The Galactic Sentinel: Ultimate Edition: 4 Books with 2000+ Pages of Highly Entertaining Sci-Fi Space Adventure

by Killian Carter

  “You better, seeing as you’ve already robbed me. Let’s take a look inside.”

  The storekeeper didn’t seem too pleased at being bossed around. “Of course.” He pressed a button, and compressed air hissed as the lid opened gently.

  Randai leaned down and checked the work. Several of his TEK’s armor panels had been remodeled and repainted as requested, and as far as he could tell, the workmanship wasn’t too shabby. However, it wasn’t worth twice what he’d been quoted. Walking around Sentinel City in an old archagent TEK would be asking for trouble, but the alterations made it virtually unidentifiable. Both parts of his Twin Viper rifle rested next to the tactical exoframe kit. His assault rifle and sidearm were buried under the suit. “Looks good,” he admitted.

  “It’s pretty high-tech, yet it has seen a fair bit of use. Reminds me of armor I worked on before, but I’m having trouble placing it. Mind me asking who you pulled it from?”

  “No questions,” Randai said. “That was part of the deal.”

  “Of course. I’m just impressed is all.”

  “What about the ammo?”

  “There are ten GX armor-piercing rounds stowed inside the suit as requested. Took some work getting those without customs finding out.” Glak snorted.

  Randai searched the utility compartments and was glad to find the shopkeeper was telling the truth. He closed the case and pulled the handle. “Let’s go.” He waved to Cho.

  They exited onto the busy street and Randai squinted. Cho wasn’t the only one still adjusting to the brightness.

  Randai pulled the case as they made their way to their next destination. Signs of excess wealth pervaded the city, from shop-window decor to the clothes and armor the shopkeepers and their patrons wore. Overwayers walked much faster than people in the lower levels. Everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere. Randai had forgotten what the Sentinel’s upper levels were like.

  Cho lost interest in the city, and with the exception of an occasional question, the Shanti spent his time with his face buried in a holocast.

  Randai yawned. “I can’t wait until we finish this job. I need a decent night’s sleep. I’m wrecked.”

  “That’s what you get for being up all night.”

  “Someone had to program the electromagnetic emitters,” he countered pointedly. “Without them, the maintenance droids will pick us up on their scanners. Best case scenario, they alert SenSec. Worst case, they outright kill us. Climbing around in the Sentinel’s life support systems without an EME would be suicide.”

  “No need to be pissed off. It isn’t my fault it took you so long.”

  Randai shrugged. “I’m a little rusty, and station tech has seen several iterations since I was last up here.”

  The crowds suddenly grew denser, and by the time Randai realized they had walked into a protest, they were in too deep. Various races milled about, shaking banners in their respective languages. A young Yalore shoved a pamphlet into Randai’s hand. He glanced at the paper as he shuffled through the mob. Part of the message had been translated into galactic and reported on power-cuts in poor parts of Sentinel City. Randai crumpled it up and dropped it on the ground where it joined countless others.

  They broke free of the swarm and traced their way back to their hiding spot in a quieter part of town. They ducked behind a restaurant when no one was watching and pulled back a wall panel.

  Randai reminded Cho to activate his EME before entering. With the device equipped, they wouldn’t even appear on the map.

  Before following Cho through the loosened panel, Randai thought he saw someone out of the corner of his eye, hiding in the shadows further up the alley. When he looked, no one was there. Either he was more on edge than he realized, or Doctor Warsax’s implant re-install had done a number on him. Randai decided to get his implant seen to by a real surgeon as soon as he could afford to.

  Cho waved for Randai to hurry, and he climbed into the dark tunnel. The Shanti secured the panel, and they carried on through the Sentinel’s maintenance tunnel network, their SIG lights illuminating the way. Randai checked his SIG’s VD and followed the route that led to the maintenance platform where he would take the shot.

  “You know, it would be best if you stayed at the hideout when I’m taking the shot,” Randai said. “In case things don’t go according to plan.”

  “No can do.” Cho threw his hands up. “Mr. Darcy’s orders.”

  Short errands aside, Cho kept close tabs on Randai and stuck to him like a shadow.

  Finding the platform took several hours. Even with their electromagnetic emitters equipped, Randai wanted to take things slow.

  A maintenance droid went about its business, ignoring them entirely as they climbed a steep shaft. They exited onto a broad ledge high above the bustling avenues of Sentinel City. Droids used the area to store crates and equipment, providing plenty of good cover. Over two miles away, a similar platform rested in the haze above a street partition. That was where Randai’s target was supposed to appear later that day.

  When pressed, Cho claimed that he knew nothing about the hit, and Mr. Darcy continued to be vague with the details. In all communications, the target had simply been referred to as the target. After several exchanges with the crime-boss, Randai had pieced together that the target was some kind of official, perhaps a merchant or politician. He hoped for the former. Politicians caused as much trouble dead as they did alive, though he didn’t plan on sticking around long enough for the fallout.

  He and Cho had already scouted and mapped three potential escape routes. By the time security knew what was going on, they would both be long gone. Other than that, Randai had nothing but a vague description: Shanti female with shoulder-length, mottled-red hair. Swarthy skin. Likely dressed in robes. Two heads shorter than the Varg she would be meeting.

  Randai suspected the Varg was one of Mr. Darcy’s informants.

  Cho rested against a stack of crates as Randai set up his equipment. He unpacked his TEK and climbed into the armor. He sat on an exposed pipe and assembled his Twin Viper, loading the custom long-range armor-piercing shells. He positioned the weapon’s bipod on a solid floor panel near the edge of the ledge as he lowered himself to his chest. A shadow cast by a towering bulkhead to his left, obscured his position.

  Cho watched from near the shaft entrance, where Randai had told him to wait. The Shanti wouldn’t be seen over there, and if Randai had to make a hasty retreat, having someone under his feet would only slow him down.

  He yawned then bit into a slice of fruit he’d picked up at a market stall they’d passed on their way through the Sentinel’s streets. They were early, but Randai preferred not to risk missing any unexpected developments, like a target arriving sooner than it was supposed to.

  A light breeze picked up, and he swore. He checked his scanner and found the wind was still within tolerances. If it grew any stronger, he would have to make several major adjustments.

  His SIG vibrated, alerting him that the time to pull the trigger had almost arrived. Randai made sure Cho was still out of the way before leaning into the rifle and peering into the scope. His scanner picked up movement on the opposite platform, and he gently adjusted the lenses for a better view. Several armed figures approached from either side of the terrace and met in the middle.

  Randai zoomed closer.

  A scattering of about a dozen armed Vargs took up positions on the right, their weapons pointed at those gathering on the left. Randai shifted his view, searching for his target. It didn’t take long to pick the shortest person from among the bodies.

  Randai’s stomach turned, and he cursed silently. He hadn’t seen Minister Straiya in almost a decade. Magnifying the image further confirmed it was her. There was no mistaking the most powerful Shanti in the galaxy. Her hair had a tad more color back when he’d known her, but otherwise, she looked the same.

  The Shanti glided across the terrace, meeting with the tallest Varg from the second group in the middle of the platform. T
hey spoke, Straiya’s expression every bit as severe as Randai remembered.

  The rifle’s crosshairs hovered just left to the Minister’s head, allowing for wind and distance. Randai’s finger rested on the trigger. He calculated the trajectory one more time, memories of the Shanti Minister filling his mind.

  Seven years ago, Straiya had been the director of the Sentinel Intelligence Agency—the only person in the organization with authority over an archagent like Randai. He recalled an argument they’d had about an assignment to the Brink, but he couldn’t remember the details. Straiya had been something of an enigma, but she had always been kind to Randai in her own strange way.

  He took a deep breath and exhaled. None of that mattered anymore. Everything was different back then. He squeezed the trigger but not enough to fire the chambered round. As Randai had suspected, so many years out of the SIA had made him soft.

  He thought about Mr. Darcy, and it suddenly struck him that something felt off. Killing a lowlife official was one thing but a senior member of the Galactic Council was something else entirely. It was convenient how Mr. Darcy had omitted such details. The crime boss had probably banked on Randai not knowing who Straiya was, but then the old White Dragons leader didn’t realize that Randai had once been Straiya’s best archagent. Either way, the Minister no doubt had a full security detail nearby and security personnel posted at various points in the city. That completely changed the situation.

  On the other hand, not going through with the job meant having to deal with other repercussions…unless he shook off Cho and fled into the city. But what if they take it out on Doctor Kira?

  The question came unbidden and set his heart racing. He shook his head to clear his mind.

  Something cold pushed against the fresh scar in the back of his skull, and he winced in pain. He didn’t need to look to know that Cho held a gun to the back of his head.

  “Make that shot, Randai.”

  “I knew you were up to something.”

  “Mr. Darcy sent me to keep an eye on you, so I’m keeping an eye on you.”

  “I thought you had brains, kid…thought you were more ambitious than that…could see the bigger picture.”

  “If you’d like to keep your brains where they are, I suggest you take the shot. You’re running out of time.”

  Taza noticed the Shanti’s voice quiver a little, and he chuckled quietly. “You know what, kid? I don’t think you’ll pull that trigger.”

  “They’ll be wrapping things up soon over there. I’ll give you to the count of three. One. Two—”

  A shot rang out.

  30

  The Breach

  Clio scanned Xerocorp Labs as she lay on her front, hidden among a pile of rubble. A section of the facility’s perimeter wall had collapsed, providing a vantage point while keeping them hidden from the Chits that roved about the lab grounds. Booster also hid among the broken concrete, his black and white fur blending in almost perfectly. If not for his chewing on a ration pack, Clio wouldn’t have known he was there.

  Standing over twelve feet tall and several feet deep, the white wall ran the length of the facility’s circumference. Beyond the nearest squat building, about twenty yards away, countless other structures poked the sky. Xerocorp labs was a small city of its own.

  Bar the breach, the Marines couldn’t find any other way inside, though they suspected the Chits had bored numerous tunnels in the area.

  “I can’t believe you’ve never seen this place before,” Swigger’s voice said on the vox. He lay at the other side of the breach.

  “I’ve only made the trip to Colony 115 twice. The air strip the Bakura arrives…arrived on is north of Targos City. I rarely left the ship let alone the base.”

  Something suddenly blocked Clio’s view and she jumped. She looked up to find Booster peering through the other end of her scope. He belched. “Scoos me.”

  “Booster, get back in your bag.” She shooed him out of the way. “At least you’re learning some manners.”

  The puck climbed over her shoulder and into his field pack.

  “He won’t get in the way,” Swigger said, impersonating her. His attempt was disturbingly accurate.

  Booster growled from inside his bag.

  “Better be careful, or he might take a bite out of you when you’re not looking.” Clio scanned the large dome that dwarfed the other buildings. According to Sergeant Lynch, that was the primary lab. A faint electromagnetic shield shimmered around the immense structure. “Besides, you should focus on keeping watch until Lynch makes contact.”

  “It’s a real shame the bastards inside are still ignoring us,” Swigger said. “They’re really taking this whole top-secret thing seriously. Either that or they just don’t give a shit about the civilians.”

  “From what I’ve heard at the command briefings, even your Captain’s superiors knew very little about what goes on inside those labs.”

  “Assholes had their own fusion powered defense system and left us out here to die,” Swigger seethed.

  “Maybe the Chits got in before the shields went up and killed everyone,” Clio said. “It would explain the radio silence.”

  “I doubt that, but I guess it doesn’t matter either way since your Aegis friend’s access codes won’t get us inside.”

  “Not that Nakamura would bring the shield down even if he could. Those swarming Chits would have the main lab trashed before we could get anywhere near.”

  “That is a lot of buzzers,” he agreed. “There’s no way we’d cut through those. Not with civilians on our heels. I guess we’re lucky they’re too focused on that building to bother searching the walls.”

  “Let’s hope your Captain can come up with something before it gets dark.” According to the time on Clio’s SIG, they had a few hours of daylight left. “Do you think he’ll order us into the tunnels?”

  Swigger coughed on the vox. “No telling what’s down there. Again, it’d be too tricky with all those civilians. If we had to retreat, we’d be screwed.”

  Clio shuddered at the thought. “We may have no other choice. I should go see if they need help.”

  “Sure.” He nodded at the lab complex. “I’ve got this.”

  She clipped her rifle onto her shoulder and climbed out of the crumbled rubble.

  A Marine waved at her from behind a makeshift barrier that had been swiftly erected on arrival. Booster climbed onto her shoulder, holding onto her rifle’s butt. Clio reached up and tickled him behind the ears.

  “Don’t worry, Booster. We’ll get through this.”

  “Yisss,” he agreed, his chest puffed out.

  Clio wondered if the puck was just repeating words he’d already heard or if he genuinely thought they would be okay. For some reason, she found his confidence reassuring regardless. Clio smiled at her own foolishness and shook her head. What would a monkey know?

  “Yisss,” Booster repeated as he climbed back into his bag.

  The two guards at the command hut admitted Clio, and the door closed behind her. She was about to ask why everything was so quiet when she realized that Lynch, Nakamura, and several officers were focused intently on the radio relay.

  Nakamura held his hand up for silence.

  As she silently drew up next to him, the speakers crackled, and a low voice spoke.

  “—not as clever as the ones that attacked the city early on. Most appear to be juvenile. We believe they have lost their…direction…since the black ship left, but we can’t be certain. Lab surveillance has picked up the more mature variety, but most of those appear to have vacated the premises.” The speaker had a strange accent, making him difficult to understand.

  “As long as you’re sure the purge idea will work,” Sergeant Lynch said.

  “We’ve purged the vents several times since the invasion began. They used to ignore it, but after the black ship left, they started swarming to the thermal outlets when we discharged the waste-heat. The purge only lasts from ten to fifteen minutes
, so you’ll have to move fast.”

  “When does the next purge start?” Nakamura said.

  “There’s another window in half an hour. I’ll send you the schedule and any other system information I think you can use. I should be able to open the doors in time.”

  “What do you mean, should?” Lynch said.

  “Forgive me, Sergeant… I have to go—”

  The radio crackled.

  “Hey!” Sergeant Lynch leaned into the microphone. “Boris, are you there?”

  No one answered.

  “Dammit!” The Sergeant punched the communication equipment. “Did you get any of that, Captain?”

  “We’re already moving the civilians out of the warehouse.” Captain Kobol’s voice came across the vox. “Get your team ready. We’ll see you at the breach.”

  “Are you sure?” Lynch said. “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”

  “Boris said most of the tunnels are swarming, and it’s only a matter of time before the streets are too. The civilians are growing restless. We need to get them to safety. We don’t have any other choice.”

  “I don’t—”

  “We’ll be with you in ten. As soon as that purge sequence starts, and the Chits leave the path, we take the civilians through the breach and down the avenue like Boris said.”

  “And if the door doesn’t open?”

  “Ensign Evans will work something out. See you at the wall.”

  “Yes, sir.” Sergeant Lynch looked to Clio anxiously.

  She offered him a shrug, and his shoulders sagged.

  Captain Kobol and his troops arranged the civilians before the wall and briefed everyone about the plan while Swigger continued watching Xerocorp Labs from the breach.

  Despite her enhanced vision, Clio could barely make him out, half buried in the scree. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she waited inside the narrow perimeter the Marines had made around the civilians. As the only pilot among them, Captain Kobol had ordered her inside the lines, to be on the safe side. Eager to shoot some Chit bastards, Clio wanted to remain with the Marines on the outside, but she reluctantly complied.