by Mick Fraser
She looked him in the eye, then looked at Angela. “Son of a bitch.”
Varo suddenly turned, raising one hand to his ear. “Highness? We are being waved.”
Evayne stopped, face in her hands. She composed herself, taking deep, calming breaths, regaining her queenly demeanour. She addressed Varo, but looked directly at Angela when she said, “Of course we are. On the wall, if you please.”
Varo muttered a command into his commlink and the near wall rippled with colour, becoming first a transparent window affording a view of the blackness of space, and then a huge screen, upon which Drenno’s face appeared looking haggard and drawn. Angela almost yelped when she saw him, until she noted his expression. Evayne stepped towards the screen.
“You have something of mine, Captain,” she said. “The next words you speak had better be a plan to return it followed by a glowing apology.”
He stared down through the screen for what seemed like an age, until Evayne began to lose her patience, and then he said, “You can have it. I don’t want it. I kept it so I had something to barter with, but I don’t want it.”
Evayne looked sceptical. “Barter? You wish to barter?”
“My wife is dead,” Drenno said. “My best friend is dead. And now my daughter is dead. I don’t want to fight you anymore, I don’t want to run, and I don’t want any more of my crew to die for this. I’ll arc the Heart over to the Hero, but in return you leave me and my ship alone. I want pardons, for all of us. Wave them to my frequency, and I’ll arc this crate to you. Then we go our way, and you go yours.”
The Sceptress gave Angela a strange look. “And what about this one? No daring escape attempt? She doesn’t factor into your bartering? I know you, Drenno. You always had a heart.”
“Not anymore. You tore it out of me. If it was just me here I’d fly this damn ship right through your bridge, but it’s not. I lost Rathe and Gaelan because of her. She’s cursed. I want nothing more to do with her. Do we have an accord?”
For a moment Evayne seemed taken aback. She was smiling a kind of incredulous smile, as though she didn’t believe what he was saying but could find no real hole in it. “And that’s it? You give me what I want, and you just fly away?”
He clenched his jaw. “I’m done talking. Do we have a deal, or not?”
She snapped her fingers. “Varo. Commlink.”
The To’ecc unclipped his earpiece and passed it to her. She pushed it into place and tapped it. “Secure beta,” she said. “Eight-seven-two. This is Tesselen Evayne, High Sceptress of the Melrasi Reach, Wielder of the Sceptre of Dao, Executor of the Founders’ Will. I hereby issue a full pardon to the entire crew of the Longsword-Class Starfighter, designation: Shadowstar, effective immediately. Transmit confirmation to S-seven-seven-S-T-four, passcode: ABSOLUTE.”
Evayne tapped the commlink again. Drenno, on-screen, was staring at a point to the right of the camera into which he spoke. After a moment, he nodded. “I have confirmation.”
“Good,” growled Evayne. “Now give me what is mine.”
“Give me five turns, Highness,” he said, but as he reached for the switch to deactivate the screen Angela abandoned her composure and screamed.
“Wait!” she shouted. “She’s going to kill me. Drenno! Wait. I saved your life.”
He wouldn’t meet her eyes, even through the viewscreen. “I’m sorry, Angela,” he mumbled. “My crew comes first.”
His face said more than his words. He was grey, defeated. His eyes were hooded, sunken, his lips were dry and his eyes were red and rheumy from crying. He was a broken man. Any notions of rebellion had fled him. He was not Angela’s last hope. He was no one’s hope.
“Illith!” she bellowed, straining against the force-field that held her. “Shimmer! Please! I don’t want to die here!”
The screen winked off and Angela sagged. She almost sobbed, until she saw the look on Evayne’s face. “I told you,” said the Sceptress, smiling. “I told you not to trust Ellys Drenno.”
“Fuck you!” Angela spat. “You really think unleashing something like the Unavenged is going to make anything better?”
“Well, I suppose you’ll never know, child.” She turned to Varo. “As soon as we verify that crate, blow them out of the stars.”
The To’ecc harrumphed. “I don’t like it, Highness. Give me thirty good men. I’ll go over there and take it by force.”
“That’s the third time you’ve said as much to me in as many days. Do you really want another opportunity to disappoint me, Lord Marshal? Just ready the guns.”
He moved away, barking commands into his commlink. He ordered someone to scan the Shadowstar for life profiles, which earned him a patronising look from Evayne. He listened to the report.
“Well?” the Sceptress demanded.
“Six life forms,” he grumbled, to which Evayne tutted.
An alarm went up, and the lights around a raised circular platform towards the centre of the room began to flash. Evayne snapped her fingers like a petulant debutante. While her back was turned, Angela pushed harder against her restraint. She managed to move one arm, but then stopped when a flash of light burst from the arc-point. The chest from Nix lay there, within which lay the Radiant Heart and Angela’s doom.
Evayne snapped at her Exethan guards, who mounted the steps to the crate. One of them reached down to lift it, but it seemed heavy. He clipped his shard-slinger to the magnetic strip on his back and reached down with both hands – then staggered back as the crate burst open and a figure rose from within, encased in a hypersuit, ice-white hair a shock against dark violet skin. In one hand she held a handcannon, but the other snapped to her belt again and again, removing and scattering palm-sized rings to the ground.
Halos. Five of them.
The Exethan opened fire, but Gaelan raised a hand and a shield of yellow light absorbed their projectiles. The halos blazed, and the crew of the Shadowstar appeared. Evayne screamed in rage as Varo dragged her to cover.
“Marauders!” she bellowed. “We need Marauders!”
Varo relayed the order, and all became chaos.
CHAPTER 48
~ONCE MORE WITH FEELING~
“THIS BETTER WORK, Diz,” said Drenno. “If she scans that crate and sees through your cloak—”
“Again,” Gaelan added, lowering herself into the crate.
“ —again, we’re dead. All of us.”
The To’ecc raised his upper hands. “Trust me, boss. I’ve perfected it. I’m more worried about the halos, to be clear and truthful. They were a bulk-buy from Paryx. I don’t even know if they’re properly calibrated.”
“They are. The energy sensor was, right?”
“Ha. I don’t even know how it registered them activating the Machine. It’s not like it’s pumping out a common energy emission.”
Gage appeared in the doorway, shard-slinger resting on her chrome shoulder. “Y’know, it’s our anniversary today, Drenno.”
He chuffed, closely eyeing the converter in his handcannon. “That right?”
The Auton slinked into the room, Winston following. “S’right. Seven years ago today, you and Rathe pulled me out of that forsaken pit and put me on a path. Hasn’t always been smooth, but I’m grateful.”
Drenno sat back, mildly shocked. He looked at Dizzy, who shrugged. “Okay... And?”
“And even though this is the dumbest fucking plan you’ve ever had, in a career of dumb fucking plans, I’m kinda glad we’re all doing it together. Dying, I mean.”
“You think we’re gonna die?”
“You don’t? Then you’re even dumber than I thought. Fuck me, Drenno. We’re about to assault the Uncommon Hero. There’s an army on-board, Exethan battle-squads, skitters, Marauders. Not to mention Varo, who might be a prick but who’s pretty handy in a fight. Oh, and that Endrani head of security who likes to maul his prisoners for shits and giggles. I figure if we all get out of this one, it’ll be a miracle.”
He sighed, looking down at Gael
an. “You okay, len’vaal? How’s your shoulder?”
She grimaced. “Sore. I’m fine. I just want to get Angela back.”
Drenno wheeled his seat around, spinning his cannon on his finger and sliding it into its holster. “It’s going to get hot,” he said. “Real hot. Like none of us have seen since the bad old days. We get in, make a mess, get Angela and get out. This charge,” he showed them the small mag-wire bomb in his hand, “needs to go on the Machine. That’s your job, Gage.” He tossed it to her. “Dizzy, Winston, keep the engine running and get us the hell out when it’s time. Six-Tails, you get Angela. Illith, Shim, you’re with me. We hit them hard, fast, give no ground. Just like the ‘Quins.”
“Not exactly,” Six-Tails replied. “We used to have orders.”
“We’ve got orders.”
“Really? Because it seems like we’re about to make things much worse.”
Gaelan sat up. “If you don’t want to come, doc, don’t come. No one is forcing you.”
The Endrani bared his teeth, but calmed himself immediately. “That’s not what I mean, little one. I just mean, we tend to not think things through.”
Gage leaned over and ruffled his mane, much to his irritation. “Not our style, Shaggy.”
Illith sheathed a pair of magnablade grips in scabbards on her thighs, drew her handcannon and peered down its sight. “I want Evayne. It’s the first time I’ve seen her since...”
Drenno held up a hand. “I know. I get it. But she’s not the primary. We get out of this, we’re gonna be in enough trouble as it is without killing the ruler of the Reach.”
“When we are done,” said Shimmer, “I want to study the Radiant Heart. Do not destroy it. Please. In fact, I would rather we kept it here in the first place.”
“Nope,” Dizzy shook his head. “If they scan the crate they need to find the Heart, or the cloak won’t hide Gaelan and the plan is worthless.”
Winston gave an exasperated buzz. “Such a waste,” he tutted. “Must we destroy everything we come into contact with?”
The Auton nudged him. “Don’t pretend you don’t love it when we blow the shit out of stuff.”
Winston beeped. “It’s not that. It would just be nice to get to know something once in a while before we blow the… you-know-what... out of it.”
Drenno stood. “Alright, enough belly-aching. Let’s get it done.”
Gage winked at Winston. “With feeling.”
THE circle of light twirled around Drenno as his molecules solidified, retaking their form from the radiance. The effects of arcing on corporeals were always severe for the first few heartbeats: blindness, nausea, excruciating pain, but it was fleeting and while he, Illith and Six-Tails recovered, Gage and Shimmer emerged from the light fighting.
Swinging her double-ended magnablade like a dancer, Shimmer flowed into the advancing troops, cutting through the nearest Exethan like snow. Gage knelt, aimed her shard-slinger, and fired steady shots at the swiftly assembling Exethan; they returned fire, but the deflector shield on her belt filled in for Winston, protecting her and causing the enemy projectiles to ricochet around the hangar.
Drenno heard Evayne shouting in the chaos, her voice carrying even above the blaring alarms. He sought her out but couldn’t see her, and guessed Varo had her in cover by now. He saw Angela, though, still encased in the Machine. She looked to be in considerable pain. His senses re-stabilised, Drenno scrambled into the cover of a stack of cargo crates. They were transporting alkidium, according to the symbol on the side, which mean the containers were likely a full hand thick and blast proof. After a moment, Gaelan slammed in beside him.
“We need to get Angela!” she shouted.
“I’m aware of that!” He leaned out of cover to blast two Exethan from their feet. “But we need to get the outer doors open so Dizzy can get in. If they spot him and scramble fighters, we’re jacked!”
His daughter nodded, and when she looked at him he would have sworn he was looking right into Keera’s eyes. “You get Angela! I’ll get the doors!” she said.
“Be careful, len’vaal.”
As Gaelan sprinted to the nearest stack of crates, the cargo doors behind Drenno began to scrape open. He looked over his shoulder and swore when he saw half a dozen Exethan in mechanised body armour enter the hangar. He kept low, rounding the cover he was in. He saw Six-Tails smashing an Exethan into the ground with his enormous hammer and shouted to him.
“Marauders!”
The Endrani snarled, locating Shimmer in the midst of the enemy and running to join her. Drenno swore again. Between his position and Angela’s were two Marauders, three, maybe four arms tall, surgically grafted to their crimson steel mechsuits. The influx of Exethan troops wasn’t slowing, either.
It was going south quickly.
They needed a plan.
ANGRILY, Evayne snatched the second handcannon from Varo’s belt, peeked over cover and took a shot at the Auton. That one she didn’t know personally: she wasn’t a Harlequin like others. She must have joined the crew later; perhaps she was one of Rathe’s waifs and strays. Evayne’s shot hit the Auton’s reflective energy shield and burned away. She dropped down.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The girl was supposed to go into the Machine, and Illumiel was supposed to come out. Void-damned Firebrands! She saw that the arc-pad was empty, the box containing the Machine’s core unguarded. “The crate!" she shouted, and a small group of Exethan broke away from the line. They reached the steps only to be sundered by the damned Endrani and his perversion of an engineer's mallet. He hit them from above like a meteor, scattered them like shrapnel.
Evayne growled, grabbing a magnablade grip from the armour of a dead Exethan. She hadn’t spent five years in training for nothing. Varo handed her a shieldlet and she clipped it to her wrist. “Find out where Four-Claws is!” she ordered the To’ecc. “You would think my head of security would want to be here!”
Varo nodded, then swung to locate a pair of Marauders. “Protect the Sceptress!”
Evayne was up, holding her shield before her. She activated the magnablade and its razor edge extended and began to hum as the alloy rose in temperature. The Marauders flanked her, using suppressive fire to keep the rebels pinned down on the other side of the room. The Earthborn was still imprisoned, flailing impotently against her holding shroud, but Evayne spotted Drenno picking his way from cover to cover towards her. She tapped her commlink. “Varo! Kill the traitor. Kill Drenno!”
No sooner had she finished speaking than a blow caught her out of nowhere, knocking her to the ground. She scrambled up, rolling to her back to see an old friend descending upon her with eyes full of rage. She raised her magnablade but Illith batted it away.
“Illith, wait!” she shouted.
“For what?” snarled the Silsir. “I have waited long enough.”
Evayne scrambled back, trying to reach her dropped hilt. “If you kill me, they’ll never stop hunting you. Never.”
Illith advanced in frightening silence, ignoring the plasma bolts that sizzled through the air around her.
“It won’t bring Jethu back!” Evayne pleaded. “Or Quarran. They wouldn’t want this!” As she spoke her fingers curled around the hilt and she extended the blade, swinging it high and wide towards her former head of security. But Illith was ready for it; she blocked the blade, spun around, and slashed her own weapon down in a savage arc towards Evayne’s neck. The Sceptress threw up her hands but the killing blow never came as a Marauder smashed the Silsir from her feet.
As Illith tangled with the new assailant, Evayne pushed herself up. That six individuals could create such chaos did not surprise her. As a Harlequin, Drenno had excelled at making a glorious mess.
The path to the box was clear and she ran to it, snatching up the heavy core and spinning away, sprinting towards the Resonance Engine and the struggling Earthborn girl. She bellowed at the surrounding Exethan to charge, and located Remnath, beckoning him to her. “Blast panels!”
she ordered. “Close them and go!”
Remnath, himself no warrior, scurried away, pressing his palm to a touchpad on the near console as he went. Lights flashed as a pair of arm-thick security panels emerged from either wall and began to close, effectively cutting off the back third of the hangar. She swung to Angela and smiled. “We’re not done, you and I!”
Evayne clutched the core under one arm and circled the Machine, searching for a socket or cradle. She located one, half way up its rear face. She stuffed the arm-long device into her blouse and, with a muttered curse, began to climb as the blast panels came together.
ILLITH tore the head clean off the Exethan Marauder and the body slumped, pumping rheumy green blood from the ruined neck. Drenno went by her, sprinting for the black, web-like device below which Angela was held prisoner, but as he neared it Varo intercepted him, slamming him to the ground like a cannonball.
Drenno rose quickly, raising his handcannon, but Varo swatted it away with his sword. The To’ecc held two blades in his upper hands, and two serrated daggers in his lower. Drenno was unarmed. Evayne had triggered the security panels, safety barriers designed to seal off the hangar in the event that an Aethir core went nova. Once fully sealed, getting through would be near impossible.
He turned his attention to Varo. The To’ecc glared, waving one blade around to indicate the destruction. “You people and your messes. Look at this! I’ll be the one wearing this!”
Drenno glanced right to where his handcannons lay, too far to dive for. “My heart bleeds for you,” he snarked.
“Oh, it will.”
“You’re not even going to give me a weapon?”
“No, I’m not. If you want one, you’ll have to take one.”
Drenno took a deep breath, tapping his shieldlet to activate the aegis. He put one foot back, bracing himself, and raised his fists. “Come on!” he snarled. “Come on!”