Messenger

by James Walker

  Vic froze, paralyzed by the creature's one-eyed gaze. It was not looking at his suit. It could see right through his suit. It was looking at him. No, even that was not accurate: It was looking into him.

  Vic felt like he was being pulled through the hull of his suit into the empty blackness of the pupil that lay in the center of that eye. The deepest recesses of his mind were laid bare before its gaze. Thoughts entered his mind unbidden; thoughts that were not his, yet he was experiencing them all the same; a cacophony of thoughts like ten thousand voices shouting in an auditorium, threatening to smother his own consciousness. His mind was being invaded. The sensation was hideously violating.

  He was overcome with nausea. Unable to contain it, he vomited stomach juices all over his console, then began to retch. He let out an agonized cry and clawed at his head, begging the ten thousand voices to be silent.

  *

  Lambda stared at Target Charlie's occupant in confusion. The creature inside the stasis pod was human, and yet not human. She struggled to understand where it had originated from. Could it have been a product of Theran genetic engineering? To what purpose?

  Then she returned her attention to the enemy suit that was so stubbornly trying to kill her. It seemed to have ceased its struggles for some reason. That made her task easy. She would finish it off, then retrieve the target and return to field headquarters.

  She pushed the now-inert suit off her own, picked one of her swords up off the ground, and flicked its tip through the enemy's canopy. The enemy suit fell onto its back and lay still. Lambda stood over its fallen form and positioned her sword for the finishing blow.

  Then she froze.

  She could see the enemy suit's pilot through the hole her blade had opened in the canopy. She recognized him. He was one of those who had come to her and Omicron's rescue when the P.S.A. agents had attempted to kill them. So Omicron had been right; they were members of SLIC, after all. The pilot seemed to be having some kind of seizure, writhing in his seat as though in great pain.

  Lambda's hand shook as she struggled not to plunge her sword through the cockpit. Enemy or no, she had no desire to kill this young man who had saved her life. None whatsoever. So then why was it taking every ounce of her will not to drive her sword through his body?

  The mission. Her primary mission was to retrieve the target. As Lambda shifted her attention back to the creature in the stasis pod, she felt her urge to kill the young SLIC pilot lessening. Upon realizing this, she banished all thoughts of her opponent from her mind and focused entirely on her objective. Yes—the mission came first. Even be­fore the directive to kill all enemies of the Union.

  Finally, she stepped away from the fallen enemy suit and used the tip of her sword to slice open the canvas covering the target. She extended her suit's free hand toward the cluster of machinery, intending to grab the target.

  A woman in a hazmat suit ran forward and stood between Lambda and the target. She spread her arms wide and stood her ground resolutely, refusing to budge.

  Another interference to be removed.

  Lambda brushed the woman aside, then grabbed the target in her hand. It offered no resistance. With utmost care, she wrapped her suit's fingers around the creature's torso, then pulled it gently to her suit's chest and opened the canopy.

  There it was, cradled in the hand of her exosuit. It was such a delicate-looking creature. It stared at Lambda through wide eyes, its mouth slightly agape. It had the expression of a creature who was beholding the world for the first time and was bewildered by everything it saw.

  Lambda leaned forward and reached out one hand while keeping her other hand on the controls. The creature tentatively extended its own hand and brushed against Lambda's fingertips. Lambda grabbed it by the wrist, then simultaneously opened the fingers of her exosuit's hand and pulled the creature into the cockpit with her.

  She closed the canopy and arranged the creature so it sat comfortably on her lap. It stared at her face through her visor, its expression full of wonder and curiosity. Lambda realized she would have to avoid combat while she had the target in the cockpit with her. She activated her suit's thrusters at low output and rose through the hole in the ceil­ing, maneuvering slowly so as not to jar the extra passenger.

  As Lambda rose into the warehouse and landed lightly on the ground, a squad of infantry appeared in the entrance and opened fire on her. She forced them to take cover with backwash from her thrusters, then ran out of the warehouse and leapt into the air. With one final burst from her thrusters, she took to the open sky and set a course for field headquarters.

  *

  Vic watched helplessly as the enemy suit took off with the Cage's former occupant. Although the cacophony inside his mind had gone silent, he was too weak to do anything but reach out his hand and grasp at the air as the enemy vanished through the hole in the roof.

  “Don't go,” he whispered. “Don't leave when we've only just met. I don't even know your name.”

  Then he lost consciousness.

  FIFTH MESSAGE: SHACKLES ~ IT IS ONLY AN ILLUSION, IT IS NOTHING

  34

  Lambda rocketed over the rooftops of the battle zone until she reached the armored vehicle that served as the T.U. Spacy mobile command center, located well behind the battle lines. She circled to slow her suit to a stationary hover, then descended until she touched down gently on the street. Whatever this three-eyed creature in her lap was, it looked extremely fragile, and she did not want to subject it to any undue g-forces or jarring impacts, especially without restraints.

  As soon as Lambda touched down, she opened a channel to the command center. Koga's face appeared instantly in the corner of her viewscreen.

  “Situation report, Lieutenant. Were you able to—” His eyes widened as he noticed the creature in the cockpit with her. “Saris' Eyes, what is that thing?”

  “Sir,” Lambda said. “I was able to penetrate to where the rebels were keeping Target Charlie. They succeeded in opening it at the same time I arrived. This girl was the contents. I decided that taking her in my exosuit would be the most efficient way to complete my mission.”

  “What is it?” Koga breathed.

  “I don't know, sir. She hasn't made any attempt to communicate. I'm not sure that she understands Forth.”

  Koga paused. “Keep it in the cockpit with you until we're out of the battle zone.” He terminated the transmission.

  A rocket fired from a launcher on the side of the mobile command center, arced over the industrial sector, and exploded into a bloom of green lights. Lambda recognized the withdrawal signal.

  One by one, the Spacy units withdrew from the battlefield and congregated around the mobile command center. First came the marines' infantry squads and battle drones. Then several armored personnel carriers that the Spacy forces had commandeered from the P.S.A. de­fenders rolled onto the street, and the marines began boarding them. Finally, Omicron's Ghost appeared, along with Ridley's custom Ram­part, which was missing an arm.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Ridley exclaimed over the comm, not bothering to open a private channel to the command center. “Just when the enemy starts folding, you order a full retreat? We've got them on the ropes. All we need is one last push!”

  “We've accomplished our mission,” Koga replied. “There's no reason for us to remain in this area. We're pulling out.”

  “What about the rebels?” Ridley demanded.

  “They're your problem now.”

  With that, the mobile command center executed a three-point turn and proceeded away from the battlefield, followed by the A.P.C.s and the augments' exosuits. Ridley's Rampart watched them leave in silence, the pilot's silent rage almost palpable through the suit's expressionless visage.

  *

  The Spacy forces pulled back to an airfield located on the border between Hongpan's inner and outer districts. An enormous cargo plane waited for them on the runway. Under Koga's direction, the marines disembarked from the A.P.C.s and en
tered the cargo plane via the loading ramp. After everyone else was aboard, Lambda and Omicron walked their suits up the ramp into the plane's warehouse-like interior and found sets of foot clamps. They stepped onto the clamps to lock their suits into place and lowered them into kneeling position. The ramp slowly folded up and closed with an echoing clang, momentarily plunging the plane's interior into even deeper darkness. Then several rows of lights flashed on, flooding the plane with dim illumination.

  Lambda broke the airtight seal on her helmet and pulled it off, a light rain of sweat coming with it. The three-eyed girl looked at her curiously. She opened her mouth and uttered a few incoherent sounds; then, to Lambda's surprise, she began to speak, albeit haltingly.

  “Who are you?”

  Lambda stared at the girl in surprise, then answered automatically, “Lieutenant Lambda, T.U. Spacy, currently assigned to the T.U.S.S. Onyx Down.”

  The girl blinked, then said, “Soldier.”

  Lambda almost laughed. “Well, they more typically call Spacy troops sailors, based on some old Theran custom, but yes. Who are you?”

  The girl pointed to a three-digit number printed on her medical gown over a starkly asymmetrical chest. “Experimental subject 778.”

  Lambda looked sadly at the girl. “But do you have a name?”

  The girl paused. “I think they gave me a nickname. Astral.”

  “Astral?” Lambda pored through her memories. “Wasn't that the courier of Saris, the deity from old Theran legend?”

  Astral shook her head. “I don't know. They didn't include that information in my knowledge base.”

  Lambda's curiosity continued to grow. “Who is 'they'?”

  “They called themselves scientists. I never saw them, but I could sense them sometimes. I didn't want to know any more about them. They frightened me.”

  “What were—”

  A loud whine reverberated through the cockpit as the cargo plane revved up its engines for takeoff. Astral looked around in alarm and grabbed hold of Lambda, who once again nearly laughed at her passenger's reaction.

  “It's OK.” She held Astral close. “The plane is about to take off. Just keep holding me tight, like this, until the acceleration stops.”

  Astral squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in Lambda's shoulder while the plane accelerated for takeoff and began climbing. Or at least, her two human eyes closed. The one in her forehead remained open, looking lazily from side to side, staring off into nothingness. It seemed almost to have a will of its own, separate from the body that served as its host.

  Soon, the plane leveled off and reached constant velocity. Astral's death grip on Lambda relaxed and she pulled her face away from her shoulder.

  “See? Nothing to be frightened of.” Lambda gave Astral a reassuring smile. “Why don't we get out of this exosuit? It's kind of cramped in here.”

  Astral turned to look at the dead viewscreens, her third eye sweeping back and forth with unusual vigor. “There's a lot of people out there, aren't there?”

  “Yes,” Lambda said, “but don't worry, they won't hurt you. We're all here to protect you.”

  Astral turned to look at Lambda, her eyes wide. “Are you sure?”

  Lambda paused. Astral perplexed her in a variety of ways. Although small—even smaller than Lambda—Astral obviously had the body of an adult female. Yet many of her mannerisms were so childish, like she had virtually no life experiences to draw upon.

  No life experiences. The thought gave Lambda pause.

  “I—I'm sure,” she answered finally. At the very least, she could say with confidence that she and her comrades would give their lives in Astral's defense. After everything Spacy had authorized to ensure her re­covery, they would brook no harm to this prize.

  “OK, then,” Astral said reluctantly.

  Lambda opened the cockpit's hatch and climbed out first, then turned around and held out her hand. Astral accepted her hand and gingerly climbed out of the cockpit, flinching as her bare feet came in contact with the cold floor. Then she looked up and gasped at the sight of the marines crowding around to get a better look at her. She ran behind Lambda and clung to her back, peering out from behind the taller woman at the marines. Curious whispers rippled through the crowd.

  “Is that what was being held inside the target?”

  “She has three eyes.”

  “Do you think she's the result of some kind of experiment?”

  “What's the point of giving someone a third eye? Two work just fine.”

  “There's obviously more to it than that, you idiot.”

  Lambda brought the whispers short by barking out, “All right, that's enough. You're scaring her. Break it up.”

  “Don't be like that, Lieutenant,” one of the marines said. “We're not going to hurt her. We just want to see what it is our friends died to recover.”

  “Well, now you've seen her,” Lambda replied. “You know as much about her as anyone. Now break it up, I said. That's an order.”

  “Yeah, man.” Another marine put a hand on his comrade's shoulder. “The poor thing's terrified. Let's give her some space. Besides, the brass might not like it if we ask too many questions. Know what I mean?”

  As the marines broke up, Omicron emerged from his Ghost and made his way over to Lambda and Astral. Astral shrank further behind Lambda, peering out from behind her shoulder at the towering augment.

  “Man.” Omicron looked down at Astral with disdain. “You mean we went to all this trouble for some kid?”

  “She's not really a kid,” Lambda replied, “though she acts like one.” She looked over her shoulder at Astral and said, “You can come out from behind me. I told you, no one here is going to hurt you.”

  Astral shook her head vigorously, her curtain of silver hair flapping back and forth with the motion.

  “Oh, geez.” Omicron sighed, then turned his attention to Lambda. “So, you were the one to recover the target, huh? It was just good luck that you were able to cut through the small fry while I kept their ace busy on the other side, you know.”

  “Thanks for the support,” Lambda replied.

  “Don't take it so seriously. I was just giving you shit.” Omicron held out his hand. “Good job, partner. Guess we showed 'em how Chi strain does things, didn't we?”

  Surprised, Lambda accepted Omicron's hand and gave it a firm shake. “Yeah, I guess we did.”

  All three of them turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. Commander Koga came up to them and gave Lambda a curt nod.

  “Well done, Lieutenant,” he said. “I got these from the corpsman. I imagine you'll be needing them about now.” He held out several pills of linkage fluid counteragent.

  Lambda and Omicron accepted the pills and swallowed them hurriedly. “Yes, sir,” Lambda replied. “Thank you, Commander.”

  “Right, then.” Koga looked at Astral. “I'll be taking custody of the target now.”

  Lambda extracted Astral from behind her and gave the girl a gentle push. “This is Commander Koga. You can go with him now. He'll take good care of you.”

  Reluctantly, Astral took a couple of steps toward the commander. Then she paused and slowly turned to look over her shoulder at Lambda. Her expression had changed completely. Instead of a frightened and confused young woman, Lambda now found herself facing a deep, scrutinizing stare, full of forbidden knowledge. Astral's third eye was no longer staring off in random directions, but was fixed firmly on Lambda's face.

  “You don't belong here,” Astral said, her voice flat.

  Lambda was so surprised by the change in Astral's demeanor that she could only stammer in reply, “What?”

  “Here,” Astral said, “I'll show you.”

  Before anyone could react, Astral returned to Lambda and placed a hand on her forehead. Lambda cried out and fell to her knees, clutching her head in pain.

  “Hey!” Omicron took a step toward Astral. “What the hell did you do to my partner?”

  Astral looked
up at Omicron with contempt. “You're so quick to anger because your spirit is weak.”

  Omicron's face twisted in rage. “The hell? I'm asking what you did to my partner, you smarmy little brat.”

  Astral stood her ground. “You can threaten me, but I'm not scared. Because you're weak.”

  “Stand down, Lieutenant.” Koga hurried to stand between Omicron and Astral, then turned and shouted orders to the marines. “You two, come and take the target into custody. Under no circumstances are you to harm her in any way, but keep her far away from the rest of the unit. Medic, come take a look at Lieutenant Lambda.”

  Astral offered no further comment or resistance as two marines came forward and escorted her deeper into the plane. At the same time, a medic hurried forward and knelt next to Lambda.

  “What's wrong, Lieutenant?” he asked. “Where does it hurt?”

  “M—my head,” Lambda gasped.

  The medic gave her a quick examination. Once he was finished, he stood up, helped her to her feet, and turned to Koga and Omicron.

  “I can't find anything wrong with her,” he said. “She'll need a more thorough examination than I can give her with the instruments I have on-hand.”

  “It's OK,” Lambda said. “The pain is already starting to fade. I'm fine. I don't think she meant me any harm.”

  “I can't believe we went to all this trouble for that mouthy little brat,” Omicron said. “Let's hurry up and deliver her back to H.Q. so we can kiss this lousy mission goodbye.”

  “That's exactly what we're going to do, Lieutenant,” Koga said. “Once we recovered the target, Commodore Falsrain ordered me to take it to Fort Spriggan and hold it there until he joins us personally. We'll be at the base in a couple of hours. The two of you should rest up while you can.”

  Omicron and Lambda found a pair of free seats and sat down. Lambda let out a long breath and cupped her face in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees.