“It’s not important right now. The mission is, and we’re back on track. Assuming you’re with us?” She started creeping forward, past his arm.
Janus smiled, “Right.” He checked around the corner and followed after her. “Have you always been this good with leadership advice?”
Celes twisted to face him, a smile on her face, “Blame my father.”
“Your fath—” Janus stopped. Marcus was signaling Hurry. Janus rushed ahead, Celes right behind him.
They had reached a long, raised corridor with transpicuoum plates overlooking a massive room. It was an observational bridge, cutting right down the middle of the giant bay. Janus sunk even lower, pressing himself against a column. Cryochambers flowed into the room from five directions, collecting well above him onto moving tracks that crept downwards almost imperceptibly. Giant, vertical conveyors filled to the brim with the devices. Neat rows of chambers lined the walls all around him, but the sheer number was not the source of his rising dread. It was the occupants. As the Cryochambers descended towards a set of catwalks below the bridge, the tiny windows inside became translucent. They were defrosting. And inside, every occupant was writhing.
“That looks unpleasant,” Lyn said wryly. With hardly a glance, Janus knew every occupant was in intense pain. “I thought they were supposed to be drugged and unconscious during the process,” she added.
“They might be,” Marcus said, “or maybe they haven’t been adequately drugged.”
“Or maybe it just doesn’t work that well,” Janus stared in horror.
One of the chambers at the catwalks opened, spilling out the soul inside. The man, or woman, collapsed immediately, and attendants rushed to him, taking his vitals and standing him up. They shepherded the individual as he shakily walked, soon joined by many others who shuffled into lines.
Below the catwalk, a row of open cryochambers was slowly being pulled into the darkness. Janus crept down the hall, signaling Ramirez to watch their six while following the shuffling lines as they disappeared into the next room. The bridge turned into a windowless hall, and Janus pressed forward, hoping to get a new view soon. After a hundred meters of dim corridor, the light of a new bridgeway rewarded him. He froze.
Thousands upon thousands of Troopers wearing full armor and carrying Zeus rifles spread out in neat formations across a wide expanse. New soldiers emerged in a stream from multiple doors below them, directed into the waiting columns by officers. With every moment, new formations marched away, quickly replaced by the stream of new recruits, and heading through massive doors which inevitably led them towards the surface.
Marcus stood next to Janus, “Even knowing that there were supposedly millions of them, it didn’t really click until right now.”
Janus could only grimace in agreement, forcing himself along the bridge.
Marcus followed, adding, “It’s a good thing we didn’t try anything too reckless. We could never have fought our way out if we were discovered, let alone make a dent in that force conventionally.”
Janus paused, but did not turn, “But we still have a chance to stop them unconventionally. That’s all that matters.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Marcus nod.
Lyn chimed in, “Well we got ta get going then. I think the center of this place is just ahead.”
At the end of the bridgeway waited a single, imposing door. Janus looked back. The long corridor waited silently. The door itself wasn’t particularly large, but it was ornate. A raised Phoenix of solid gold and red enamel stood out from the top. A small gap at the floor suggested the door would slide downward to open. It was wide enough for perhaps one and a half Inferni to stand shoulder to shoulder, light danced upon the emblem, giving it a fire-like quality. Spark-like motes floated within a giant ruby eye.
The splendor of Phoenix was something he had seen before. But the placard below the elaborate symbol was not. A two-faced man sat above an inscription: ‘Project Janus’. ‘Let our understanding of the past and our vision for the future make our dreams of the present reality.’
“What’s the plan, boss?” Lyn asked.
Janus smiled. She didn’t even seem to care about the placard. He looked back at the group. They waited wordlessly, already focused on what was beyond the door. Light spilled from the bridgeway windows behind him. He had gotten a sense of scale of the room as they had approached. It was large, like a bigger version of the cryochamber tube they had seen earlier. It seemed to occupy the center of the massive Trooper bay they had passed through, but he had seen no other bridges connecting it. He mental map of the facility told him that another bridgeway connected on the far side of it, with another elaborate door on the other side of the room. But other than that, the interior would be a mystery.
A familiar glowing green circle waited by the door. Janus shrugged at the group, “Might as well see if we can open the door.” With a quick step, Janus moved inside the circle. Another mechanical arm descended and scanned Janus with its strange disembodied eye-like device.
“Access Denied. DNA does not match record on file. Please submit valid individual for scan.”
The group stared at him at a loss. If Janus couldn’t make it in, nobody could.
There was probably another way, somewhere, but now time was no longer on their side. The attack had begun, and soon, thousands of soldiers would threaten to overwhelm Valhalla. They needed to get through now.
He was trying to recall anything he had learned in Valhalla that might solve their quandary when an idea stuck him, “Celes, you and Wouris accessed the first door and tried to fix it before it let me in.”
She nodded.
“Do you think you could break this one so it would make the same mistake?”
Celes hesitated, then smiled, “I can try.” She kneeled at the scanner and took out her tool kit. Marcus nodded in appreciation. Celes bit her lip, “We’re going to need to break this panel off, Janus. There’s no access port on this side.”
Janus reached for his Ghostblade, but thought better of it. “Marcus, Ramirez.”
The pair nodded at each other and Marcus took a few quick slices at the panel’s casing with his own Ghostblade, and then stepped back, bowing towards Ramirez. Ramirez nodded appreciatively and then raised Thor above his head and smashed down on the exposed panel with the butt of the weapon. The panel snapped clear off, exposing a mass of wires and an isotope drive.
Celes smiled at the pair, “Thank you, gentlemen.” She stooped down and got to work.
Janus looked at the other three while Celes worked, “We have no idea what is waiting on the other side of that door, so if we can get this door open, we’re not going in guns blazing. Delacroix could have a legion of Inferni or it could just be the daedulus running this whole operation. They won’t expect us to be able to get in the main door, so we’re going to go slow.” He glanced at Lyn, “We’ll take a peek inside and then dive in if the situation looks reasonable.” She nodded.
“Personally,” Ramirez cracked his knuckles, “I’m eager to find out how strong an Infernus really is…”
“So either way, Janus, we’re with you,” Lyn finished.
“Janus, I think I’ve got it,” Celes interjected, “Well, mostly – I’ve got the scanner’s panel off and the wiring changed to the way I think Wouris and I rigged it before. There wasn’t much to it, really. I guess they assumed that even if you can break the thing, you still can’t get in. But there’s still the problem of the isotope drive,” she held up the intact, translucent sheet, “I think that was the real reason this worked before. It was damaged on the other one, remember?”
Lyn kneeled down next to her, “Where?”
Celes pointed to the right side of the drive, “I think it was broken off after about this point.”
Lyn reached over and snapped the drive in two, “There, try it now Janus.”
“Access granted. Welcome, Executor,” the feminine computer intoned.
Janus shook his head in wonder. Marcus frowned,
“That shouldn’t have worked.”
The door made a few ominous clicks as it unlocked and Lyn tapped her temple with a silly grin, “Good ‘ole Outskirter ingenuity.”
Marcus shook his head, “But we know how—” he stopped. The ornate Phoenix door was opening, sliding into the ground. The control room waited.
Chapter 45: The Firebird’s Crown
If the lifts had formed the elegant heart of Phoenix, then this was clearly the brain. A representation of all it desired. Cryochambers lined the walls, running downwards into inky blackness, while the center held a massive operations hub, suspended on three platforms in the middle of the tube, and connected by catwalks running from the door.
Lyn pointed to the floor. One.
Janus nodded.
Massive daedulus arms groaned softly as they methodically removed chambers from the room, which disappeared below them, running right under the bridgeway. Giant foil screens pulsed above the central platforms, bathing the area in a soft light. Only the glow of the screens and the cryochambers provided any light. Above them, a massive daedulus system dominated the crown of the room, hissing with electricity and giving the whole space a halo of shadowed wires and metal.
Titan technicians worked the systems, oblivious to all but the massive status screens that displayed the production levels, monitored the power levels, and watched the army march. To the left, the catwalk curved around to a transpicuoum walled observation room at the top of a short flight of stairs. Whereas the central platforms were suspended from above, struts connected the observation room to the wall. Peeking under the middle platforms, Janus could just see another ornate door on the far side.
None of the technicians even looked up. There were twelve of them. Six in the middle, and three on each of the two smaller, secondary stations. Heavy cables connected the platforms to the edges of the halo above them, with yellow striped access points deeper into the mass of wires every three meters or so.
Janus whirled on the team, looking at each person in turn.
Lyn. Point Scout. (Circle to) observation. Clear (and) Hold. A quick nod of affirmation.
Celes. (Up) top. (In the) Halo. Celes strapped her Sutr rifle to her side.
Ramirez. Aid Celes. Move right. Ramirez flexed one arm, the other holding the Thor steady.
Marcus. On Lyn. Marcus readied his Skadi against his shoulder.
He motioned to the group. Final check.
Janus did a quick once over his weapon, and then tapped his comm link for a beep only his comrades could hear. In turn, each did the same.
Ready.
Lyn responded. 1 OK.
2 OK. Celes flashed.
3 OK. Ramirez motioned.
4 OK. Marcus gave his signal.
Janus took one last look inside and turned to Lyn. Go.
Lyn swung around the corner, rushing through the door swiftly and silently, keeping low to the floor. The four followed her into the room, Janus hitting the door as they passed through, which slid shut. Lyn did not slow or stop, her light step making no sound, even upon the metal floor. She reached the railing of the catwalk, crouched and invisible below the lines of daeduluses which encircled the technicians, and signed. Go. Marcus advanced up calmly behind her.
Lyn moved left, staying just below the view of the technicians, with Marcus silent as a shadow behind her. Together they reached the observation room while the technicians worked away. Lyn dropped off the side of the catwalk, and slowly climbed the stairs like a sideways ladder. Only the tips of her fingers and boots were visible.
At the top, she peered through the spaces in the stairs and waited for Marcus’ signal. Janus eyed the door. The lock was green, suggesting it was unlocked. They just needed to wait for the perfect moment to move. Ramirez shifted behind him, ready to dash out to help Lyn at a moment’s notice.
‘RATATATAT.’
A loud clatter resonated from the central platform and a tablet slid dangerously close to the edge. Marcus froze, holding a hand over the side of the railing, signaling Lyn, who went as still as a statue. One of the techs grinned sheepishly at his fellows and then groped for the screen. After a few moments of floundering, the sheepish tech crouched and crawled under the buzzing console, in plain view of Marcus and Lyn. Janus held a hand behind him as Ramirez shifted the Thor.
Finally, the tech snagged the tablet with a grunt. With nary a look, he clamored back upright, returning to his work.
Janus met Marcus’ eyes, and they breathed a collective sigh of relief. Together they watched as the techs’ feet all turned away to begin some new task, and Marcus signaled Lyn. With amazing grace she swung herself up and opened the door with a quick flick. There was a slight creak as the door slid open. Simultaneously, Marcus leapt up the stairs with catlike agility and jumped inside in one movement. Lyn dove in after him and the door shut silently. One of the techs paused and turned, but just as quickly resumed his work.
Janus waited with bated breath. He could sense Ramirez’ looming presence behind him as the moments passed.
Marcus’ whispered voice filled the comm, “Clear.”
“There’s nothing up here. A console that looks like it’s designed for HAMs. Some command suits—” Lyn’s comm dropped.
Janus perked up, tapping his comm gently.
“—huge.” Lyn’s voice returned. “And there’s a lift here. Looks like it heads ta the bottom of the complex, if I’m reading this right.”
Janus buzzed his comm three times in affirmation. Sit tight. He turned to Ramirez and Celes, Go.
Ramirez watched the techs’ feet carefully, and after a moment, leapt silently forward. He did a quick 180, cupping his hands in front of him, as Celes dashed like lightning behind him. With a mighty leap and Ramirez’ monumental strength, she flew upward.
She caught one of the large cables crossing the room with exquisite body control and swung into the halo, disappearing inside without a sound. Ramirez immediately dropped to the ground, his massive form just below the view of the technicians.
Now Janus just needed to wait.
The openness of the halo caught Celes off guard. From below it had appeared impenetrable, but now she found her exceptional agility allowed her to slide between the tangle of wires, fans, and circuits of the pulsing and humming system. It wasn’t easy, and the heat was sweltering, but it was bearable. The darkness had an almost palpable quality to it, like the heat made it thicker. To her left she could see an open space that formed an access pathway along the length of the system. Deciding it was too open, she moved right, straying slightly from the edge of the halo. The mass of components formed strange shapes in the dark, and she moved slowly, the whirring machines scalding hot. Not too far away, she found another access tunnel and stopped, doubling back just away from it. She crept towards the edge of the halo, slinging the Vidar rifle from her back, and unfolding it to combat readiness. It took her a few moments to find a position where she was not immediately on the edge, but still had sight lines to the rest of the room. She settled in, leaning against one of the cooler machines and resting her rifle upon a thick conduit running the circumference of the halo.
“In position,” she breathed.
“Did you see her?” a raspy voice whispered to her left.
She froze. The mass directly to her left shifted, and she watched it from the corner of her eye, not daring to turn her head.
Janus’ voice whispered in her ear, “Silent count.”
The thing stood up, brushing aside wires and thick lines – an Infernus.
“No. She could be anywhere,” it said. “Our heat sensors won’t be able to find her in here. She won’t be able to harm us, she doesn’t have a blade. We’ll worry about the other ones first and then hunt her down.”
She hardly dared to breathe. Slowly she inched her right hand towards her comm button. Ramirez and Janus burst from hiding, racing across the catwalks to the center, and startling the technicians, as Marcus burst from the observation room. The Infernus stepped
past her, and she flicked her hand upward. She pressed the comm. There was nothing else she could do.
Chapter 46: The Traitor
The first thing Janus did when the comm ping sounded in his ear was skid to a halt upon the catwalk and turn back to the door. The ornate gateway flew open to reveal an Infernus, ready with flamethrowers. Janus made a leaping jump for the central platform, somersaulting over the consoles and catapulting into one of the technicians. The remainder cowered in fear as Ramirez leapt up behind him, grabbing two with one arm and hoisting his Thor. He fired into the Infernus, blasting the soldier through the middle and catapulting the heavy armor backward. Marcus leapt from the stairs to one of the outlying platforms, backing himself into a corner and using a technician as a shield.
But that was the extent of their resistance. Janus raised his rifle towards the halo, crouching low against the daedulus consoles. One knee pinned a technician beneath him, while a foot held down the man’s wrist. The blubbering technician wailed in fear, and Janus dug his knee in deeper.
Inferni emerged from the dark halo all around them, weapon arms raised. Janus heard the distinctive click of the two doors locking.
One of the two men in Ramirez’ arms sobbed, “We followed orders! Don’t kill us!” Ramirez tightened his grip and the man gurgled.
“That isn’t necessary,” a voice emanated from all around them.
Janus shook his head, “Delacroix.”
“So you do know me,” the voice wondered. Janus forced himself to stay calm as his eyes frantically searched the room.
“Don’t bother.” Delacroix said. “There will be no escape. And the little girl has nowhere to go.’
‘A desperate attack by an Adept legion, acting as a distraction while an elite team strikes deep. I’ve certainly never encountered that before,” Delacroix mocked. “What could you have possibly have hoped to accomplish? And why? Are the other Corporations not your enemy?” Genuine curiosity emanated from his voice.
The Phoenix Fallacy_Book III_Magnus Page 27