept out like a weapon, nearly decapitating a Blank. A Petaur bounded past the other Blank, and shot it from behind.
Mr. Soul leaned out and fired his pistol a few times. This succeeded only in attracting return fire, and a bullet caught him in the shoulder. He fell sprawling on his back, and in that moment, made peace with the fact that he was going to die. He decided he'd take as many of them with him as he could.
He grabbed his pistol and fired at an approaching Glaber. It stumbled back. The Petaur came leaping over the chair and landed on Mr. Soul. His shoulder flashed with pain and he cried out. The Petaur smacked the pistol out of his hand.
The human came striding over. She looked down at Mr. Soul. “Tie him up. We have to move quickly.”
Chapter 53: A Time For Showing Off
The facility shrieked and shuddered like a dying beast. The roar of the wind was growing ever louder.
Laodicean came gliding over to the meeting point. There was a hole in the ceiling where the shuttle was attached, with a ladder of smart matter cables hanging down for the benefit of the scientists.
Rurthk was standing below it, pacing back and forth looking anxious. He was already glaring as Laodicean approached.
As soon as Laodicean was close enough, Rurthk reached forward, pushed his hands throu
gh the effector fields into the water of Laodicean's globes and grabbed a tentacle in each hand. He pulled him closer.
“What the hell were you playing at?” he said. “I thought you were bad in the GEA, but at least then you were halfway sensible. You've put us all at risk.”
“We are all taking risks by being here,” said Laodicean. “I merely wish to get us a worthy reward.”
Rurthk was about to answer, but a call from Eloise interrupted him. “We're on our way back now,” she said. “We've got one of them.”
The floor lurched again. Rurthk steadied himself against the wall. “Get in, then,” he snarled. “You'd best leave most of your water here. It's pretty crowded.”
“Very well,” said Laodicean. He moved back and shifted his effector fields. Most of the water dropped to the floor with a sharp splash, leaving him with only a thin shell. He pulled himself up through the hole in the floor.
Rurthk was right: It was crowded. The shuttle was not meant to hold this many people. The scientists stood pressed shoulder-to shoulder. It was fortunate there were no Varanids among them, or there would have been no hope of fitting everyone inside. Laodicean took a place above their heads, hanging from the ceiling with his effector fields.
*
Eloise sprinted down the hallway. She and the surviving Glaber dragged the semi-conscious Mr. Soul between them. Mero sprinted on ahead.
There was another tremendous screech of shearing metal. Everything bucked, the floor dropped from under their feet, and they were thrown hard against the wall. Mero paused to wait for them, but then set off again.
As Eloise got to her feet, she saw Mr. Soul trying weakly to get away. She leapt forward and grabbed him by the tail. He fell forward, cursing.
She and the Glaber picked him up, and they started moving again.
The facility shook once more, but this time they managed to stay on their feet. Eloise checked her map. They just had to reach the end of this corridor.
And then the floor opened up.