Flight

by J. A. Huss

  It takes several minutes for the team to drop down and then Tier is there, smiling as he snaps off his helmet and wipes his sweaty hair away from his eyes. I let him pull me close and whisper in my ear. "I love you, Junco."

  "I love you too, Tier." I do too. I can't help it. I'm pissed at him and given the choice right now to leave or stay, I'd still probably choose to stay. But I can't change the love.

  I feel his chest expand and contract with my words and then he lets me go and turns to Gideon. "I'm coming with ya for this."

  Gid shrugs. "It's your mission. But that means Moju stays here. We can only get three by initial security, and even that's pushing it."

  Tier looks over at Moju as he puts his helmet back on and raises his visor. "He'll stay." Moju is about to protest when Tier growls, "Don't do it, Moju. I'm not in the mood. Arel, start the security protocol, and the rest of ya be ready. I'll give the signal to Ryse and you'll meet us at the appointed target. Ashur's in charge, give him shit and I'll kill ya. That was not a figure of speech. We're finishing this up and going home with those Siblings tonight."

  There's a tight yes, sir from the entire group, even Ashur, and I can only imagine what kind of dick Tier was to them while we were separated to get them all in line like that.

  Gideon nods and lifts himself up into the tunnel where the 039 and the Subs just came out of. Tier grabs my knee and gives me a leg up as Gid pulls me in with him, then Tier is up next to me and we are crawling.

  The reason why the team was so quiet coming over to our side of the tunnel is because it's concrete. "What's this shaft for anyway, Gideon? Not airflow?"

  He's out in front of me, not very far, but the walls suck up his words so I have to strain to hear with the visor open. "No, water. It leads down to the communications core and serves as an overflow channel. You know, just in case."

  "In case what?"

  He stops and looks back at me. "The fucking thing melts down and they need to pump cold water in and release the shit that's boiling."

  He turns back and continues to crawl but I stay silent.

  "It's a nuclear reactor, Junco. How the hell else do you think they power AIs?"

  That's great. So much for healthy babies.

  "Junco," Tier's voice behind me, "it's safe. We'll be long gone before it melts down and we won't be in there more than five or ten minutes tops."

  "We're gonna melt the core? What the fuck–"

  Gideon stops abruptly and my hands come down on his boots. "Just go with it, OK? We know what we're doing."

  I don't answer, I just crawl. Fucking men. They are so stupid I can't even stand it. Bring me into a nuclear reactor when I'm pregnant. Fucking assholes. I mean I understand this baby probably hasn't got a chance in hell of making it, but for fuck's sake, they could at least–

  "Pipe down in there, Junco. You're overreacting again. You lived on top of a nuclear reactor your whole fucking life and look, you're almost normal."

  "Fuck you, Gideon."

  We crawl on for several more minutes before the shaft begins to slope. It's a gentle slope, to allow the water to pool up without much pressure I suppose, but before long my shoulders are aching from the unusual stress of crawling downhill. Tier was right. This shit makes that other tunnel look spectacular.

  We go on this way for several minutes and I calculate the depth in my head for lack of better entertainment. When we stop I can hear water lapping against the side of something substantial below us. So much for not getting contaminated.

  "We're going up now, smartass." Gideon lies down on his back and grabs a tool from his pocket so he can remove the sealed door above our heads. The tool is near silent in the thick-walled concrete tunnel.

  Tier crawls up to me and sticks his face in my neck. "Yer fine, Darlin'. It's gonna work out, I promise."

  I shake him off and sit back on my butt as Gideon lowers the shaft seal and puts it aside. He kicks me to back up so he can maneuver in the tight tunnel and then he grabs something in the upper shaft and disappears inside. I sit there for a second and then Tier is pushing me to climb in.

  "Don't fucking start with me, Junco," Gideon snarls from above me. "I know goddamn well you're not really claustrophobic, so if ever there was a time to push your weird bullshit down, this would be it. Get your little ass up here. Now."

  Tier holds down a laugh behind me and I reach up and find the ladder on the inside of the shaft and start pulling myself up. Tier follows and we climb.

  For like forever.

  I am just thinking I need more calories when Gideon stops.

  "Fuck," he whispers.

  "What?" I whisper back.

  "They've got n– guard dogs."

  I laugh. Of course they have nightdogs, why wouldn't they? "You think I'm stupid, Gideon?"

  "No, OK, Junco, look, I get that you really do fear the dogs, but you're just gonna have to kill them with your SEAR so we don't set off the alarms just yet, OK? I don't have my SEAR anymore, they took it away years ago. Else I'd be happy to do it."

  Tier grabs my leg and squeezes. "It's easy, Junco. They're dogs. Ya didn't have the SEAR in the cave that time, just whack their heads off."

  "Well, their filters could pick up the SEAR, ya know. It might give us away anyway." It's wishful thinking, kinda like me hoping we wouldn't have to jump out of a spaceship from 125,000 feet.

  "Well, they could, yer right. But I doubt they thought of that. Just get up there and take them out. Here, give me yer pack so you can squeeze past Gideon."

  I take it off and hand it back to him. "Fucking gentleman, that's what you are. Thanks a lot. I cannot believe you want me to go first, ya bunch of babies." I catch Gideon sending Tier secret looks and I ram into him as I crawl up against his chest to get in front. I climb the remaining rungs and stop at the access grate and hold out my palm for the tool.

  "Just push the little–"

  "I know how to work the fucker, Gideon. Just step back and let me handle things now." I take the grate apart. It's not sealed so it comes off easily. I can hear the dog down the hallway and I wait to see what it will do.

  "Fuck, Junco. Get a move on, will ya?"

  I look down at Gideon and put a finger to my lips, then squint my eyes as I listen. I can hear it, I'm just not sure what it is I'm hearing.

  "Junco–"

  "Shut up, will you? I hear something."

  "Yeah, it's the click of toenails on concrete, just go–"

  I put my hand over his mouth. "Wait, just let me listen for a second." I climb up another rung and I lean back against Gid's chest to support myself. I listen for the click of toenails to recede and then tilt the grate and hand it down. Tier reaches up and takes it from me and I pop my head out and take a look.

  I count as I watch the haunches of a large nightdog turn around a corner several yards away and listen again. The clicking becomes inaudible, then reverses and begins to grow louder once again.

  "Give me the grate, quick."

  I take it from Tier and slant it slightly to make it fit back in place, then press my ear up to the rusted metal as far as I can.

  And wait for the paws to walk over my head.

  I look down at Gideon and smile.

  "What?" he whispers.

  The memories flood back in a deluge and I exhale as my grin spreads across my face. "You remember that job we did in Prague?"

  His eyes glow and I enjoy his smile when he realizes what just happened.

  "What the hell are ya talkin' about, Junco?"

  I look down at Tier. "We grew up together, Tier. I'd forgotten all of it until today. But that sound, those toenails on the concrete. We did this job in Prague once and they had these nightdogs for security."

  I look over at Gideon and he's still smiling.

  "Except they weren't nightdogs, Tier. They were Slightdogs."

  He shakes his head. "What the fuck's a slight dog?"

  "Holograms," Gideon replies, "to make you use your weapon and kill them. That's what
triggers the security. No food, no mess, yet still effective. Unless of course, you grew up in Stag Camp."

  "How do ya know, Junco? I mean, how can ya tell?"

  "The company that makes them, RubeTech? They put these little ID markers on their paws, little biometric pads. And when they walk, if you know what to listen for, you can hear them. Listen."

  I put my fingers up and count the beats as the paws come in contact with the concrete. "There. Did you hear it?"

  He nods. "OK, so now what?"

  "We can ignore them, as long as we don't touch them. Where do we go from here, Gid?"

  He points a finger. "Up, straight up. There's another grate. We just need to open it and climb in."

  I look up. "He's on a thirty-second round-trip loop, so that means once he crosses the grate we have fifteen seconds before we need to be out of the way. Someone needs to go up the ladder and open the grate."

  "I'll go." Gid inches up towards me and when he's even with my face he smiles. "Welcome back, Snowbird."

  More memories flood into me. "You named me that?"

  He laughs. "I did."

  The Slightdog makes its way towards us again and I hand him the tool so he can get ready. "Tier, you count."

  Gid hands me the grate and climbs up out of the shaft. He kneels on the concrete and begins taking the next grate apart.

  "Five seconds."

  Gid drops in again and I push the grate back up as the Slightdog passes over us.

  "Go."

  He's up, working furiously, and then his grate is off.

  "Five seconds. Go up, Gideon."

  Gid climbs up and waits as I push our grate above me just as the paws pass over.

  I take my pack and go up the next trip, and Tier follows me after, placing the grate over the hole as Gideon hauls him up to get him out of the dog's way.

  I'm in front this time so I just climb. When I reach the end there's no ceiling grate like last time, instead we have two options, left and right.

  "Which way, Gideon?"

  "Right, Junco. The next grate will be on the floor and it'll look down over the AI core. The AI dock is up at the top, so all you gotta do is drop down a little and hover, or whatever, hold on to the rigging and start the download. The security is tight in there, I mean tight. Which is why we could only have three people, they measure the temperature of the room at all times and with three extra bodies we'll be raising it significantly within seconds. We're gonna be fighting real quick, and then the whole thing will lock down."

  "So how do we get back out?" I'm not liking the sound of this plan. We're fucked.

  "Down into the cooling pond. Then we'll climb back up the inclined shaft we came down."

  "You want me to swim in a radioactive pond?"

  Tier interjects, "You won't have ta swim, Junco. Trust us. You just take care of Sera, we'll do the rest."

  "Whatever." I take a deep sigh. There's nothing can be done, so fuck it. I crawl past the floor grate and stop so Gideon can remove it. When he's done he hands it back to Tier.

  "Wait, how the hell do I download Sera? What do I do?"

  Sera is next to me then and I almost scream. "Shit, fucking get some manners, Sera. You don't scare people like that."

  She ignores my outburst. "There's a biometric panel on the access panel, just touch it and I'll do the rest."

  She starts to dissolve but I panic. "Wait, what about the AI in there now?"

  She smiles sweetly. "I'm gonna kill her, Junco. Just let me worry about her." And then she's gone.

  I look over at Tier. "You guys go first, then I'll drop in behind you."

  "You'll be fine, Junco. We'll be on the ground getting access to the ponds, you just concentrate on your job and let us take care of the rest. When we get visitors, you stay where you are. Do not join in unless you're done."

  I nod. "You better be right."

  He drops down and hovers next to the AI. Gideon slips his legs through and I almost panic as I remember he's got no wings, but Tier grabs him with his talons and they float to the ground and get busy.

  I drop down and hover in front of the core. It's a tangle of metal pipes, cooling tubes, and whirring machines that stretches from floor to ceiling. I look down and study the grates that surround the core as Tier and Gideon begin working on releasing them with the tool.

  Any time now, Junco.

  My attention snaps back to Sera and I grab a pipe and slide my feet across the surface until I find a lip for each to perch on. My wings stop waving and I am still.

  Where?

  Climb, Junco. You must be on top.

  My left foot searches for something, anything to allow me to pull up and when I find it I waste no time and begins searching on the right side as well.

  All the way to the top, Junco, So you're looking down on the core.

  When I reach it I see the biometric pad and slam my left hand down. "This what you needed?"

  Yes, but I need a drop of blood too, Junco. Just a tiny drop to extract the code.

  "You never said anything about blood–"

  Now, Junco. The alarms will sound any second.

  I spy a sharp edge of metal and swipe my forearm across it until I bleed. "Where?"

  Under your palm.

  I remove my left palm from the pad and slap it across the blood, then put it back. A progress bar appears in my vision screen and I watch it grow as the data flows.

  The download starts and I almost fall back writhing in pain as the synapses in my brain begin firing uncontrollably.

  You're going to kill me! Holy shit, that hurts!

  Relax, Junco. It will subside, just relax.

  I do, I try my best, really. I close my eyes as I cling to the machine and start counting breaths until I feel the pain lessen and the pressure inside my head begins to leak out into the core. I never realized how much she filled me up, I feel empty by comparison.

  "Get a fucking move on, Junco, the temperature's rising–" Gideon's voice is cut off as the alarms sound and there is a thunderous rumble when the cooling cells come online.

  "Almost done – like thirty seconds."

  "Now, Junco. Leave her, just come–"

  The shaft above me slams closed with a crash as a shower of red light shoots down from the ceiling and encapsulates the core.

  "What the fuck just happened?"

  I hear myself, but that's about it. All the alarms are silent and everything happening on the other side of the red curtain is cut off from my world. I remove my palm from the biometric pad. "Sera, what the–"

  Just finish, Junco. I'll tell you what to do to get out. Just finish it, please.

  I stick my palm back on and a flame erupts but I no longer have control and it stays there, burning. "Fucking shit, Sera – stop! You're burning me!" I feel her climbing around in my brain, taking things and leaving me nothing but empty places. "Stop!"

  And then Isten is there in my head too, all three of us fighting for access to my brain. He's powerful, but Sera cannot be stopped. I feel a build-up of pressure inside me and my head wants to explode.

  And then it does. Or something does because my ears are on fire. Not burning, like a figure of speech, but literally on fire. I unsnap the helmet and throw it to the ground, frantically swatting away the sparks that have now fried my coms for good.

  "You fucking bitch! You're trying to kill me!"

  Junco, pull off now!

  I can't, Isten, she has my palm! I'll rip the skin.

  Pull off! Pull off!

  I pull and then go careening backwards as she releases me, smashing into the barrier where an electric current attempts to grab hold of my body and burn it to shriveled toast. My armor holds and I pull away, but my wings are scorched and they flail in the small space as I swim the air currents and grab hold of the core again.

  Isten is gone and only Sera remains.

  Calm down, Junco! You're going to ruin everything! I said I'd help you, now stop it!

  "You're hurting me
! You're stealing from me!"

  I'm going to put it back, you stupid child! Now let me do my job or you'll kill everyone!

  I feel her filling me up again and I relax a little.

  See?

  Well, a little explanation goes a long way.

  The metal security barrier on the shaft we came down whisks open again with a satisfying snick.

  I have disabled the electrical security in the upper shaft so you will simply leave the way you came. I'm done, thank you, Junco. You have fulfilled your obligations to me.

  What was in my blood? Why did you need it?

  Nanotech that I built and you were holding for me, that's it. It was not yours to keep, understand? But it is still inside of you, so you may use it if you need to. Now I must go and disable the defenses so Ryse won't be shot out of the sky. You have ninety minutes before the core explodes. Gideon has set a charge.

  I stand there holding onto the core, blinking at her words. Then I barely prevent myself from slipping off when the ground shakes and the machines around me begin to flash and squeal with protest.

  Ryse hit something out there. The battle has started without me!

  "Climb, you stupid girl! Climb or you will meet your destiny burned and disfigured." The voice booms out of the walls somewhere and snaps me back to my senses.

  I climb back up towards the vent in the ceiling and then jump and grab hold of the swinging grate and pull myself up into the shaft. Then it hits me – I'm missing my AI and cut off from Tier, Isten, and Gideon.

  Alone. I'm all alone.

  I scurry up the rungs and I feel it.

  This is how it's supposed to be.

  I smile and adjust one more time. And then I'm back.

  I am just Junco and I feel invincible.

  Chapter Thirty

  I climb into the shaft and crawl as fast as I can towards the hole we came out of. I stop there, listening. If Tier and Gideon got out this is where they'd try and find me. "Tier?" I quiet my breathing and listen, but all I hear is the tell-tale sound of boiling water.

  Shit! That was quick.

  They're both grown men, they'll have to get out of this without my help. I forgo climbing down, that's a trap if ever there was one with that water getting hot. I'm staying up here even though I have no idea where I am.