by Alex Kings
“Right,” she answered, and fired several shots at the handle to jam it.
Mr. Soul was struggling. His clawed toes raked up Zino's leg. His head twisted round, trying to bite at him. And by the look of it the Petaurs were just about ready to risk shooting their own boss to stop Zino. The ceiling-mounted guns were turning to aim at him.
Zino threw Mr. Soul as hard as he could across the room at a Petaur near the back holding a tablet – who, he guessed, was controlling the mounted guns.
Then he grabbed Olivia's arm and dragged her as he sprinted towards the desk. Ahead of him, he saw Mr. Soul collide with the Petaur holding the tablet.
Just before he reached the desk, he grabbed a knife from the jacket and hurled it at one of the ceiling-mounted guns. The knife embedded itself in the ceiling, directly blocking the muzzle of the gun.
He dropped behind the desk pulling Olivia down with him, then gestured at her to move to the side while hidden behind it. “Quiet,” he mouthed at her.
She nodded and scrambled to one side. Zino moved the other way. The ceiling-mounted guns fired with a sudden clatter. Bullets peppered the desk with holes where Zino and Olivia had been a moment again. There was a sharp crack as the one Zino's knife blocked was torn apart by its own shattered bullets.
There was a thumping at the door. Petaurs from the other side began to lever it open.
Zino shrugged his jacket off quietly.
As the door opened, he swept the jacket up above the desk, directly between one of the ceiling guns and the door. The ceiling guns, too eager to get their target, fired through the jacket, catching the Petaurs walking through the door.
Zino took the opportunity to move again so the gun couldn't catch him. Meanwhile, the first two Petaurs at the door collapsed backwards onto a third, who was dispatched a moment later by Olivia.
Zino gave her a grin and thumbs-up, then threw a knife at a Petaur taking cover behind the doorway. The Petaur went down immediately.
The mounted guns fired again, chewing through the desk. Zino knew he had to deal with those guns soon, otherwise they'd catch him sooner or later.
He gestured at Olivia to deal with the door, then threw his jacket up above the desk again, holding it to the side so it wasn't directly above him. The gun fired at it again. Zino scrambled to the side. He couldn't let them figure out where he was hiding.
He repeated the motion again a moment later. This time the gun didn't fire. The Petaur operating it had learned to disregard it.
Draping the jacket in front of him as cover and taking out a knife, Zino stood up, hoping the Petaurs would see his jacket and disregard it at first glance.
They did.
It only gave him a moment, but that was long enough for him to pick out the Petaur standing at the back with a tablet, and throw a knife.
The Petaur collapsed.
Zino dropped back into cover and moved along the desk again. He checked the door: Olivia had taken out most of the Petaurs there. She was locked in a firefight with the last one.
Zino took care of the Petaur for her.
Nearly done. There were still a few Petaurs on the desk, more occupied with trying to escape than kill him by this point.
He decided he could use his jacket one last time.
He threw it to the left, and moved to the right as he stood up. The Petaurs, seeing the jacket first fired at it. While they were aiming that way, Zino had time to quickly shoot them down.
That was all the threats dealt with. He vaulted over the desk, killed another two who were trying to escape, then grabbed his jacket and put it on.
He strode across the room, stepping over dead Petaurs and retrieving a knife on the way, and came to the closed door of a hiding space. Behind him, he could hear Olivia reloading, for whatever good that would do.
It was over.
The door to the hiding space was disguised, but he'd seen it open. He jabbed his knife into the space between the door and the wall, made sure he wasn't in the way, and levered it open.
The couple of Petaurs inside fired out ineffectually. As soon as they hesitated, Zino stuck his pistol through the crack and blindly fired inside several times.
He pulled the door the rest of the way open.
Mr. Soul, plus three other Petaurs, were inside the tiny alcove. All had been shot, all were alive. Zino killed the other three, then reached inside and grabbed Mr. Soul.
“Why are you doing this?” growled Mr. Soul as Zino carried him across the room. He'd been shot in the leg, and didn't bother fighting.
Zino shrugged. “Fun,” he said. “I wanted to kill Mr. Hand, actually, from the moment I met him. I guess you'll have to do.”
“You can't defeat Vihan Yvredi,” said Mr. Soul.
“No, but I can help,” said Zino. He carried Mr. Soul back over the desk and faced a camera in the ceiling. When he was sure he was in view, he slit the Petaur's throat. Blood stained the arm of his suit.
Grinning at the camera, he dropped the body, took out a knife, and threw it at the camera.
Chapter 74: Congratulations
As soon as the hatch was open, Blanks outside began to fire. Rurthk threw his grenade, and followed it immediately by another. Eloise and Laodicean did the same. They ducked behind their shields as six explosions went off one after the other.
Then Laodicean pulled the gatling gun out of cover. It spun up and roared into life. Outside, the dust was so thick it was hard to see. At least in visible light; the suit gave him a full-spectrum field of vision. He saw the last surviving Blanks crumple under the gatling gun.
“Okay,” he said, grabbing an assault rifle. “Let's go!”
Laodicean went first, effortlessly swinging out of the capsule, and Rurthk and Elise followed.
The base looked like the scene of a natural catastrophe. Walls and ceilings had been broken down and melted into weird, smooth, rippled shapes underfoot. Smoke and dust hung in the air. Dead Blanks lay everywhere. The capsule was still glowing a dark red. Steam began to come off Laodicean's globe of water. Looking back, Rurthk could see the trail of destruction the capsule had left.
He advanced forward, going through a hole in the wall, then through a damaged door.
There were more Blanks in the undamaged corridor beyond. Taking cover behind his shield, Rurthk fired at them, then retreated into the doorway. Laodicean stepped in next, holding two guns around the corner with his effector fields. Behind them he put up a wall of effector fields to knock back the explosives the Blanks threw at them.
They cleared the corridor with another round of grenades, then advanced forwards.
Dr. Wolff came along behind them, hiding behind two bulletproof shields.
“How are you holding up, Doctor?” Rurthk asked.
“Managing, just about,” said Wolff, looking at the bodies scattered on the floor.
“Not much longer, I promise,” said Rurthk.
“Yes, I suspect it may be over very soon,” Wolff said grimly.
They continued onwards. At the end of the corridor, they headed up a ramp. Here, there was no damage. It looked as if the capsule had never attacked.
They were attacked by another group of Blanks, who were relatively easy to dispatch with Laodicean's help.
On the final stretch, Rurthk heard a tiny clinking noise. Compared to the gunfire and explosions that had been battering his eardrums, this was almost inaudible.
Almost, but not quite.
“Wait,” he said, looking around.
He looked up in time to see two Petaurs in light but full armour clinging to the ceiling. One was directly above him, the other above Laodicean.
As he went to aim at them, they dropped. They kicked off against the ceiling to cover the distance faster than falling alone would. One landed on Rurthk. The other dived into Laodicean's globe.
The collision knocked Rurthk to the ground. The Petaur was incredibly quick. It knocked aside his shield and his rifle. When it grabbed his arm, its touch was like fire. A
s it moved its hand, he saw its gloves had claws – razor sharp knives several inches long that had pierced his armour without difficulty. He grabbed at it. It wriggled out the way, then made to plunge those knives into his throat.
Eloise grabbed the Petaur by the elbow and wrenched its arm back. It turned and swiped at her.
Meanwhile, Laodicean was struggling with his own attacker. The first attack had penetrated his shell, and blue blood leaked out of the puncture wounds to form turbulent shapes in the water. Now, with a tangle of effector fields he was just about managing to shield himself, but the Petaur was still in his globe of water. Dr. Wolff ran up, and thumped the edge of his shield into its back.
Rurthk's attacker turned on Eloise, swiping at her. She leapt back, but the knives caught her ribs. In the same motion, she slammed her shield into its face.
Rurthk used the opportunity to grab its head and twist. There was a crack, and the Petaur went limp.
Having fended off the attackers, Laodicean was now drowning his attacker, holding it inside his globe while it struggled and flailed to get to the surface. After a few seconds, he threw it out of his globe and against the wall, and shot it.
“Everyone okay?” said Rurthk.
Eloise gingerly touched the wound on her ribs, where the Petaur's claws had penetrated her armour. She winced slightly. “I'll be fine,” she said, helping Rurthk up.
They continued onwards.
No one else attacked them. They made it through the base, eventually ending up in the hidden area that had previously been guarded by a Blank. This time, there was no guard at all.
At last, they came to the room where they had – Rurthk had thought at the time – learned about Vihan Yvredi's plans. The room where Mero had betrayed them, he now thought bitterly.
It was empty.
All the computer terminals had been cleared out. Everything moveable had been taken out, and the network cables in the floor had been sealed.
The only thing that remained was a screen on the wall.
As Rurthk stepped forward, frowning, the screen lit up.
Mr. Hand appeared on it, smiling.
“Hello, Rurthk,” he said. “Congratulations on making it all the way here. I'm impressed. Really, I am. I didn't think you had it in you. But I'm afraid it was all for nothing. You've failed, and now you're going to die.”
Chapter 75: Rurthk Vs. Zino?
Olivia looked at the bodies of Petaurs scattered across the floor and piled up by the door. She was responsible for a couple of them – not many, though. And in the middle of it, above the dead Mr. Soul, stood Felix Zino, glorying in the scene as though it were a work of art. His jacket was riddled with holes and stained with blood. His palms had blood on them too, and a spatter of red lay across his jawline. He was offering a demented grin to no one in particular.
“These people had it all sorted, didn't they?” he said. “Vihan Yvredi. Hidden. In control. Thought they were safe.” He put his foot on Mr. Soul's back. “And then I came along.”
“Yeah,” said Olivia. She swallowed. Her hand, still holding her gun, drooped by her side. “I guess we're done here, then.”
“We are,” said Zino. “You know, I didn't think you'd survive. And yet here you are. I'm impressed.”
Olivia nodded. “I'm good at surviving,” she said. “Not so much at killing.”
“Few people are,” said Zino. “And none are as good as me.” He gestured at the carnage to prove his point. “Not even Rurthk. But just like you, he is very good at surviving.”
Olivia smiled faintly.
Zino rubbed his hands together. “You know, I'm really looking forward to our final confrontation. Me against Rurthk. Now there's someone who's worthy of me. He might even get me! What a thought, huh? He doesn't think he's safe, not like these fools.” He turned away to kick Mr. Soul's body.
Olivia lifted her pistol and shot Zino eight times in the back.
Zino didn't make a sound. His hand went to his weapon. He managed to take it out, then dropped it. He stumbled forward, holding his stomach, then turned to face Olivia and collapsed to slump against the desk.
He looked up at her. “What … ?”
Olivia swallowed. “Rurthk thinks you're too dangerous,” she said softly. “You can't be trusted. Now … now you've served your purpose, it's better for everyone that you're dead.”
“You killed me?” said Zino, outrage creeping into his voice. “No! You're just a girl. Rurthk was supposed to kill me. That fight to the death. That's what he said …”
“You're not going to fight Rurthk,” said Olivia.
She fumbled with her gun, reloading it with shaking hands, then shot him again. She didn't leave until she was sure he was dead.
Chapter 76: Gotcha
Rurthk took his helmet off so he could look at Mr. Hand properly. His team did the same.
“It was fun while it lasted,” said Mr. Hand. “But I'm afraid you've accomplished nothing. Whatever tracking system Yilva gave you didn't work. The groups you attacked have survived, for the most part. And the ice base, despite all the effort you put into breaking in, isn't important. You've fought your way into my trap. Now I'm going to destroy it.”
Rurthk stared, smiling at the screen for several moments, then began to laugh. “Gotcha,” he said.
Mr. Hand, of course, gave nothing away. He tilted his head slightly. “What?” he said in a level tone.
“Go ahead, kill us,” Rurthk went on. “It doesn't matter. You've already lost.” It doesn't matter if we die.”
This was a lie. He hoped Mr. Hand would buy it.
Mr. Hand was silent for a moment. “Are you hoping that you can buy time to escape by pretending to know something?” he said.
“Not at all,” said Rurthk. “I have proof. Everything's going to plan.”
“Tell me,” said Eloise. “You've been quite busy setting this trap for us, haven't you. Have you checked on Mr. Soul lately?” She gave him a sweet smile. “Oh, yeah, we let Mr. Soul escape. Didn't you know that?”
Mr. Hand stared at them.
“It couldn't hurt to check on Mr. Soul, could it?” said Rurthk. “Oh, and, here's a tip. Keep an eye out for Felix Zino.”
*
In his office, Mr. Hand hesitated, his fingers hovering over his computer terminal, trying to think of a reason why he shouldn't just look. He couldn't find any, so he gestured at the console and tried to call Mr. Soul.
He got no reply.
He tried contacting the group where Mr. Soul was staying, and again got no reply.
Slightly worried now, he found he could still access a camera feed of the room.
He saw Felix Zino step into the room accompanied by another human whose face was obscured.
He saw the gunfight. He saw the person in the hood pull it down. It was one of Rurthk's crew. Olivia.
He saw Felix Zino kill Mr. Soul, then destroy the camera.
The feed cut off.
He looked back at Rurthk and his crew, grinning at him from the base. His mind raced, trying to figure out what they were up to. Mr Soul had been killed, yes, but that by itself didn't threaten Vihan Yvredi.
How had they managed to track Mr. Soul? The previous attacks had been ineffective and apparently random … but that might be a ruse to keep him occupied. On the other hand, if they could track leading members of Vihan Yvredi, why had they only revealed that now?
He looked again at Rurthk. Suddenly he was painfully aware that Vihan Yvredi could be in great danger, and he didn't have any idea how that might happen.
“Figured it out yet?” Rurthk said lightly. “Would it help if I mentioned the Laikon Incident?”
Mr. Hand barely managed to stop his eyes from widening. The Laikon Incident … how did they know?
This bizarre floating sensation was so unfamiliar to him that it took him a while to realise: this is what it felt like not to be in control.
He had to look up the Laikon incident, to see if there was anything that might
help him. He had to check the Midnight Class records. Glancing at Rurthk again, who was standing there smiling and politely waiting for him to finish, Mr. Hand put his hand against the security input.
His hand twitched as he gave it a coded sequence of muscle activations.
At the same time, unbeknownst to Mr. Hand, Yilva's skimmer picked up the code, read it, and repeated it.
While Mr. Hand called up the Laikon Incident, the skimmer downloaded everything and broadcast it on the Outsider's comms frequency.
Mr. Hand was looking at the information he had on the Laikon incident when he noticed the transmission. He frowned slightly. That wasn't good.
The Outsider received the full load of the Midnight Class records – every secret Vihan Yvredi had, the hows and the whys, full proof about everything they had done, from infiltrating the GEA and Sweetblade to using Blanks to attack a dozen worlds
It combined the midnight records with all the information Yilva had shared on Vihan Yvredi – personnel files, early history, founding ethics.
And then it shared that information with everyone it could. Mero. Albert Wells. The Life queen. The GEA.
And suddenly, Vihan Yvredi had gone public.
Chapter 77: Revnan
“Gotcha,” said Rurthk. “For real this time.”
“What have you done?” said Mr. Hand.
“Tricked you,” said Rurthk.
“Revnan Avanni,” Laodicean loudly.
On hearing himself addressed by his real name, Mr. Hand finally lost his composure. He stared, wide-eyed at Laodicean, his lips drawn back into a snarl, his ears flat against his head.
“Revnan Avanni” Laodicean went on, “Justice has finally caught up to you. Your crimes have been revealed to the galaxy. The only sensible course of action is to surrender.”
Mr. Hand slowly began to shake his head. “No … no … this won't stop Vihan Yvredi. The information will be lost in the net. No one will be able to tell it from a dozen stupid conspiracy theories.”