Go forth precious child…
A gentle tap on the chapel door startled her out of her reverie. She turned in time to see Gray enter and walk over to her. Sitting beside her he said, “I'm sorry, were you deep in thought?”
“No…I finished all my formal stuff.”
“Does it help?”
“Yeah. It centers me. Don't tell Blair, though.”
Gray smiled.
“What brings you down here? You never pray in here when others are around.”
“We got a confirmed sighting of the Apocalypse. Freya is currently keeping us out of sensor range, and Cassie has all the ship's defensive systems engaged.”
Adri led the way out of the chapel, only once looking back at the quiet she wouldn't feel again for a long time. “Let's get on the bridge.”
The bridge was silent as everyone stared at the viewscreen. Before them the battleship, G.C.N. Apocalypse, drifted at normal speed like a sleeping whale. More than fifty times the size of the Elegy, its giant hulking shape was easily intimidating. Adri studied it like she would an enemy vessel. “Tarkubunji?”
“I've stayed out of its close-sensor range,” Freya said. “It hasn't moved.”
“No transmission from the ship has been received,” Jericho added from the communications station beside Freya. His connection cord slapped lightly against the monitor as he turned to face Adri.
“There's been no sign of movement on the ship,” Cassie continued. She had recently adopted the security and tactical stations as her own. Since she demonstrated a keener knowledge of defense and security than anyone else on board, Adri had given the post to her. “It appears that it hasn't noticed us.”
“Zultan, what can you tell us?” Adri asked, taking her seat.
The humacom was sitting in the vacant analysis chair beside Cassie. “Dr. Tarkubunji was able to decode a lot about the ship's security and infrastructure, so I am able to discuss this now. Do you want an update or a recap?”
“Recap for the bridge, please.” Adri replied.
“The Apocalypse project was under heavy security, and as a humacom, I wasn't able to speak about it without the authorization of an appropriate username and passcode. Since we don't have either, Dr. Tarkubunji had to manually decode and decrypt the information by hacking into my database.”
“Gently hacking,” Cassie interjected.
“A recap is as follows: the battleship Apocalypse is unmanned by any organic being. It has a skeleton crew of humacoms that are programmed to run the ship from orders given by the AI in the ship's mainframe. The AI receives its orders from the government. In this fashion, they are able to avoid any security leaks about the ship's missions or purpose. However, it also leaves the ship vulnerable to small infiltration.
“The battleship will fire upon any vessel that gets within range without transmitting a prearranged set of passcodes. When these passcodes are received, the mainframe AI will lower its shields and allow the approach of a shuttle. The only access on the ship, however, will be the main hangar. All other doors will be sealed until the shuttle has departed, or until another set of passcodes have been entered.”
“We have the passcodes to reach the hangar,” Gray said. “They were a part of our original mission.”
“And we now have the passcodes for the hangar doors,” Zultan replied. “As well as the ship schematics, guard rotations, and relevant intel on the genocide machine itself.”
Adri leaned back in her chair, fingering her pendant. “As Zultan said, the ship's design leaves it vulnerable to a small strike force. Therefore, we will be small. I want Duane, Jericho and the Kobanes ready to go in twenty minutes. Gray, you will have the bridge until we return.” Adri rose.
“A word, Captain,” Gray said urgently. He pulled her into the office. “You're going without me?”
“Gray, someone needs to command the ship while I'm gone. We don't have a second officer,” Adri replied, attempting a soothing voice.
It didn't work. Gray's face was still angry.
She tried again. “What's wrong? I can't leave the ship without someone in command,”
“Its just…” Gray huffed a breath. “I don't want to sit back while you take a risk like this. I lost you once. I don't know if I could do it again. Are you sure that I couldn't take your place?”
“No,” Adri replied, feeling calm, and warm. “I have to go, in case there's…you know, magic stuff. Blair thinks it's more than likely, and now he has fairy Freya on his side. I can't ignore that.”
Gray rubbed his face. “I know you're right. Danwe. All right. I'll keep the ship running for you, but I'm no captain, so you'd better hurry.”
[Warehouse to Captain Rael,] her communicator buzzed.
Adri brushed her earpiece. [Rael here,]
[Shuttle is revving to go,]
[I'll be on my way in five. Rael out.]
Gray gave her a small smile. “Good luck, Adri. I…”
“What?”
He shook his head.
“Gray…about those words…”
[Duane to Rael, where are you? Its time to kick genocide butt and you're not down here!]
Adri sighed. [I'm on my way, Rael out.]
Gray watched her leave. “Safe mission, my love,” he whispered to the empty room.
There was a different silence that encased the Elegy's transport shuttle as it made its way towards the Apocalypse. A loud, tense silence, filled with nerves and adrenaline. Adri checked the gauge on her assault rifle, then noticed the two Kobanes doing the same. She dearly hoped that arming them wasn't a mistake.
Duane was muttering to himself. “How did I get roped into this? I've never been an offensive field man. And who named that thing? Apocalypse? That has got to rank in the top ten lamest ship's names…”
The static-filled voice from the imageless viewscreen caught everyone's attention. [Unidentified shuttle. Please submit the proper approach codes, or we will open fire.]
Jericho replied with the long string of numbers and glyphs on the ship's communication board before speaking. [Rim sol luc dav 3-06.]
[Processing, please do not approach.] The static died.
Tension shot up within the shuttle by an exponent. Hildana voiced what everyone was thinking. “Let's hope they haven't heard about our meeting with the Avix.”
An agonizing fourteen seconds passed before the AI on the Apocalypse responded. [Passcodes accepted. Proceed to the main hangar.]
Duane let out a loud breath. “Thank goodness for sluggish bureaucracy.”
Jericho maneuvered the shuttle under the belly of the battleship and towards the highlighted hangar bay. “I'm bringing the ship in now,” he said, slowly guiding the awkward vessel into the hangar. “Touchdown in three…two…one…down. Hangar doors are closing. Outside sensors read oxygen levels….good. No sign of life in the hangar, Captain.”
Adri nodded. “Stay aboard the shuttle. Our communicators will relay to you. Pass the info onto the Elegy’s bridge.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Turning to the remaining three passengers, she said. “Last brief. Duane and Giselle will head straight to the main engines and insert the humacom virus that Floyd uploaded onto the data chip you both received. Try to stay unobserved, fighting is a last resort. Hildana and I will detour to the genocide machine and destroy it. We meet back here in twenty minutes. Understood?”
“Yes, Captain,” three voices replied.
Adri gave Giselle a hard look. “My chief engineer had better come back with you.”
Giselle shrugged. “I have no grudge against paranthians. Besides, without an engineer, how are we going to get out of here before more Commonwealth arrive?”
“Just keep that in mind. Let's move out!”
The four soldiers slipped out of the shuttle and made their way quietly across the deserted hangar bay. At the far door, Adri signaled Duane with her assault rifle. At once the paranthian took a delicate instrument, courtesy of Floyd, and inserted it into the c
ontrol panel. At the same time, Adri punched in the second set of passcodes that Zultan had provided to open the door. There was a small beep as the lock disengaged. Seconds later, Duane nodded to announce that the hangar security systems were offline. Adri opened the door, and they stepped through into a service hallway.
True to Zultan's information, the hallway was deserted. They crept along in silence until they reached a junction. There, Duane and Giselle turned left, towards the engine room, while Hildana and Adri pressed on ahead towards the lift. The total silence that surrounded them was unnerving. The battleship felt deserted. The two women entered a lift and Hildana punched in the appropriate level. As the lift began moving, she whispered, “This place gives me the creeps. It's weird enough to willingly go on a mission with you…”
“Yeah,” Adri agreed quietly. “I've never been on a ship that felt this empty. But…”
“What?” the Belligerent soldier asked.
Adri shook her head. “A weird vibe. I doubt this will end clean.”
As if to confirm her statement, both communicators hissed. [This is Black team! We're a cell away from the engine room, and have crossed paths with some securicoms. They are not happy to see us.]
[Can you maneuver?] Adri asked.
[Yes. They're tough, but these guys’ moves are too textbook to be better than us,] Giselle sounded confident.
Adri nodded to Hildana, who knelt down in front of the lift doors. [Press on. Try to stay together,]
[Roger, Captain. Black team out.]
The lift slowed and the doors opened. Adri and Hildana, old enemies and new allies, braced for the onslaught. The opened door was greeted with ATF fire from two securicoms hiding behind crates. In tandem, both women fired, then rolled out of the lift and into the hall. Using an atypical rush tactic, they overwhelmed the two humacoms and made a dash down the corridor.
They kept up the speed as they zigzagged through the winding halls, firing at any securicoms that tried to intercept them. Taking out two with rapid headshots, Adri turned to Hildana, who was covering the rear. “Last turn! Can you hold them off while I enter?”
“Sure thing. They're Commonwealth made, so popping them off's no problem.”
Adri ignored the dig and jammed the code reader that Floyd and given her into the control panel beside the last door. Hildana gave them both cover fire while the little gadget shuffled the appropriate passcodes into place. The light blinked, and the door slid open. [We're in,] Adri passed the word along.
She tapped Hildana's shoulder. The two darted through the door before the Belligerent woman turned and stuck a jammer into the controls. “That should buy us a few minutes.”
[Black team to White team,] Duane's voice popped in. [We've arrived at our target. Estimate, five minutes before rendezvous.]
[Copy that, Black team,] Adri said. [White team out.]
She frowned into the semi gloom of the large room they had entered. There were no lights, but a wide control panel glowed, wrapping around a large, oblong object the size of a ballistic missile. The light did not reach the highly raftered ceiling.
“Bad vibe,” Hildana hissed beside her.
“No…more of a cold feeling,” Adri shook her head. “Something's here.”
A heavy thud against the door alerted them that the securicoms were attempting access to the room. “Better hurry,” Hildana advised.
They rushed across the dark room to the control panel. Yet with every step, Adri could feel the cold inching closer, until it was like a block of ice pressing on her chest. The feeling of being watched was overwhelming.
“I've made it to the control panel,” Hildana said. “I'm log – ahh!” without any warning, the Belligerent soldier flew across the room, landing with a hard crack somewhere behind Adri.
Adri didn't move, squinting into the darkness. There was something there…she willed her vision to improve. “Show yourself!”
There was a flicker, like an image in a badly cut filmstrip that flashes on and off in less than a second. It was enough for Adri, battle-trained Advance Force soldier, to recognize the pale boy with the beautiful face and the black wings.
Instinct made her raise her rifle and fire where the image had appeared. The beams flashed like comets in the night, but struck nothing. Silence fell again, broken only by a quiet groan from Hildana.
Come on, Adri thought grimly. Show yourself, you little devil…
And just like that, Adri felt a low surge of energy, and she saw a blur of movement between her and the control panel. Whirling around, she saw the boy, staring at her with black eyes framed by choppy white hair. His black wings reflected the dim light, displaying an intricate design of red tattoos, and a tall wickedly curved scythe. He looked like a young, tragic grim reaper.
“Who are you?” Adri demanded. She felt all her adrenaline rushing to the fore, elegy playing. She had never faced a child in battle before, but the visions of this one snuffing out all the lights in the convent killed any sympathy.
The boy answered in a deadpan voice. “My mother has sent me to end you, Veranda.”
“Well, forgive me if I don't just lay down and die,” Adri replied. She opened fire.
The blasts darted towards the boy, only to flash and vanish before impact. The boy hefted his weapon. “Foolish.”
Like a wraith, he sped across the distance between them, scythe poised for a killing swing.
My first firefight was on Telma Luna. I was fresh out of the academy, and hadn't even scuffed the polish on my new combat boots. I was optimistic, enthusiastic, and dumb as a dead dog.
It was supposed to be a simple recon, but most of us raw recruits were hoping for some action. And we got it.
A rainbow of blaster fire. A clash of whines and explosions. In those critical seconds, I wasn't a soldier anymore. I was back home, hiding in a basement and desperately wanting my parents. It was a miracle I wasn't shot as I stood there, frozen in terror.
The sergeant of our squad yanked me down under cover. He gave me a hard shake, and said, “Focus, Rael. Remember that you are just as smart and able as the enemy. Stay steady, and you'll come out on top.”
He was right. While I can't recall where he died, I remember his words.
Focus, steady, and know that you are just as smart as your enemy.
Chapter Forty
Hours of meditation paid off as Adri blocked the boy's scythe with her lance. She had dropped the rifle as useless after seeing the beams vanish, and now they stood, both armed with weapons of days past. Summoning her strength, she knocked the boy back a full five paces. Adri took a quick measure of herself as the boy stumbled. Her tattoos were glowing along her arms, her lance was heavy and real in her fist, and judging by the sharp breath the boy made, her wings had manifested as well. For the first time, Adri was glad. Now they could fight power to power.
“Let's get this started.”
Behind them, mostly forgotten, Hildana raised herself to her feet, wincing at the jarring pain from her shoulder. For a moment, she stared in awe at the two angelic creatures locked in some medieval battle to the death, lunging and blocking with their long shafted weapons. Their wings flashed in the dim light, the markings on their bodies growing brighter as the tempo raced. Then she shook her head, remembering her own part in the plan.
With the ease of long practice, she crept along the floor towards the control panel. The boy noticed her move and tried to lunge, but Adri blocked him, and the two were once again caught up in a fast-paced mix of weapon and fist. Assessing the situation, Hildana rammed the viral data chip that Floyd had given her into the slot. When the first query posted on the viewscreen, she began to type in the necessary glyphs while the data chip downloaded.
A heavy crash sounded above her head. Sweat beaded, and was ignored. Another crash rang out, followed by a small explosion somewhere on the other side of the machine. Hildana continued to type, with one eye on the downloading display. She prayed that her old enemy's luck would hold.
> The boy was fast, and he was smart. If Adri hadn't known the basics of ayallan that Hildana had taught her, she would have been dead in seconds. As it was, she found herself parrying, jumping, dodging, thrusting, kicking and punching seconds too late to cause real damage. The boy usually managed to block or avoid the bulk of the blow, lashing back with deadly speed. He was obviously a master of what Hildana had described as a forgotten, yet highly advanced form of martial arts. His blows were always accurate, feeling much like the feather soft battering ram Adri had experienced in her fistfight with Hildana. His moves flowed, and his timing was perfect.
Adri however, had endurance, strength, and a vast amount of power. When she did manage to land a blow, it was shattering. She snapped a punch at the boy's face, and watched with surprise as his head flew back, blood welling out of his broken nose. He recovered quickly, using the blunt end of his scythe to ram her knee, but she leaped over it. It felt like ages before she began to descend, so Adri lashed out in a brutal kick to the stomach. The boy shot across the room, slamming up into the walkway above their heads with a heavy crash. Adri raced after him, putting on an inhuman burst of speed. The boy was barely able to roll to his feet to parry her lance. His next lunge was off kilter, and she was able to catch him with the tip of her blade before body slamming him across the room and into the side of the machine. A panel exploded, sparking enough light to see the boy crumpled on the ground. Again, Adri raced after him.
But the boy was cunning. As soon as Adri was within range of his scythe, he made a quick roll, bringing up his weapon. She managed to dodge being slashed, leaping over the boy and landing on the machine. A glance down at her chest showed a ribbon of blood beside her ribs. Too close. She rose to jump down, but the boy shot upwards at the same moment. He missed with his weapon, but caught her chin with his fist. She reeled back. Blinking, Adri brought the room back into focus, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Then she looked up. He had flown straight up onto the walkway above, and now stood, dripping blood from his wound, watching her with black eyes.
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