The Last Spartan: Different Paths

by A. E. McCullough

  Rounding a bend, Iaido had to pull up short when he found Talia standing in an old cafeteria surrounded by six thugs. Five of them had guns pointing at her head, while the sixth stepped away from his companions and said, “Greetings Spartan. So glad you could join us.”

  Iaido rested his hands on the grips of his pistols. “You didn’t have to go through all this; you could’ve just asked me to join you.”

  The leader said, “That’s enough. One false move and I’ll blow the elf’s head off.”

  Iaido slowly raised his hands.

  The thug leader continued. “I want you to slowly, and I mean slowly… like molasses in wintertime, unstrap your gunbelt and let it fall to the floor.”

  Sensing more than seeing, Iaido knew that several men had moved in behind him to seal off the trap. Glancing over his shoulder, Iaido counted another six thugs behind him, making it twelve to one.

  Those were not good odds, especially with Talia in the middle. However, the leader was waiting for him to answer and any hooligan who would rather talk before an ambush was a fool. By hesitating the bandits had lost the advantage. Iaido moved with exaggerated slowness, reached over and undid the buckle on his gunbelt. Letting his Graver Mk7s fall to the floor, he could hear the snickers of the thugs behind him.

  Iaido kept his focus on the leader as he said, “Okay. You have my guns, now let the girl go. She has nothing to do with this.”

  The five thugs holstered their weapons at a nod from the leader as he roughly shoved Talia forward.

  The thug leader flashed a smile that displayed his rotted teeth. “True… but she will become a casualty of war, just like you did with Boog.” The name rhymed with fog.

  “Who was that?” asked Iaido.

  “Just my fastest gunhand which you killed back in Nick’s Place,” Toothless explained.

  “Ah…the young braggart that fancied himself a gunslinger.”

  Toothless nodded. “It’s nothing personal, just business.”

  Iaido recognized his opening. “Business? Twelve to one? You twelve are going to gun down two unarmed people and that is business? Sounds more like murder to me.”

  Toothless’ face turned red with barely controlled rage. “Hey! We don’t murder anyone. There’s a bounty on your head.”

  “Have you claimed many bounties?” asked Iaido. Judging from Toothless’ hesitation and nervous glances at his companions, he knew the answer and pressed his advantage. “Well, I have. And most require some form of proof that all Galactic bounty collecting procedures were followed before they pay out the credits. You are recording this, right?”

  Toothless shook his head slightly. “No. Why?”

  “If you plan on shooting me down without a recording to prove otherwise the parties involve will probably nullify the contract…unless of course, you take them my recording.”

  “What recording?”

  Iaido tapped his temple. “The one my augments are making this very second. Of course, it will show you gunning down an unarmed man and a citizen of the Sylvan Empire. I am unsure of their policy on murder.”

  “But your bounty has been posted, dead or alive. We should be able to just kill you and collect our reward.” The other thugs nodded their heads in accord.

  Iaido rubbed his chin as if he was thinking. “Hmm...It does seem like you have a problem. Well, I can think of only two options.”

  “And they are?”

  “Well, of course you could let us go but then you don’t get your reward. So, I think that option is out of the question.” All the thugs nodded their heads. “My second thought was a duel. A challenge to the death.”

  “I’m not foolish enough to take you one on one, not after what you did to Boog.”

  Iaido shook his head. “No. You can keep the odds twelve to one but you have to give me a fighting chance. If I’m killed during the fight, as my memory augments would show, then they would still have to pay out the bounty. And if I happen to kill one or more of you before you kill me, then that is just more reward for the survivors.”

  Toothless looked around at his fellow thugs and could see that they were pleased at the thought of more reward for the survivors. Of course, several might just blow each other away for a larger cut of the prize but then that didn’t sound like a bad plan either.

  Toothless grinned. “That sounds like a good plan. How do we do it?”

  “I have an idea. Talia will take this old can,” Iaido said as he nudged it with his foot, “and toss it into the air. When it lands, we all start blasting.”

  Toothless looked around at his companions and received nods from them all. “Sounds good to me. Sorry ‘bout having to kill you Spartan, you seem like a decent fellow.”

  Iaido returned the smile and reached down to pick up the rusty can. Handing it to Talia, he leaned in as if to kiss her goodbye but instead whispered, “When you toss this up, hit the deck and pray to your gods that these thugs are as stupid as they appear.”

  Without a word, Talia nodded and chewed on her lip apprehensively before tossing the can high into the air. Dropping to the deck, she didn’t witness the twelve pairs of eyes which followed the short flight of the can.

  CHAPTER 20

  Intense combat was always a curious situation for Iaido.

  Time seemed to slow down for him in combat situations. Logically time doesn’t change, just his perceptions of his surroundings. His programming and combat reflexes take over. Iaido doesn’t think, he just acts and reacts to the expanding situation. As a Myrmidon, he was designed for combat. His reflexes and strength were faster and stronger than any normal human before the augmentation process. Myrmidons were grown much like clones in tubes but two embryos per tube, which were commonly known as pods. Of course, there were several differences between Myrmidons and clones. The former were individuals, each with their own look and DNA, while the latter were an exact replica of the donor DNA. The scientists who worked on the government program realized that combat was more than just strength and reflexes. Knowledge and skills would play a big part in the success or failure of the Myrmidons. However, that was the easiest part for the scientists. They found the foremost experts in the areas they wanted: shooting, sniper skills, close combat, martial arts, stealth, counter-intelligence and assassination, just to name a few and mapped the portion of the brain which contained the skills they desired. Then, they digitized every historical document, textbook and treaties on warfare. Both of these skills and raw information were then ‘hardwired’ into the Myrmidons’ cortex during the formation stage while they were still in the pods.

  The soldiers assigned to oversee the project knew that raw skills and general knowledge of combat wasn’t enough. So, with the help of the scientists, they delved through every historical record in existence in their effort to distill the ‘essence’ of a warrior. They found that no matter what era or part of the globe they studied, true warriors had several tenets in common; personal honor, courage, integrity, loyalty, discipline and a sense of duty to friends and country being the most common.

  All throughout history, two groups of warriors stood out above the rest, the Spartans of Ancient Greece and the Samurai of feudal Japan. Although the Spartans were the original model for the Myrmidon Program, the scientists soon found that there was limited hard data on the Spartans most were just stories and legends. On the other hand, there was plenty of data and experts available concerning the Samurai which in turn became the primary model for the Myrmidon project.

  As soon as the thugs had surrounded them, Iaido’s subconscious began calculating the angles and the odds. The longer they talked the more precise his plan became. A cunning opponent would’ve attacked without preamble but the thugs had wanted to gloat which gave Iaido plenty of time to take in the whole situation. Stupidly, all the thugs were within ten steps of him and they had him completely surrounded. Even an average un-augmented human can close twenty-one feet before an opponent draws and fires a weapon. With his skills and augments the thirty feet
separating him from the thugs could’ve been two feet for all the good it was going to do them. Additionally, the thugs were armed with primitive ballistic weapons, probably manufactured in the early twenty-first century. Primitive but still deadly to unarmed flesh.

  If Iaido had been in his ARC suit, he knew their weapons wouldn’t even scratch the finish on the suit; however he opted for a more covert look and was only wearing basic body armor. The reinforced plates protected his most vulnerable spots on his body and should be resistant to their weapons but his head and groin were unprotected.

  Iaido was surprised that the leader of the thugs had agreed to the can trick. It also showed how much an amateur Toothless and his thugs really were. When Talia tossed the can, Iaido had been watching the eyes of his opponents. As twelve pairs of eyes followed the can’s flight, he made his move.

  Iaido drew both katanas and attacked.

  Toothless was the first to feel the bite of the Blade of Elements. The ancient blade slid through the thug’s flesh like water through a funnel, easy and wet. Continuing his motions, Iaido began to attack with impunity. By the time the third thug fell to his blades, they had figured out that something was wrong and began to react. In a panic, the thugs began to ‘spray and pray’ – a term which meant firing wild shots off as fast as possible. As often as not, the thugs hit their buddies and not Iaido. In the mayhem of the battle, the bounty hunter was far from still. He dodged and rolled and spun and danced, all the while his blades slashed and sliced their way through flesh.

  As the last body fell, Iaido’s perceptions snapped back to normal and he looked around at his handiwork. Blood and body parts littered the area. A few of the thugs still moved, slightly. It was more of the involuntary twitching of a dying body than anything else. Iaido whipped his blades in a fancy figure eight pattern before sheathing them; the pattern was an ancient practice designed to fling the majority of your opponent’s blood off of the blades.

  Ignoring the dead, Iaido focused his senses and attention to the darkness around him. As far as he could tell, he and Talia were the only ones still living in the immediate area.

  Talia.

  Iaido looked around and expected to see her rise up to chastise him for the senseless slaughter of the thugs but she didn’t. She still lay in the fetal position near the center of the carnage. He bent down to wake her and paused when he saw a small dart protruding from her back. Pulling it out, he studied the strange dart. It was about an inch long and the shaft was built out of a crystal.

  Checking her pulse, it was strong but she still wasn’t showing any signs of waking up.

  Retrieving his gunbelt, Iaido lifted the elf and once more scanned the cafeteria. Every instinct told him that he was alone with the dead but someone had been here. Someone had set up this encounter but who? And why?

  With a shrug of his shoulders, Iaido moved back through the corridors of Haven only pausing at Nick’s Place long enough to pay his bill, plus tip and to collect his friend. Something told him that in the days ahead he was going to need the help of friends like DJ.

  CHAPTER 21

  Talia was awake before they reached the hangar. She was still a bit weak in the knees but seemed no worse for the wear.

  As they approached the Nemesis, Iaido scanned the activity of those working on his ship. There were a dozen bugs scurrying all over the hull, patching holes and repairing damage.

  Jay was waiting for them at the cargo hatch. “I see you ran into some trouble.”

  “You could say that,” said Iaido. “Someone went through a lot of trouble to get my attention.”

  “Do we know who?”

  Iaido held up the crystal dart. “Not yet but they left a calling card.”

  Taking the dart, Jay nodded his head in greeting toward DJ. “Hey there you old leatherneck, how have you been?”

  DJ tossed his duffle bag to the deck. “Not bad. Drunk and disorderly, you know…the usual.”

  Jay shifted his attention back to Iaido. “Xerxes is in the engine room completing some modifications and I finished my work on Diana and Pax. They have changed, a bit more than I would’ve guessed but this is uncharted territory for me.”

  “Diana lives?” Iaido asked.

  “Kind of…she isn’t Diana or Pax. The two AI personalities seemed to have merged with a synergistic result. I have renamed Diana as Athena, although Pax is still pretty much the same. She wasn’t as damaged as Athena.”

  Iaido nodded and moved through the cargo hold. “Where is she?”

  “She’s on the bridge. Now, keep in mind that she is different. Much of her personality has been reset to her default setting which is a bit more militaristic than before…but she’s alive. I have her working out some glitches in my latest idea.”

  “Which is what?”

  “I think I have come up with a way to completely mask our signature while effectively shielding us from view.”

  “Huh?” DJ asked, “Am I the only one who didn’t understand that?”

  Iaido shook his head. “No. Jay, explain that in simple terms.”

  “A cloaking device, a way to make us virtually invisible. You see, all we have to do is bend the light around the hull of the ship while simultaneously redirecting the emissions of the engines…”

  Iaido snapped his fingers in front of Jay’s face. “I said simple. Don’t give me technical gobblety-gook. Will we be invisible or not?”

  “Yes but there will be some drawbacks. It is only limited to sub-light speeds and even then, it will reduce it by about seventy-five percent or so.”

  As they stepped onto the bridge, a petite brunette snapped to attention. “Actually Master Chief our speed will be limited to thirteen percent of maximum. Any greater and we will cause distortions that could be detected by active radar or seen visually.”

  Iaido stopped in his tracks.

  Standing before him was Diana’s twin. Logically he knew it wasn’t her, just her body. But the crooked smile, the curve of her chin or simply the way she held her head were all classic Diana. To help in the separation of the two, Jay had changed her hair color to black and lengthened it a bit. Athena had it pulled back into a UNCF regulation style ponytail which hung loosely but was off her collar and was dressed in a form fitting blue flight suit that was reminiscent of the NASA era.

  “Welcome aboard Captain. We are operating at eighty percent efficiency and the Master Chief’s modifications should be complete within three hours.” Turning back to the console, Athena began to adjust the controls. “If you will hand me the dart, I will access its contents and display the information on the main vid-screen.”

  Iaido nodded his head in greeting. “Hello Athena. I gather that you are tied into Pax’s systems.”

  Athena paused and cast a sideways glance at Iaido. “I am not sure what you mean Captain. I am Pax or Pax is part of me if that makes more sense.” She tapped her forehead. “Everything that was Pax and Diana is here. I remember so much, our first hunt in Alpha Centari or the time we went dancing in Moscow to draw out that ambassador’s aide who was wanted for murder. Everything, well almost everything, there are some fragments in my memory but then that is expected considering what I have been through lately.”

  “Athena has become the embodiment of the Nemesis,” Jay added. “She is the ship and the ship is her. They are now bound together. I must admit I am unsure how far Athena can venture from the Nemesis. For now, she must remain ship bound until I can run more tests.”

  “Affirmative Master Chief,” said the ship’s voice. It was no longer the monotone voice of Pax but neither was it Diana’s voice but a blend of the two. “I would extrapolate that Athena is limited to one hundred yards from the main frame. Anything more and data streams will be at risk.”

  “Thank you Pax for your estimation.” Turning back to Iaido, Jay shrugged. “There you go. It’s the best I could do. I have programmed them to respond to their names but much of their database is shared. So…”

  “When I talk to on
e, the other could answer.” Slapping his friend’s shoulder Iaido said, “Outstanding job, Jay…absolutely outstanding.”

  Athena said, “Excuse me Captain, but the analysis of this dart shows that the shaft is actually a memory crystal. Preliminary scans show that there is data on this crystal but it is encrypted. However, it seems the code was in your military personnel file. It is your old Omega Squadron identification number, sir.”

  “Put it on the main screen,” Iaido said.

  “Affirmative,” said Pax.

  The screen darkened for a moment before refocusing into the image of Eve bound and gagged sitting on a large cylindrical object. She was in a dark room with no visible windows or doors. A man stepped into view; he was well into his fifties with a regulation military haircut that was more grey than black and his left ear looked as if it had been burned off.

  Iaido and Jay recognized him immediately as their former commanding officer, Major McDowell.

  “Greetings Achilles, it has been a few years. I have followed your career since your release from New Leavenworth. And I must say, it’s been impressive.” He gestured to Eve. “Now that I have your attention, I want to extend an invitation to join me at Castra Praetoria. Judging from your reputation, I know you will figure out where it is in time.”

  Stepping out of the picture for a moment, the image refocused back on the young girl.

  “If you look close enough, you can see she doesn’t have a lot of time, only twenty four hours from the time of this recording.” Major McDowell stepped back in front of the camera. “If you come alone and unarmed, I will set her free. If not, well…”

  The image refocused on the bomb underneath Eve’s feet for a second and then the screen went dark.

  Athena said, “I have analyzed the image of the bomb. Judging from its size, shape and all information available on the Major, I would extrapolate it to be a small proton bomb with a blast radius of five thousand meters, everything within that area will be vaporized when it explodes.” The corresponding data began to pop up on adjacent vid-screens. “Of course, it is only a guess but I would estimate the accuracy to eight-seven percent correct.”