"Damn … one slip up and that's all it takes," Jason chuckled. "Good work."
Everyone but Twingo, who had stayed with the Phoenix, was on the roof of a skeletal structure that was actually an automated store and sort system for rectangular shipping modules of the kind they packed into off-world freighters. Every so often it would start shaking as the machinery inside received a command and went to retrieve a specific unit and have it waiting for pickup.
"So what is that building? It doesn't look like your average warehouse," Crusher said.
"It used to be storage for things that were held up by Import Control until all import and export operations were moved out to the starport," Kage said. "Now it's just for-rent open spaces. There are a few using the space for fabrication and light manufacturing, others just for storage. What's wrong with him?"
Jason looked over to see Lucky standing rigid, his head swiveling back and forth while he ignored the conversation.
"Something up, Lucky?" Jason asked only to be still ignored. "Lucky!"
"I am not certain." Lucky continued his scanning.
"If you're going to go down there I'd suggest you do it now," Doc said. "She arrived well before you did so she could leave at any minute."
"Crusher, Lucky, and Kage … let's go," Jason said and vaulted over the edge, dropping fifteen feet to the maintenance catwalk with a soft grunt. He was off and down to the next level when he heard Crusher land heavily above him and saw Lucky drop over the edge like a stone while holding Kage. There was a flicker of light as the battlesynth fired his repulsors to cushion the landing for his passenger's sake.
Once they were all on the ground they moved swiftly across the tarmac, Lucky still uncharacteristically distracted. The grounds were all but deserted as only the occasional automated cargo shuffler plodded by, oblivious to their presence. From what Jason could see, Ba'an and her client hadn't bothered with any security measures, apparently confident the secrecy of the location was enough.
"Let's not get too creative," he said once they were a few meters from the double-wide alloy doors. "We go on three." As he was about to count down, Lucky actually jerked as if hit with high-voltage and spun around. "Okay … you're starting to weird me out. What the hell is the matter with you?"
"I cannot pinpoint the cause, but my proximity alert subsystem is issuing low-level alerts," Lucky said. "I will try to ignore it."
"What could cause that?" Jason frowned.
"Unknown. It has never happened before to my recollection," Lucky said. "At least not without the specific threat being clearly identified."
"Okay … let's try this again," Jason said. "One … two—" he was cut short by Crusher walking up and ripping the door from its frame and throwing it down the hallway. "Or … we could just fucking do whatever we want and to hell with the plan."
"Silence!" Crusher thundered over the cries of alarm coming from within the room.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" Kage asked.
"Short answer? He's an idiot," Jason answered and ran up to try and salvage the situation.
"Who are you?" Nace Ba'an demanded in a clear, confident voice. "I'll have you know that—"
"Calm yourself, Counselor." Jason held his hands out flat, palms down. "We're just here to talk … we're associates of the doctor that came to visit you at your office earlier today."
"Oh my!" a pru male said from the back where he'd been cowering. He stood rigid with wide eyes and a slack mouth, but he wasn't looking at the hulking Galvetic warrior or the human. "I can't believe it. Combat Unit 777."
"I am afraid I am not acquainted with you," Lucky said from the doorway.
"Of course you aren't," the pru said, walking forward hesitantly. "But I know you—of you. My father spoke of you and your lot mates often. I recognize your facial armor as well as the unique shape of the fairings that cover your arm cannons."
"It looks like we're in the right spot," Crusher said.
15
"Let's begin with introductions and we'll go from there," Jason said. "You are?"
"My client—"
"It's okay, Nace," the pru said, placing an hand on her arm. "I can't believe that they're here to harm me given the company they keep. My name is Tauless Vulban-Biral."
"Tall ass?" Crusher asked. "Is that like—"
"Tauless," Nace Ba'an repeated angrily.
"And you're the offspring of Noyut Vulban?" Jason asked, wanting to smooth over the awkward pause.
"Yes."
"I'll get right to the point," Jason said. "Your father was … laid to rest … with a bundle of data cards on Pinnacle Station that are encrypted in such a way that we can't access them. We think the information might be vital."
"Vital to what?" Tauless asked. Jason opened his mouth to speak and stopped. He actually had no idea what the hell they were chasing. The data cards didn't likely have any information regarding recent unrest or military buildups on Khepri, but it wasn't as if Vulban's kid would know any better.
"You've heard about what's happening on Khepri?" he asked. When Tauless crossed his hands, a Pruvian non-verbal sign to indicate “no,” he continued. "There's been a lot of unrest and a concerning military buildup … the battlesynths have all been recalled."
At this, Tauless's eyes closed and he seemed to be breathing hard. "My father thought this might happen at some point in the future," he said finally.
"So you'll help us?"
"We'll need to leave Zeta Vandor-6," Tauless said. "You have a ship? You can take me with you?"
"Out of the question," Jason said. "If you can just break the encryption for us we'll be on our way and then you can go back and home and try to get into your apartment." Tauless cocked his head questioningly at Jason's choice of phrasing as his representative once again asserted her authority.
"My client has something you want, you have something he wants," Ba'an said. "Tauless will not hand over any decryption routines he may or may not have without the reasonable assumption of payment."
"We can pay, but he's not coming with us," Jason insisted. "We're not a charter outfit. We have no idea where we may end up."
"But you're chasing down the mystery surrounding Combat Unit 777 and his lot mates," Tauless said. "Tell me … do you find it strange that he hasn't been affected by the recall? He has no impulse to return without question like the others. Wouldn't you like to know why? And if there are others like him?"
"You little shit," Jason ground out, knowing he'd been out-maneuvered. Tauless looked completely baffled, then disgusted, and finally offended at the human expression.
"Captain?" Lucky asked. Jason could hear the yearning in his voice.
"Kage, call Twingo and tell him to prep for immediate departure," Jason said before turning to Tauless. "Where are you hiding these decryption codes?"
"You'll take me with you?"
"You've backed me into a corner," Jason said. "We'll take you with us, but I make no guarantee about where we'll leave you. When this is over you might not like the place we'll drop you off at."
"Can't be any worse than this place," Tauless said. "Apologies, Nace."
"I don't like this moon any better than you." Ba'an smiled. "And once you're gone I'll have no reason to linger. The safeguards your father set in place all those years ago appeared to have been triggered, so my job is done."
"I have the codes with me, Captain," Tauless said, addressing Jason as Lucky had. "The sooner we leave the better."
"Let's go," Jason said. He was still irritated that some punk on this backwater moon had worked him so easily. When he turned to see if everyone was following he saw Lucky's fidgeting had increased and his friend looked like he was trying to look in every direction at once. Deciding not to ask in front of everyone what was wrong, he turned back and led the group out of the building and into the cool night.
Jason heard the double pop/whine as soon as he stepped into the outside floodlights and saw two pairs of crimson orbs staring back at him from
the shadows of the next building. His blood turned to ice as his brain caught up and he realized what he was looking at—and what was looking back at him: battlesynths. Two of them.
"Contact!" he shouted and grabbed Tauless, lifting the pru and carrying him back into the building. Time slowed as his high-powered adrenal response charged his system and a fear like he'd never known gripped him. Two battlesynths in full combat mode facing off against them was the stuff of nightmares.
He heard another pop/whine and out of his peripheral vision saw Lucky pushing Crusher out of the way with his left hand, raising his right arm to bring his plasma cannon to bear. He fired just as both of the other battlesynths opened up, the plasma bolts ripping through the still night air and lighting up the scene in a hellish red. Lucky's first shot hit one target in the shoulder and spun it as the other’s flew wide, but he was off balance from pushing Crusher aside and took two full blasts in the chest. He was lifted off the ground and flung back through the thin alloy wall that served as a wind barrier for the hallway.
"Kage! We need air support. Get Twingo here now!" Jason barked as he tried to disentangle his weapon from the long jacket he'd worn to conceal it. The remaining battlesynth keyed in on him as the one giving commands and adjusted its fire, walking plasma bolts towards him. Jason turned and sprinted away, knowing that if he left his feet to dive out of the way he'd be a dead man. He felt the heat as two of the bolts caught the back of his trailing coat before he heard Crusher roar and open up with the plasma rifle he carried.
Skidding to a stop, Jason ripped the jacket off in three large chunks and brought his primary weapon around, sighting down at the battlesynth that Lucky had hit. Just as he squeezed the trigger it seemed to sense it was targeted and fired its repulsors, arcing high up over the fight as Jason's hypersonic railgun rounds tore into the building behind it.
"Shit!" Jason swore, unable to track it. Instead, he came around and tried to bracket the target Crusher was engaged with. The Galvetic warrior had taken cover behind what appeared to be a power service station for the lot vehicles, but it wasn't faring well under the constant onslaught. He was able to come around and fire a few answering blasts whenever the battlesynth paused to let its cannons cool, but he was running out of time.
"Phoenix is inbound!" Kage shouted as Jason fired at the battlesynth that had Crusher pinned down. In a feat that astounded him, it was able to twist its body, a move it must have started before he'd even fired, and the hypersonic round ricocheted of its chest with a shower of sparks.
"Screw this," Jason muttered and flicked the fire selector to “LOW VELOCITY” and held the trigger down, sending a sustained burst of the hardened ferrous projectiles towards his adversary. Caught with nowhere to go, the battlesynth emitted a shriek and turned to protect its face from the onslaught. Crusher didn't hesitate, stepping around the sparking charge station and opening up with his powerful plasma rifle, the brilliant bolts of energy exploding off the lower torso as the warrior went for a hip joint.
With another shriek the besieged battlesynth turned and ran through the wall of the nearest building. Jason and Crusher both stopped to let their weapons cool and to reload. The air around them reeked of burning plastic and ozone.
"Where did the first one go?" Crusher asked.
"Up and over," Jason said. "I couldn't track it. Pull back to the opening there and let's—" He was cut off as the ground directly in front of him erupted. The plasma bolt was off, and instead of taking him on the top of the head it hit a meter in front of him, the shockwave sending him tumbling. He dimly heard Crusher begin firing again and through the haze saw the first battlesynth descending slowly, riding on its repulsors and firing down while also taking away the limited cover they'd been using near the warehouse.
Jason struggled to shake off the cobwebs and climb to his feet as Crusher nimbly avoided being hit, but the closer the battlesynth got the harder it would be to dodge the incoming plasma. Even more unfortunate, the railgun he carried wasn't the easiest to aim at a small moving target even without recent head trauma. He focused and sighted on a point he thought the target would fly through and then opened fire. The rounds shrieked through the air, the first dozen or so missing, but a handful of impacts could be seen sparking in the night sky.
The battlesynth seemed to wobble in midair and, with another pop, the repulsor on its left foot exploded and it began to spin towards the ground, no longer able to control its descent. It slammed into the tarmac with a tremendous crash and sent bits of pavement and debris in all directions, forcing Jason to close his eyes as the shards peppered his exposed face. Crusher exploited the moment and began stalking towards the struggling battlesynth, opening fire with a long, sustained burst from his plasma rifle. Jason could hear its warbling cries as the plasma heated its armor to the point of failure and it sank back to the ground, now just trying to cover its head.
"331!" The shout came from behind Jason and to the right. By the time he spun around, he saw the other battlesynth charging at them and knew he wouldn't be able to get his weapon up in time. He prepared to lean into the charge and knew that even his reinforced skeleton would not likely save him from the bull rush.
When the battlesynth was ten meters away a blur from Jason's right slammed into it with the hard sound of metal on metal. Once the mass of alloy stopped tumbling Jason could see that Lucky had reentered the fray, looking none the worse for wear save the scorched and discolored chest armor. The two battlesynths faced off against each other for a split second before exploding into a flurry of motion. Jason had never witnessed anything like it in his life. They swung savage blows at each other with closed fists, knees, and feet that had enough power to cave in a starship's hull. The ferocity and speed of the fight left him breathless. Then it became dangerous for spectators as well.
After they'd tested each other hand-to-hand, each combatant decided to add their respective weaponry to the mix. Jason heard the whine of the plasma cannons even before they began firing. At close quarters and while still grappling with each other, Lucky and his opponent were trying to simultaneously land a killing shot while protecting themselves, but during this powerful plasma bolts were shot wildly in all directions.
"Take cover!" Jason roared and poured everything he had into getting back to the warehouse to make sure Kage was safe and that Tauless was out of the crossfire. He saw motion to his right and saw Crusher was closing in right after him even as three plasma bolts blasted a walkway off the building and send it crashing to the ground.
"Can we help him?" Crusher asked.
"I'd only make it worse," Jason had to shout to be heard over the battle. "I can't separate Lucky enough to take a shot. Where's your weapon?"
"Spent," Crusher shouted back. "Charging chamber ruptured trying to put that bastard down … and it's still alive!"
"Damnit!" Jason spun to sight in on the downed battlesynth with his railgun, flicking it to high-velocity mode to make certain of it … but it was gone. "You can't be serious! How the hell did it survive that?"
"Look out!" Crusher knocked him flat, falling on top of him as another errant bolt flew down the hallway and impacted a stationary loader, setting it ablaze. The sound of four more explosions reached Jason before he could untangle from Crusher and crawl back to look for Lucky.
His friend was still engaged closely with the other battlesynth, but there were signs he was winning. The left arm of Lucky's opponent seemed to be moving randomly of its own accord and the right knee was sparking. They came together in another flurry of hits that made Jason wince and he could see that Lucky was hanging back and picking his shots, waiting until he could drive home a hard hit to the facial armor of the other and then pulling back into a defensive posture.
The strategy seemed to be having an effect as after each hammering blow to the face the other battlesynth would appear momentarily disoriented, allowing Lucky to land one or two follow-up shots. Steam was pouring off the combatants in the cool night air as they fought by t
he light of the dozen or so building fires they'd set with their plasma weapons.
"Incoming!" Kage shouted from further back in the building just before the ground began to rumble and the Phoenix tore over the complex, pulling up into a steep climb as she overshot and angled around. Lucky used the distraction to smash his foot into his opponent’s damaged knee, dropping it. As the other struggled to rise, Lucky backed away a few meters.
"Now, Captain," his calm voice boomed across the lot from the amplification he'd put on it. Jason lined up the reticle on the head of the wounded battlesynth, let out a breath, and squeezed the trigger. The railgun roared and sent the hypersonic projectile straight through its head. There were no sparks or twitching about after the shot, it just crumpled over. Even in a fight for their lives Jason took no pleasure in killing the battlesynth. It had been a soldier following orders, not necessarily evil.
"Roll call!" he called out as he helped Crusher to his feet.
"I'm on my way down," Doc's voice came over the com. "I'm unharmed."
"I'm good," Kage said. "Tauless is unhurt, but Nace Ba'an took a plasma bolt to the head. It's pretty gross."
"I require noncritical repairs but am otherwise unharmed," Lucky said calmly as he walked up.
"I'm beat to shit but I'll live," Crusher said.
"We need to hurry," Twingo's voice came from all the com units simultaneously. "Local authorities have noticed you set the place on fire and the locals have been calling in with reports of explosions. I'll set down in the open area on the other side of the building you're standing near."
"You're sure you have everything you need?" Jason asked Tauless.
"Y-y-yes," the trembling pru finally managed to get out.
"Move it." Jason waved them all past him to where the Phoenix was settling down. With the fighting over he took a moment to look around at the collateral damage. If someone had told him that a thermobaric bomb had been detonated there he would have believed it. The havoc wreaked by just three battlesynths was more than a little frightening when he considered the fact Khepri had hundreds of them now at their command. Worse still, he had to assume they knew he was poking around the edges. It was highly doubtful two battlesynths just happened to be waiting here to ambush any random person that showed up. That complicated things for them quite a bit. He was more than willing to allow Lucky to chase this thread that tied into his past, but he didn't think he could put the others at risk by pitting Omega Force against whoever was pulling the strings on Khepri.
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