by C. C. Ekeke
The Ciphereen nodded and faded from sight. The closet door sliding open and closed marked his departure. That left Sam, Addison, and Stronghold. “Freerunner, tell me you found the Korvenite virus and its copies.”
Addison, typing furiously on a holoscreen projected from a wall console, glanced over her shoulder. The closet’s halolights glinted off her translucent yellow visor. “Found the virus and which Children of Earth outposts received a copy.”
Sam gaped at her, surprised and elated. “Fantastic!” she exclaimed.
“Before you throw a parade, consider this,” Addison held up her finger for emphasis. “The database housing the virus is in a physical location.” That notion visibly amused her. “And the encryption layers cannot be broken remotely. At least not in enough time. We must be in this base’s actual location to access.”
“Fuuuck!” Sam threw her head back in frustration, causing her sleek ponytail to spill between her shoulder blades. She had planned on Raichoudry destroying the virus remotely while Stronghold and she freed any Korvenite captives. Small setback, she reassured herself. Destroying that virus took top priority.
The sounds of screams, explosions, and crackling electricity seeped through the walls. Bevrolor and Surje were going to work.
“Stronghold. Found any more Korvenites?”
The Ubruqite looked up from his datapad. “At least thirty in this station’s northeastern section.”
Sam didn’t like that answer. “Too many to transmat onto Ishliba,” she decided.
“The virus is in the same location.” Addison tapped the side of her visor, which streamed lines of data.
“Oh.” Sam allowed herself a smile. Very convenient. Or dangerous, if those Korvenites were already infected. “Security systems?”
“Military-grade hovermechs for sure,” Addison said, scratching at one of three tight buns holding her hair up. “Anything else, I’m uncertain until we get there.”
Sam hated that answer. But the chronometer was ticking. “Freerunner, once you teleport us over, focus on destroying that virus while Stronghold and I handle Korvenites and any resistance. Understood?”
“Understood,” Stronghold repeated.
“Hold on.” Addison offered both Sam and Stronghold a hand. Both Brigadiers did as requested. VVVMP! Sam felt the world zoom forward around her, sound and fury—a much different, more unsettling experience than regular transmatting.
Instants later, they appeared in a bright, sterile lab. Sam whipped her head about in purposeful sweeps. She counted eleven human technicians or scientists in lab coats stationed at consoles. Half a dozen obsidian-sheathed hovermechs, bulky and menacing, floated overhead. Further into the lab, she spotted a dozen and a half Korvenites imprisoned behind forcefields, slumped and hopeless. Sam hardened her heart to them and focused on the immediate threats.
Three Brigadiers appearing out of thin air drew everyone’s attention.
A chorus of panic rang out, along with another blaring alarm.
“Stronghold, handle those hovermechs,” Sam shouted over the chaos. “Freerunner, get—” She raised her hand to discharge a fireball, which she’d done innumerable times. Nothing happened. Sam focused a moment to rocket up into the air. No heat drafts roiled off her body. Nothing. Sam gaped at her unlit hand. “What the—?” She turned to Addison, whose bafflement mirrored her own.
“I can’t teleport,” the slicer gasped, coppery complexion paling. “Must be a maximum dampening field.”
“Shit.” This was a nasty little surprise from the Children of Earth. “Find cover!” Sam whirled to run for safety. The hovermechs swarmed from all sides, a bright orange circle appearing on each one’s face.
Sam blanched. Heat lasers. Those could cut through any hiding place around here. And they were powerless, with nowhere to run. On instinct, she grabbed Addison and threw them both to the ground.
Every hovermech fired at once. A blistering hailstorm streaked toward the interlopers. Sam winced when hearing the blaster fire strike true.
But not her or Addison. She looked up. Stronghold hunched his armored body over the two women, a forcefield from his body armor protecting them all.
“God bless you, Stronghold,” Sam exclaimed breathlessly. The barrage continued, and she knew Stronghold’s forcefield wouldn’t last forever. And by then these technicians would be long gone. “Freerunner—”
“On it, before you threw me onto the ground,” Addison sniped, her visor awash with datastreams. “Disabled the hovermechs. And transmaterialization from this lab.”
Sam no longer heard blaster fire, only a collective clanking noise as every hovermech collectively dropped to the floor. They were all useless junk.
“Nice.” Sam drew a small cobalt-blue pulse pistol from each combat boot. Always come prepared. “Find that virus. Then disable this goddamn dampening field.” She looked up at Stronghold. Curls of smoke rose from his armor, but he looked mostly unharmed. “Let’s greet our friends.”
The Ubruqite rocketed into the air. Addison darted away as Sam stood up. She found half the lab techs and scientists typing feverishly at their workstations. The other half wielded massive repeater pulse rifles, aiming for Sam and Stronghold.
Sam’s throat tightened. With powers, this would be a cakewalk. That didn’t stop her from firing off several rounds. She nailed one scientist in the neck, another through the chest. As they crumpled, their CoE counterparts retaliated with searing volleys.
Sam dove for cover behind a desk, crouching low to avoid stray blasts. Who knew where Addison had disappeared to? “Stronghold—”
“On them,” he replied from up high.
On the other end, she saw Addison in action. The slicer dash-vaulted over a lab table, double-dropkicking a scientist’s chest before he could draw his weapon. Hitting the floor with a forward roll, Addison sprang forward into an upside-down spin kick, cracking two more armed scientists across the faces. They dropped like sacks of meat. Raichoudry landed in a crouch.
Sam marveled at her teammate before firing more rounds from behind her desk cover. Terrible attitude notwithstanding, Raichoudry was multi-talented. Sam tapped her wristcom, contacting her XO. “Hightower, talk to me.”
“The hangar bay ships are all wrecked,” the Nubrideen rumbled. Booming explosions and the crackle of Surje’s electricity filled the background. “Cleaning up the CoE operatives in or around the hangar bay. Need backup?”
“Not yet,” Sam replied. She popped up from behind the table, squeezed off a few blasts, and ducked to avoid the blazing return fire. “Finish up first.”
The field commander switched channels to Jan’Hax. “Incognito, I know you can’t talk. So ping me your status.” She could hear the screams of CoE lab techs as Stronghold blasted his way through them. Within nanoclics, Jan’Hax’s status appeared. “Bombs planted in designated sections. Awaiting orders.”
Sam savored a smug grin. “Get to safety and blow shit up.”
Instants later, several consecutive rumbles rocked the starbase all over. Then, silence. Sam popped up and saw bodies everywhere, dark red human blood splattered across the lab floors. Stronghold hovered overhead and gave a salute. Gallows humor, that one. Sam returned the salute. Her gaze landed on Addison facing a wall on the lab’s other end, typing away.
“Freerunner,” Sam approached. “Status?”
Addison turned, annoyed by the inquiry. “Located the virus formula in the database. Where were you?”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Trying to not die.”
“Want it destroyed?” Addison asked.
Sam tapped a finger on her chin. She was tempted, but if an antidote was needed… “Grab it. Can you erase it from this base’s databanks and torch copies already sent out?”
Addison scoffed as if asked the dumbest question ever. “Have you met me, Heatstroke?”
“Unfortunately,” Sam snarked. “Handle the virus first, then kill this dampening field on our powers.” Not having access to her pyrokinesis gi
fts felt like losing her eyesight. Not that she couldn’t operate without them. But pyrokinesis was an extension of herself in every way. She shrugged the anxiety off as best as she could. “Stronghold. Let’s check on these Korvenites.”
Sam approached the cell holding the Korvenites as Stronghold landed in front of them.
As soon as he landed, two large blurs rushed from behind the cells and tackled the Ubruqite.
Sam jerked back, surprised to see Stronghold’s attackers were a pair of burly humans. Or that either was strong enough to tousle with him. Dressed in black body armor, they pounded the Ubruqite with bare fists and kept him grounded.
“No.” Addison’s naked concern drew Sam’s eye. “Antaean supersoldiers, human cyborgs. Enhanced strength, durability, and speed among other attributes. Didn’t know that program was up and running.”
The term “supersoldier” sent a familiar shudder through Sam. “Find the virus,” she ordered. “I’ll deal with this other supersoldier.”
Addison’s features hardened. “But you won’t—”
“GO,” Sam barked. She cocked both pulse pistols and started shooting. The blasts startled the soldiers but didn’t slow them. One supersoldier whipped around on Sam, fair-skinned with a crewcut brown hair. His square-jawed face was blank.
He’s a mindless puppet. Sam clenched her teeth and kept firing.
The soldier hopped off Stronghold, his empty stare never leaving Sam. The body shots barely staggered him, but his armored forearms swiftly blocked any head shots.
With that, Stronghold exploded up into the air while wrestling the supersoldier pounding on him. The combatants soon crashed through a table, crushing it.
Sam had her hands full with this mindless supersoldier closing the distance between them, swinging deadly fists. Sam juked around his blows, giving a lot of ground. Even at close range, her pulse pistols were useless, except…
She swung one pistol. The supersoldier blocked with a cast-iron forearm. She lashed out with the other.
He quickly blocked that too. So Sam dropped low, ramming a pistol against the supersoldier’s crotch and firing twice.
He gave a choked grunt and doubled over.
“You can feel pain.” Sam holstered both guns and popped upright with a burst of hard elbow and knee strikes to this supersoldier’s chest and abdomen. Tight, vicious blows courtesy of practicing the Kedri martial art HriiJii.
Those strikes would cripple most humans. To Sam’s surprise, this mindless soldier was barely driven backward. Plus, from Sam, hitting this wall of muscle and metal hurt. “Freerunner?” she called impatiently.
“Working on it,” Raichoudry called back from afar, keying furiously at a massive holoscreen.
Glancing left, Sam spied Stronghold still tangled with his own Antaean supersoldier, but appearing to have the upper hand.
Let’s end this. Sam came sailing in with a straight right—which the soldier caught with ease. As intended. Grabbing his wrist for leverage, she swung both legs up to dropkick the soldier’s face, snapping his head back. Sam used the momentum to yank her fist free while wrapping her thighs around the soldier’s head. Bridging her torso up, the Brigadier slammed a hard elbow into his jaw once, twice, three times, several more times until hearing a loud crack. Then Sam squeezed off three pulse blasts pointblank to the face, bridging herself backward to leg-toss the soldier overhead.
The supersoldier landed on the back of his neck with a stomach-turning thud. He staggered upright in moments, zombie-blank face bearing only dark blast marks.
“Seriously?” Sam shook her head in disbelief, yet charged again. Crouching low, she drew a knife handle from her right arm sleeve. Flicking a button, a glowing white laser blade sprouted from the handle.
Sam rushed at the mountainous supersoldier with zigzagging slashes to the thighs and stomach, cutting deep through body armor and flesh like cake. An upward thrust sliced an angry red line across his chest. Stabbing the side of his muscular bull neck produced a gushing red fountain. The soldier wobbled and collapsed to a knee, gasping. Sam yanked her laserknife out, then swung down in a flashing arc toward his right eye.
He caught her wrist before the deathblow and twisted. Sam grunted in pain, going limp to avoid a broken forearm. The laserknife slipped from her tender fingers, clattering uselessly to the ground.
The supersoldier grabbed Sam’s throat with his free hand and lurched upright, hoisting her into the air like a small child. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe. Her limbs quickly began losing sensation. Blood pooled around the supersoldier’s feet from half a dozen nasty lacerations. Yet this bastard remained strong enough to strangle her.
He squeezed tighter. Sam choked, eyelids fluttering, everything fogging over. The field commander was helpless, suffocating and out of options…
Until the supersoldier’s knees buckled, forcing him to relax his grasp on her throat.
Sam dropped to a crouch and punted him away, gasping greedy amounts of air.
The supersoldier was kneeling, blood spurting from his mouth and the stab wounds Sam had caused. Those empty eyes staring back, he reached for her throat again.
VVMP! Out of nowhere, Sam saw Addison’s petite frame mount the supersoldier’s back. Her legs wrapped around his waist, she slammed both fists into the sides of his neck. Sam heard a sharp crackle as the supersoldier spasmed violently from Addison’s shock knuckles. Sam’s mouth fell open as this supersoldier not only didn’t go down, but slowly rose to his feet.
Then Addison slapped a chokehold on him from behind. VVMMP!
The supersoldier pitched forward—minus a head—fountaining dark blood from its neck stump. Sam scrambled away right before his massive body hit the floor.
Addison’s powers are back. Meaning Sam’s were too. She pointed at the supersoldier’s body, torching it with a long gold and yellow jet. Relief washed over her as fire quickly consumed the body.
A loud snap spun her around. Stronghold stood with armor dented and helmet screen cracked, but he stood victorious. The Antaean he’d fought lay at his feet, head twisted 180 degrees in the opposite direction. The smoking hole Stronghold had blasted through his chest clearly helped too. The supersoldier’s stare was as lifeless as when he lived.
Strewn everywhere were the lifeless bodies of CoE scientists. Brilliant minds dedicated to hate.
What a waste. Sam regarded them disdainfully. Stronghold gave another sharp salute, making her guffaw.
Sam turned to catch Addison toss aside the supersoldier’s head, which dripped blood from the neck. “Nice move, there.”
Addison shrugged with her usual pomposity. “Reign’s a good teacher.”
Sam scowled, ignoring the comment. “And the virus?”
“Destroyed except for our copy,” Raichoudry bragged. “I also corrupted all copies sent to other CoE outposts. And I logged those locations for upcoming raids. Aaaand,” she puffed out her chest like some peacock, “I disabled the field dampening our powers.”
For once, Sam welcomed Addison’s boasting. “I figured.” She shook her left wrist to get the blood flowing again. The two women exchanged a look of mutual respect. “There’s hope for Freerunner yet,” she muttered, and tapped her wristcom. “CT-2. Report.”
“Incognito here. Base defenses are disabled. Clear,” Jan’Hax announced.
“Hightower here. All ships and paramilitary personnel have been disabled,” Bevrolor added. “Clear.”
“Good work. Do a final sweep. We’ll meet you in the hangar bay once we finish up in this lab,” Sam said.
Several macroms later, Stronghold scanned each imprisoned Korvenite for the telepathic virus. All were clean…except one. The Ubruqite ushered the rest of the Korvenites out of the cell.
Despite Addison’s and Stronghold’s strong objections, Sam entered the shielded cell with the sole infected Korvenite. The girl was a skinny thing, all limbs and big, bouncy purple curls. She looked taller than Tharydane and was probably only a few years older.
/> “I can’t…” the girl pleaded, clutching her curly mop. She was on her knees, gazing up at Sam with pleading jet-black eyes. Greenish veins striated along the length of her alabaster body, especially her arms and chest. “I can’t…hold it…any longer.”
“I know.” Hardening her heart, Sam aimed between the eyes with her pulse pistol.
One bright pulse burst snapped the Korvenite’s head back. She crumpled without a sound. The remaining Korvenites uttered a chorus of grief. One small child wailed. But all knew it was inescapable.
Sam knelt beside the Korvenite corpse, another innocent life the Children of Earth had taken. Only then did she allow herself to feel. “Sorry we couldn’t save you,” Sam whispered, her soul raw and quivering.
“You did save her,” Addison blurted out unhelpfully. “Death was her only option.”
Stronghold shook his helmeted head. “Bad timing, Freerunner.”
Sam just glared at Raichoudry. So much for that hope. Before she could verbally smack down this obnoxious brat, her chirping wristcom interjected. “What?”
“UniPol’s just arrived. At this starbase. Their starbase,” Surje answered. “And they are not happy. With Star Brigade.”
Chapter 33
“That,” Tharydane exclaimed, “was soooo beyond!” She walked side by side with Jhori down a corridor leading to Hollusphere. For three orvs, Tharyn had been training with this mysterious Korvenite. Of course, she still didn’t totally trust him. But sweet Korvan, Jhori had so much to teach!
Tharyn never realized how little she knew of her telepathic abilities, both the basic and complex aspects. Only her stomach’s insistent grumbles had forced Tharyn to finally go grab a late lunch. To go, of course. The sooner they returned to training, the better. She wasn’t even that stressed about the threat against her life anymore.
Lethe only allowed her departure because Sam’s quarters weren’t stocked with lots of food, and he would be meeting them at Hollusphere.
An unnecessary precaution, but Tharydane knew it was for her own protection.