"If you wouldn't mind, we'll stay here and survey the subjects for a time, perhaps we can find a way to convince the rest of the Confederacy to take on your project," Nova said.
Orland's eyes lit up and he grinned. "Of course! Please let me know if you need anything."
"We will, please carry on," said Nova, waving her hand at the exit.
Orland took the hint and hurried away from the two Hunters, his feet clicking on the floor.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
"How long have they been taking people?" Aart whispered, his voice hoarse.
"A lot longer than we thought," said Nova. "When I was on Tabryn, they kept talking about people going missing. I didn't think for a second it was the Confederacy."
"How can they get away with it?" Aart asked. "Why hasn't anybody done something?"
Nova shrugged. "Some people wouldn't know, other people are like that arse; they just don't care."
"It's disgusting. I'm even more sure of blowing these Confederacy bastards to bits," Aart spat.
"Shh!" Nova glared at him. "This place is monitored. Keep it down. Speaking of which, Tyra, what's the story?"
"I've put the baby to bed, it'll probably be there thirty minutes," said Tyra.
"Excellent," Nova said, clicking her communicator off.
"Nova, we can't let these people be blown away as well," Aart said, gesturing at the glass boxes.
Nova waved at him. "We don't have a choice. Now shut up! Do you want to bring every guard in this place down on us? We've gotta go."
Aart stepped away from her to the glass wall and rapped his fist against it. "I can't leave them here. They deserve better than that."
Nova gripped his shoulder and pulled him away, her eyes flying to the cameras staring at her from every corner. "There are hundreds of them, we can't just shepherd them out," she hissed.
Aart shook her hand free and ran back to the glass, running his fingers over it. A few weary heads inside the glass turned his way but most of them stared at the ground, faces drawn. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the glass.
Nova's heart leapt into her throat. "Aart! No!" She stumbled forward to stop him, arms spinning.
He fired and a bolt of energy shot out. The glass exploded into millions of tiny shards that showered Nova's hair and shoulders. Sparkles covered the people inside the box.
They turned towards Aart, their eyes confused. They stared at him as if they hadn't noticed him before and then looked around at the shattered glass. The sharp shards covered the floor and their bodies. With tentative steps they shuffled towards the now-open window.
The putrid scent of unwashed bodies and waste flowed over Nova in waves ahead of the people. Her stomach and nostrils clenched against the assault but she couldn't stop the smell invading all of her senses. Her eyes watered as she struggled against the urge to vomit.
The first of the prisoners stepped over the threshold and the world exploded with sound.
Alarms rung through the air so loudly that Nova could feel the vibrations in every cell of her body. The high-pitched whining beat at her ear-drums and threatened to burst them. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her hands over her ears, but the sound penetrated through. She managed to keep her feet with only the strongest force of will.
The prisoners clutched at their heads and added their own screams to the cacophony.
Nova spun in a tight circle. They had mere seconds before the guards were sure to arrive with no way out. Anger burned in her stomach. She wanted to punch Aart in the face, he'd doomed them all. She stumbled towards the only way out.
"Aart? Aart is that you?" An elderly man stepped out of the crowd, his white hair matted.
Aart's mouth dropped open and he stepped forward "Cole?"
Cole took another trembling step forward, his knees quaking. His eyes glistened in the bright lights. "You came for us."
Aart took hold of Cole's shoulder. "Of course we did." He hooked his arm around Cole's waist and hobbled towards the exit. He glanced at Nova as he went past. "Cole was in charge of the rebellion on Amcon. He's been getting people free of that hell-hole for as long as I can remember. Me included."
Cole lay a wrinkled hand on Aart's arm. "After this lad, I think we'll call it even."
Nova's heart clenched. She couldn't see anyway that they could make it out of the space-station alive.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
The main entrance door burst open, revealing dozens of black guns pointed at Nova's face.
"Stop right there," said the front-most soldier. A gold badge shone from the chest of his crisp, blue uniform.
Nova's hand flew to her gun.
The soldier stepped forward and pressed the barrel of his gun against Nova's forehead. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Come quietly or come dead, I don't care."
Nova clenched her jaw. She lowered her gun into its holster and put her hands on her head. Aart stepped up beside her, leaving Cole leaning against the nearest wall.
"The rest of you, back to your cells," the sergeant yelled.
"Fuck you!" Cole bellowed, pushing away from the wall and diving at the soldier.
The soldier turned his gun from Nova and squeezed the trigger. A bright flash of light filled the doorway along with a loud bang.
Cole collapsed to the floor mid-dive. He grunted and curled into a ball at Nova's feet, blood leaking out between his hands where they clutched his stomach.
Aart fell to his knees at Cole's side. "You bastards!"
Cole's watery eyes squinted shut, his teeth clenched.
"Anyone else feel like being a hero?" the soldier asked, looking out over the prisoners.
Nova's fingers tingled, urging her to snatch her gun. But two other soldiers had their guns aimed at her face. She'd never reach it in time. She risked a glance over her shoulder.
The prisoners stood facing the soldiers, their faces grim.
"I said get back to your cells!" the soldier yelled.
As one the prisoners surged forward. Their bare feet pounded the ground as they sprinted for the narrow doorway. They let out an indistinct battle cry, raising their fists.
The soldiers swung their guns from Nova and Aart and aimed at the crowd.
The commanding soldier pursed his lips. "Do it."
A volley of shots boomed from the soldiers' guns, lighting up the doorway like a series of fireworks. Prisoner's collapsed, their bodies falling lifeless to the floor as others jumped or climbed over them, still running.
"No!" Aart ripped his gun from its holster and fired at the soldiers.
Nova's heart pounded high in her chest as she whipped her gun out of its holster. As they tried to take down the soldiers, dozens of prisoners died at their backs.
Aart tossed his gun to the floor and threw himself at the soldiers, his body blocking the oncoming prisoners. His body jolted as three shots hit him before he slammed into the commanding officer.
Nova darted forward. "Aart!"
The commander shoved Aart's bleeding body to the side. "Take them out! Code Red!"
A soldier at the back pulled a small black device from his pocket and pushed down the red button on top.
Nova turned just in time to see all the remaining prisoners collapse to the floor. It was as if they'd all been shot simultaneously only there weren't any bullet wounds. They were just dead.
Her mouth hung open and her arm dropped to her side. More than fifty prisoners lay dead behind her, their limbs twisted and mouths frozen open in screams.
Aart wailed, seeming impervious to his own wounds, he lashed out at the commander, landing a punch to his face.
The commander growled and threw Aart back against the wall. "I'm going to enjoy watching the Minister take care of you."
The sergeant climbed to his feet and stalked off down the corridor. A few of his men stepped forward, took Nova and Aart's weapons and marched them along the new corridor. They walked in silence, only the continuous beat of the soldier's footsteps echoed through
the corridor.
Nova glanced out of the corner of her eye at Aart. Wounds smouldered from his right shoulder and leg but they weren't fatal unless they went untreated. She allowed herself a small flood of relief, at least he wasn't about to bleed out on the floor next to her.
His head hung low and a line of tears trailed down his face, making a clear path through the blood.
"Here," the sergeant said as they reached a non-descript grey door at the end of the short corridor.
A soldier pressed a green button beside the door and a few moments later it slid open. The sergeant led the way in. Two soldiers pushed Nova and Aart through and then the door slammed shut, locking the rest of the soldiers outside.
"What have you brought me?" said a refined voice.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
A man in a dark suit stood behind a massive metal desk. Papers scattered across the surface but a large screen took up most of the space. It showed live images of different parts of the base, including the pile of dead prisoners.
"Minister Lenovo, our records have them down as Nova Tabryn and Artemis Goldson. The accuracy of those records is in doubt. They have already hacked into our system and altered their chips," the sergeant said.
"Good job, Tyco. Lucky they were so foolish. And a good thing we had those chips put into the cattle – can't have them running wild through the station."
"Yes sir. It was most effective."
"You won't get away with what's going on here," Aart said through clenched teeth.
"My dear boy, it's not like you can stop me now is it?" said Minister Lenovo.
"You'll all burn for what you've done. We—" Aart began but Nova cut him off.
"Not right now, but you will be stopped," she said.
"Hunters, is that right?" said Lenovo. "I kept saying it was strange that the Maw disappeared out of the sky."
"We'll keep coming for you," said Nova. "Whatever you're trying to do, you won't get away with it. There are other Hunters out there."
"Maybe, but I doubt they'll have time to do anything. My plans are drawing to a close and then everything will fall into place."
"What plans?" Nova asked, jutting out her chin.
Lenovo chuckled. "I think I will reserve sharing my plans with you until you've been fully integrated."
"Integrated?" Nova said.
"Yes, you saw how well-behaved my children were, didn't you?" Lenovo said, nodding towards the screens, at a stream of people marching through the main corridor.
"Your children?" Nova said, confused.
"Sir, medical scans reveal previous contact with Flumes," Tyco said, glancing down at the screen in his hand.
"What?" Lenovo said, staring up at Tyco.
Tyco shrugged. "That's what the scans say."
Nova's mind raced over the name. Where had she heard it before? There had been so much going on at the time; Crusader was stranded on Taive.
"No," Nova said with wide eyes as she looked up at Lenovo. She whipped her head around to stare at Sergeant Tyco. The mild concern fell from their faces and they grinned down at Nova.
"Ah, I think she knows," Lenovo said.
"Know what? Nova, what's going on?" Aart said, staring between their captors and Nova.
"The slugs on Taive. The ear slugs," Nova whispered. "You know, the ones that crawled into your brain, took control, and turned you into a rabid monster?"
"What?" Aart blustered, his eyes opening wide.
"Ah, so you both know us. That will make this less of a shock then," Lenovo said. He reached into the draw to the left of his desk and when he pulled it out again he held a collection of black slugs. Unlike the ones on Taive, they had bright blue stripes running down their backs.
"I believe my cousins use the more primitive method of infection, but this is a new era and we've learned to adapt," Lenovo said with a cruel smile.
He got up from his desk and strode towards them.
Nova's eyes widened and her heart pounded against her chest. She swallowed, finding her throat as dry as sandpaper, and cast around for any way out.
"Your cousins are dead," she said.
"What?" Lenovo said, pausing in his path towards her.
"We killed them all. That putrid, ugly queen took a single blast, blew into a thousand pieces," Nova said, barrelling on.
"You killed her?" Lenovo's face fell, turning grey.
"Just like we'll kill you."
"You're trapped. You have no way out, and seconds to live," Lenovo said, staring down at her with the slugs still clutched in his hands.
"I've faced worse," Nova said, sticking her chin out.
"Tyco, hold her still. I'm going to enjoy this," Lenovo said.
Tyco kicked the back of Nova's legs and she collapsed to her knees, jarring pain shooting through her knees.
He snatched her head and wrenched it to one side so that her right ear pointed up to the ceiling. She struggled against him, but he braced her shoulders with his knees, trapping her.
"Nova!" Aart yelled.
Before he could move, two guards grabbed his arms and shoved him to his knees.
Lenovo selected a slug from the writhing mass in his hand. He lifted the creature up to his eyes and smiled at it before bending down and holding it in front of Nova's face.
"Say hello to your new brain," he said with a chuckle.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Nova's heart raced. The slug squirmed in front of her eyes. From this close she could see the slime shimmering along its length, she imagined it sliding along her cheek, leaving a wet trail that would go cold in the air.
Lenovo lifted it towards her ear. The slug swayed back and forth through the air.
He was just about to release it when a commotion erupted outside the metal door. He looked up just in time to watch the door explode inwards.
A piece of metal flew through the air and caught a soldier in the neck. He clutched at his throat but it punched through to his vital arteries and blood poured out. His fingers, wrist and arms were soaked in his own blood and he collapsed to his knees. He gurgled something unintelligible before falling onto his face.
"What!" Lenovo said, he released the slug and stood up.
The slug dropped onto Nova's cheek and without pause it inched towards her ear. The wet trail was just as she'd imagined. It left a cool line across her cheek that made her shiver and brought bile to her throat. She imagined the thing crawling inside her ear and burrowing its way into her brain.
She twisted left and right, trying to wrench her arms free or shake the slug loose. She fought with all her strength, her muscles straining against Tyco's firm grip.
The slug got to the edge of her ear. It poised itself on the rim like a diver preparing to jump.
Nova strained her arms again. This time Tyco's grip went loose and the force of her movement sent her sprawling across the ground. She whipped her hand across her temple, swatting the slug away. It clung to the side of her head with suckers, squelching.
She hit the slug and it flew through the air, plopping to the ground with a wet splat. It turned around and squirmed across the floor back towards her. It moved in undulating waves, the blue line flashing up and down.
The blood drained out of her face as it came at her a second time. She scrambled to her feet, lifted her thick boot, and slammed it down onto the slug. It exploded under her shoe and sent black entrails shooting out. When she lifted her boot, bloody remains interspersed with blue decorated the floor.
During Nova's private battle something bigger erupted behind her. The room which before had been so quiet, filled with noise. Guns fired, people screamed, and alarms blared. Aart wrestled a bigger man, their hands clasped around each other's throats. While two other guards fired through a smoky haze into the corridor beyond.
A blue blast shot into the room and caught a guard in the chest. He grunted and collapsed, his ribs a smoky ruin. The other guard glanced at his companion, his face pale, and kept firing.
Nova
spun and kicked the man strangling Aart. Her boot caught his ribs and he groaned and glanced back at her. Aart reared back and slammed his head into the other man. A hollow thump echoed out and the guard slithered to the ground at Aart's feet.
A sizzling bolt of plasma swept through the room, bigger than the other shots, and slammed into the desk. It went up in a small ball of flames.
The heat licked Nova's cheeks and sweat sprung out on her forehead, but she couldn't help smiling. She recognised the colour and shape of the blast.
The remaining guard trembled as he glanced back at the burning desk. A second blast careened through the open doorway and slammed into the man's abdomen. He shrieked as flames licked over his clothes and he became a howling inferno. He collapsed to the floor, wailing, until the flames turned him into a blackened pile of charred bones.
"Guess who?" Orion said as he sauntered into the room followed by Gus and Tyra.
A flood of relief flowed through Nova's body and her shoulders relaxed.
Lenovo stood in the centre of the room, desperately clutching the handful of slugs. His lips trembled as he looked at the Hunters and then down at his dead companions.
"You'll pay for this," he whispered.
"Doubt it," said Gus, hefting his massive gun higher on his shoulder.
Nova strode up to Lenovo and looked down at the writhing mass of slugs. She quelled the jolt of fear that flashed through her as she remembered the wet slug trailing its way towards her ear.
"Drop them," she said, her voice low.
"No."
"Nova, we've got to go. You know what won't wait for us," Tyra said, her voice taut.
"I won't be long. This is something I've got to do." Nova turned back to Lenovo. "Drop them, or I'll shoot your hand off." She pulled her gun out of Tyco's belt and levelled it at Lenovo's hand.
"You wouldn't dare. I am the Minister for this division of the Confederacy; you'd be sentenced to a death worse than a black-hole."
"That's a chance I'm willing to take. This is your only warning. Drop the slugs."
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