by Paul Centeno
“Don’t forget about Psychomania,” Xorvaj said, placing a claw on his partner’s shoulder for a moment. “Now that I’ve recovered, we gotta bash more skulls and earn reons.”
Again, he didn’t reply. The ghensoth froze, rather surprised that his comrade remained quiet. Shirakaya shook her head at Xorvaj, gesturing to leave Dojin alone. Not wasting any more time, the pair left and disembarked from their battleship while the renegade continued drinking at the bar.
Dojin had several DP-823 data pads laid out on the counter. Each one contained news on heists that had occurred within the past eight cycles—the last one on Pravura. Despite having all this information, he failed to find a shred of evidence about the thugs who had killed his brigade and caused a rift between him and Zadoya.
With no lead to follow, it was another boring day for Dojin on Marauder. Stumbling upon the same dead end at which he’d always run into in the past, he felt like a total deadbeat. There was nothing for him to do except get drunk. He’d never forget the pain; he would never let it go. The grudge was all he had left to hold himself together. Nevertheless, he needed a break from the emptiness inside him.
“I miss you,” he muttered to the air, drowning in intoxication.
Grabbing a jug of yushkar mugasis, he poured half of its contents into his glass. Before crossing over to the state of being a drunkard, a telecommunications screen turned on above the bar counter. A sports channel about Death Ships appeared but was rapidly switched to UCN, a female anchor revealing gruesome details about a heist on Ujhiri.
The renegade gazed at it, refraining from his cocktail. He listened intently, learning that Velletek’s security guards, a new receptionist, and one teller had been brutally murdered at the branch located in the Infinite Stock Exchange. In addition, sixty-five million reons had been stolen from the bank’s vault and automated teller machines.
“If I did not know any better, I’d say this M.O. is linked to the legendary Extraction,” the AI said via Dojin’s kinetic link.
“Possibly,” the renegade said, putting his drink down. “Why do you care?”
Vokken’s static-like form revealed a frown. “I’ve already explained myself, fleshling. It is my objective to see the Aardanian freelancer and her mercenaries performing at one hundred percent capacity. This kind of past baggage you carry will keep resurfacing, hindering your ability to vanquish the koth’vurians until it is resolved. I am merely assisting you to complete my goal.”
“In other words, you’re turning into some kind of cybernetic guru? Let me pretend you’re not bullshitting me. What’s your game plan?”
The arcane intelligence produced a wicked grin. “We both know Extraction likes to strike three locations in the same month before falling off the radar for a cycle. Considering all the hot spots they have chosen before and the fact that they never return to the same location twice, we can cross out Ujhiri.”
“Tell me something I don’t know, cyberfag.”
“Entertain me for a moment,” the AI said, scowling. “We know that once they target a specific bank, other heists take place at different branches, even if in another star system or galaxy. Since they chose one of Velletek’s most successful branches on Ujhiri, I can easily pinpoint two other possible locations of equal fame: Chovala and Tyuchstelia.”
“You’re fucking with me.”
Vokken maintained a stern visage. “Again, it would be in my best interest to aid you. And perhaps the currency they have stolen can fall into our possession.”
“I don’t give a shit about the money they stole,” the renegade said, no longer looking at his kinetic link device. With his eyes fixated on the anchor interviewing a survivor at the bank, he went on, “I simply want those motherfuckers dead. Now stop wasting my time and get my ass over to one of those planets.”
III
Underworld
In a metropolis located millions of kilometers under the earth of planet Chovala, a spectral passenger train zoomed through a well-lit tunnel. Its semitransparent hull allowed the humyns of the colony to view the pathway that glittered with myriad gems embedded throughout its carved walls and ceiling.
Something else, however, shone brighter than the jewels. In a heartbeat, it caught the passengers’ attention. They gazed upward and saw what looked like a shuttle flash by them. With little room to maneuver, the vessel zoomed past each cart until it was in front of the arcane locomotive. Enveloped in hyirum, it broke away from the train and flew up as soon as another path opened. Masked in liquid mana, state-of-the-art detectors failed to recognize the vehicle flying up a maze-like infrastructure where only engineers were allowed.
The android pilot zigzagged from one narrow passage to another. At maximum speed, it avoided metal walls by mere centimeters until reaching a dead end, at which point the vessel launched a fusion missile. An explosion erupted, causing the metal frame to melt apart as the ship darted through dirt at an unstoppable speed.
A thousand feet above, hard-working citizens and intergalactic traders milled about inside one of the largest banks in all of Ensar. Famous for its subterranean location and vast security network, shrewd business people came here to deposit their fortunes. Although the Velletek branch was so deep and close to the planet’s core, it had never experienced an earthquake. Now, though, the bank trembled for the first time in its history.
People froze, wide-eyed. Even the security guards appeared flustered. Moments later, the center of the bank’s floor blasted apart. Dozens of merchants fell into the sinkhole as a starship rose from the pit, unleashing a stasis field that temporarily disrupted all technology. During that time, a saucer released itself from the craft’s substructure while seven aliens disembarked.
Wielding destructive weapons, each one took command of a direction and fired lethal beams at officers in their line of sight. Guards stationed on the second floor toppled over the marble balustrade and slammed against the lower floor. Those already on the lower level simply dropped to the ground, their bodies riddled with holes.
In tandem, the hovering saucer played an android-sounding message: Lie down on the floor; do not move; do not scream; do not speak; do not look up. The message replayed itself multiple times. Not a single banker or trader resisted, their lips pressing against the ground. Most of them were either crying or too shocked to weep. Only one teller had the guts to charge toward an alarm. Though he managed to press it, the stasis field that had disrupted everything prevented it from going off.
The masked ghensoth galloped across and dug his claw into the teller’s neck, ripping out his backbone. He then flung the bloodied spinal cord across the atrium. It landed near a family of xentari merchants who shrieked and scrambled, at which point the hevala and tyiri gunned them down. More people cried, but none were foolish enough to move.
“One minute before the EMP frequency resets,” the ghensoth announced, his already husky voice sounding even more ominous through the mask.
His humyn comrades acknowledged his warning, using their jetpacks to reach the second-floor vault. Piercing its sealed door with enchanted flame swords, they stepped inside and ported all corporal deposits to their kinetic link devices. Meanwhile, the sca’vezi and xentari robbers hacked into automatic teller machines and stole millions of reons.
In the meantime, the ghensoth bashed open all the teller cash dispensers and took every last reon before galloping back to Velletek’s lobby. Mere seconds remaining, the shuttle returned to the pit. Its side door unsealed, allowing the robbers to get on board. Once inside, their android pilot exited the bank with its saucer counterpart and followed the maze-like path until it returned to the planet’s death-defying atmosphere. The police were not notified of their heist until they had already left Chovala’s star system.
IV
Searching for Satellites
Marauder returned to the Wulga Fein galaxy, accelerating through a star system by means of its arcane engine. Without a mission, it was pointless for Vokken to use the cosmodrive. Co
nserving fuel and energy, he flew the battleship across space at a normal speed. At this point, Dojin and the archeologist were the only personnel on board. Everybody else had disembarked from Marauder, whether for a vacation or for some other kind of personal matter.
The word vacation did not exist for Dojin. He spent his free time hunting the group Extraction. Sitting in the captain’s chair, he anxiously drummed his fingers along the seat’s arms while daydreaming about slaughtering his adversaries. Only when Marauder came to a halt near Chovala’s star system did he stand up.
“Why in all the hells did you stop?”
Vokken’s cybernetic face appeared on the screen. “It’s too late. They were one step ahead of me.”
“What?”
“See for yourself,” the AI said.
When the windowpane switched to UCN news, Dojin had a sudden urge to smash the telecommunications screen and break every computer terminal on the bridge. He watched an anchor speak at the center of the bank’s atrium; she was explaining the incident and went on to interview a few survivors. The renegade observed Velletek’s background, focusing on the sinkhole.
“It seems they used the residue of a spectral train’s hyirum to pass through the tightest security Chovala has to offer.”
“Liquid mana,” Dojin said, tightening his fists.
The screen changed back to Vokken’s static-like visage. “Correct. It must have enveloped the entire vessel. On another note, I searched the TDE to see if a guild submitted a quest to find these heisters. Alas, there is nothing. And with good reason. I am starting to think you should let go of your past and allow the authorities to handle this one.”
Dojin lowered his head but maintained a wrathful glare as he approached the screen. “You will send me to Velletek’s branch on Tyuchstelia this instant or I swear I’ll find a way to upload the worst possible virus to your mainframe.”
“I am no longer on a single mainframe,” the AI said, glowering at him. “But if you want to die that bad, so be it.”
“Oh, and I don’t wanna get there next month. Use the fucking cosmodrive.”
Even though the arcane intelligence didn’t respond, he initiated FTM and flew Marauder through dimensional space. The chasm was short lived. Within minutes, the ship traversed from Wulga Fein to Syichi Photh-Kos. Arriving near the outskirts of the far-flung galaxy, Vokken disengaged the cosmodrive and utilized Marauder’s arcane engine for the remaining six-minute flight to the tyiri homeworld.
“You’d better be right about Tyuchstelia.”
“Without me, you’d be drunk and nowhere,” the AI said. “Tyuchstelia is another Pravura. Some say this metropolis of a world is more economically efficient than Ujhiri despite its lack of the Infinite Stock Exchange. Believe me, fleshling, Extraction’s next heist will be there.”
The renegade decided to trust him. For the remainder of the flight, he scanned through his kinetic link device’s armor and weapons’ tab. By the time he knew what items he’d use, Vokken was approaching the planet. Its rising star-scrapers stunned Dojin, but not enough to take his mind off what needed to be done. Porting a black-market helmet that resembled a skeletal face covered with blood stains, he donned it and equipped himself with the EX-600 environmental armor Rah’tera had given him a few months ago.
Entering the twilight atmosphere, Marauder descended amid a cluster of star-scrapers that rose to outer space. To the renegade’s surprise, the network of buildings resembled a celestial metropolis built for gods. Lit akin to a circuit, the urban continent that Dojin stared at appeared to flourish well in the midnight expanse.
“I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Not necessarily,” the AI said. “Here on Tyuchstelia, businesses are open sixty-three hours, fifteen days a week.
Dojin sat still, slack-jawed. “You serious?”
“I’m afraid you won’t find me to be much of a prankster, fleshling. Velletek is open all day and night. Now, let’s assume Extraction will make their move during twilight when staff is halved. I’ll hack into the bank’s cameras and shall notify you to move in as soon as security is disrupted. A sound plan?”
“The only sound I wanna hear are my bullets piercing their skulls.”
V
Stagger
Stepping into an arcane elevator on the forty-five thousandth floor of a corporate building, a tyiri lawyer selected Velletek. Fueled by hyirum, the glass elevator rose hundreds of levels within just a few seconds. Although alone, he felt strangely crowded despite the obvious fact that he was all by himself.
Attempting to calm himself, he gazed at the windowed capsule and viewed the vista of star-scrapers with appreciation. After three minutes, the pod reached outer space. It stopped on the ninety-three thousandth floor, arriving at Velletek’s most popular branch in all of planet Tyuchstelia.
Entering the vestibule, the lawyer placed a suitcase on a scanner. A guard examined him while another checked the elevator itself, whose doors appeared to be jammed. Meanwhile, the first guard freed the lawyer who grabbed his bag and advanced into the atrium. Encased in several thick panes of votrigon, the bank’s view from every direction revealed Tyuchstelia’s twin moons and distant stars. This was an everyday view for the tyiri, so he paid no mind to the panorama as he approached an automated teller machine.
When he reached the screen, an unknown force smashed his head against the display so hard that his face went through it—his brain frying in an instant. People cringed and shrieked, but they screamed louder when both security officers in the vestibule were blown away. Just then, Extraction deactivated their cloaking devices and spread around the exquisite branch while their saucer announced: Lie down on the floor; do not move; do not scream; do not speak; do not look up.
As usual, while the message played, the heisters targeted and shot at every officer inside the bank. Despite the message explaining otherwise, people screamed in hysteria. Many others cried and attempted to hide. Those who didn’t listen were silenced by the xentari’s rifle. An accountant watching the carnage dared to break into a run toward an arcane elevator, at least until the ghensoth caught his face sidelong with a grappling hook, ripping it off.
Silence descended over Velletek, broken only by the ceiling’s glass shattering. Particles fell like daggers, accompanied by the renegade who aimed his fully charged plasma shotgun at one of the two humyns and blasted his abdomen. The ray disintegrated his waist, at which point his upper body flopped onto the floor, along with his collapsing legs.
“Abort!” the other humyn shouted. “Abort!”
Extraction scrambled and took cover while Dojin made a smooth descent using his boots’ built-in shock-absorbers. The xentari clutched a random teller, aiming at her head. Before he could threaten to shoot the hostage, Dojin purposely shot the teller in the shoulder with a pistol in one hand and unleashed the remaining charge of his scattergun at the xentari. His head splattered, blood oozing onto the marble floor as the lifeless body fell flat beside the wounded teller who shrieked—half in pain and half in response to the gore.
“Payback is like a rotten cunt.”
The hevala removed her demented helmet and approached Dojin from behind, releasing her ever-intoxicating pheromones. This gave the others an opportunity to fall back, returning to the vestibule. Dojin turned, gazing at her as she walked around him in a circle. With one hand, she reached out to stroke his cheek while stealthily pulling out a dagger with the other. Before her delicate fingers could touch him, he seized her leafy wrist and kicked her back.
“You think my dick is gonna move for you, bitch?”
She flinched in disbelief, never having met someone who could resist her. Seizing the chance, Dojin ported a tetrigonium maul and smashed her in the cranium before she could stab him. Dazed with blood leaking from her forehead, she knelt down. Both hands on the maul, he raised it and bashed her scalp again. The hevala croaked, collapsing to the floor. He continued smashing her head until only mashed brains and blood
remained.
“That must have been exhilarating,” Vokken said via KLD, “but the others are getting away.”
Sprinting toward the vestibule, Dojin encountered the other humyn.
“Fucker!” he bellowed, swiping at the renegade with an enchanted machete. “You killed my brother!”
Dojin swerved aside and evaded the fiery blade as he responded, “And you broke our deal by murdering my squad, you backstabbing piece of shit!” The renegade kicked the machete out of his foe’s hand. “I’ve been waiting a whole lot of cycles to fuck you assholes up.”
“What are you…some kind of vigilante?” Without waiting for an answer, the thief roared while ramming Dojin against a votrigon wall that cracked. “Die!”
“Not yet,” the renegade said, pushing him back and grabbing the enflamed machete. “I’m just getting started, dickhead.”
Adrenaline pumping, he swiped the blade down, chopping the humyn’s mask in half, blood squirting. Sirens resounded. The renegade turned around, seeing a police officer approach on a hoverbike. Dojin ported a laser rifle and blasted a nearby pane of glass, shattering it. His environmental suit defied the rigidness of space as he hurled a grenade at the officer.
Upon detonation, a stasis materialized and temporarily imprisoned the policeman. It rapidly lifted him off his bike and propelled him to the bank. Snatching the chance, Dojin broke into a run and leapt onto the hoverbike.
“Where did those pussies go?”
“UCN is reporting the tyiri Interpol pursuing a vessel not far from this sector,” Vokken said. “I’m sending the coordinates to your KLD.”
Receiving the directions, Dojin accelerated past a multitude of star-scrapers at full speed. In time, he noticed purple and orange lights flickering ahead. It wasn’t long before he reached a group of police vehicles, passing them with ease. They started to pursue him too as he gradually caught up to the remaining heisters.
After demanding several times for Dojin and the heisters to stop, the police finally opened fire. Wild-eyed, Dojin ported a bazooka while glancing at his rear and launched a fusion missile at the police. The vehicles swerved off course, abruptly colliding into a building. Though wounded, the officers managed to survive.