Lucifer's Star

by C. T. Phipps

  Isla, meanwhile, looked unconvinced. “There is a lot wrong with that story, Cassius, but I’m willing to overlook it as long as we can get the hell out of here.”

  “Get in one of the suits,” I said. “You don’t need to fight, just stay alive.”

  “I do whatever it takes to survive,” Isla said, heading to the gold armor.

  I grimaced at that poor choice of words. “Sure.”

  The door then moved three inches forward, barely holding itself in place.

  “I calculate there is a thirty-second time period until it breaks down that door,” Judith said. “Maybe twenty-six.”

  “Right,” I said, running back to the red armor. Sliding into the armor like I was climbing into a vehicle, it made a snap-hiss noise and secured itself against my body. It was surprisingly similar to a starfighter pilot’s interface and my respect for the Void Marines went up just the slightest bit.

  The combat HUD emerged seconds later, giving me tactical data on all our surroundings as well as the life-readings of my companions. The suit could lift one metric ton in addition to my regular strength and provided its own internal life-support. I was still going over features when the metal doors of the Containment room fell over on the ground.

  What followed was a hideous metallic creature that resembled a six-legged cybernetic puma with a scorpion’s tail and a wolf-like set of jaws. The scanners on board the Durandal suit gave a ridiculous series of numbers on the kriegermonster’s performance stats. It made any benefits of my suit superfluous.

  “That was faster than twenty-six seconds,” I said, staring at the creature.

  “This isn’t an exact science!”

  William didn’t hesitate to open fire with both arms around his plasma rifle, showering the construct with energy blasts, which were all but useless against its reinforced heat-dampening plating. The kriegermonster must have cost somewhere around half-a-billion credits since it had technology normally only found in starfighters.

  Isla didn’t hesitate to add her own help to the battle, slamming all of the shelves onto the creature and forcing it to tear through the steel to buy us a few seconds.

  “Maybe you should have saved that detonator cube,” Isla said over the suits’ comms system.

  “No kidding!” I said, searching for some sort of weak point on the monster and firing at its joints while trying to find a tactical position that would give us an advantage against something akin to an animal-shaped tank. “Can you do anything?”

  “I’m trying!” Isla said, looking through the scattered shelves while the kriegermonster pulled itself free.

  “Not you!” I said, looking over at my wife.

  Judith held her fingers to her forehead, almost like she was trying a psychic reading. “I’m sorry; I’m completely locked out of the system. Only a direct DNA recognition from Janice will be able to shut it down.”

  And us with no Clarice matching her.

  Great.

  The kriegermonster charged, and despite my best efforts, the nine-hundred-pound creature landed on me with a thud, driving the tips of its claws into the front of my suit and causing alarms to blare all over my power armor’s HUD.

  “Cassius!” Isla shouted, tossing me my proton sword.

  “Yes!” I muttered, grabbing it and pressing the blade against the side of the creature’s neck, causing sparks to go everywhere before it went underneath the monster’s armor and caused hideous black ichor to spew out.

  The creature backed away as I struggled to my feet, only to be knocked to the ground by the creature’s massive tail. It felt like being hit by a skycar, right before it struck again and cut my proton sword in half. The kriegermonster opened its mouth and a plasma cannon became visible even as my armor’s HUD informed me I was locked on by its targeting system.

  “Ten points!” William shouted, slamming into the side of the kriegermonster and sending it flying through the air against the side of the wall.

  I looked at my broken, ruined sword, then cursed under my breath. It was one of the last ties to my old life. I tossed aside the useless relic, focusing on keeping the rest of my friends alive.

  And William, too.

  The kriegermonster let forth another ear-splitting wail then righted itself before charging at William only to be punched in the face twice then hurled across the other side of the room. It was a ridiculous sight-seeing an armored human fight against a monster like the kriegermonster hand-to-hand, but I remembered William used to be a gladiator.

  It’s very probable that William knew more about fighting constructs than a hundred normal soldiers. They were regularly used in Xerxes fighting pits to kill the natives for the amusement of the sicker members of Crius society. Kriegermonsters were terror weapons and toys of the rich, designed as much to put on a show as be efficient tools of combat. Which still didn’t give him a snowflake’s chance in hell of winning.

  “Here ya go!” Isla handed me her personal energy shield, the one confiscated from the Chel.

  “It won’t help much,” I muttered.

  “Think outside the box,” Judith said, nodding. “The best offense—”

  “Oh dammit!” William shouted as the kriegermonster bit through his artificial arm and tore it to pieces before ripping it in half.

  Instantly, I comprehended the meaning of the two artificially-created women and proceeded to run in front of the kriegermonster before it struck down William once and for all. Waving my hands wildly, the personal energy shield in my hand deactivated, I shouted, “Over here! Don’t settle for the blood of a Xerxes versus a true Crius nobleman!”

  “Damn—” William started to say before being knocked away by the middle left leg of the kriegermonster.

  It charged straight at me and I had a brief moment to regret my decision to save William before it smashed me against the back of the wall. Taking the personal energy shield and stuffing it down the hole I’d created in its shoulder, I activated the device. It pressed a shield outward inside its body, tearing the upper half of the kriegermonster to pieces. The entire room was sprayed in more blackish fluid before I kicked the remaining half of the monster away. Its hind legs and backside kicked frantically in every direction for several seconds before it finally died.

  As much as a creature like it could die.

  William reached over to feel the remains of his arm, then cursed in three languages before looking over at me. “I’m not saying thank you after that true Crius nobleman business, but thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” I muttered, shaking my head.

  “I said I’m not saying thank you!” William shouted back. “Do you think Janice has any more of those?”

  “No, but I’m sure she has a whole army of regular troopers,” I said, looking over at Isla. “Can you attach another arm?”

  Isla shook her head. “No, they only had one emergency reattachment unit left.”

  “Damn,” I said. “So much for that idea.”

  “He still had one when he needed one,” Isla said. “I call that a win.”

  “I don’t,” William said.

  I half-expected a dozen Shogunate troopers to run through the door but, instead, I heard the sounds of plasma fire and screams coming from outside the now-open doors. There was also the sound of gunships landing, which confused the hell out of me since it was still about forty-five minutes until the Revengeance arrived.

  “Let me guess,” William said, taking a deep breath. “Everything has gone to shit outside.”

  “So it seems,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Why can nothing ever be simple?”

  “Death is the only simple thing,” Isla said, picking up her pistol. “We should avoid simple things.”

  “Death isn’t simple,” Judith said, crossing her arms. “I’m living proof of that.”

  “Yeah,” Isla muttered. “I suppose it is.”

  I did a double take, looking at her.

  “It’s a machine thing,” Judith said, closing her eyes. “The Water
Palace is under attack.”

  “By who?” I asked, wondering how things could possibly get worse.

  As if the universe was mocking me, the entire chamber rocked and there was the sound of a building collapsing outside.

  “Who are you talking to?” William said, standing up.

  “A friend,” Judith said on our comms systems. “Now shut up. The entire island is being invaded by Commonwealth Marines.”

  I felt my face. “Dammit, Ida.”

  “So, we’re rescued,” William asked.

  “Not a bit,” I said, sighing. “For a variety of reasons I can’t get into right now.”

  “Try me,” William gritted his teeth. He actually was intimidating even with his recently-restored arm torn off.

  “This entire planet is about to become a massive warzone.”

  Another explosion, closer now, was heard.

  “More than it is, already,” I said. “We need to get the hell out of here.”

  William stared at me, then Isla, then back at me. “Fine. Computer-lady, find us a ship to steal and get to the Melampus.”

  “Already done,” Judith said, projecting the best probable route through a three-dimensional map of the Water Palace. Dozens of red, white, and blue dots covered the screen representing attackers, defenders, and civilians. “Janice has already taken her closest family and advisors down to her bunker and called for reinforcements. This is meant to capture as many high-value targets as possible.”

  “Which will include you,” William muttered, looking at me. “Since you look identical to a big terrorist now.”

  “Yeah,” Judith muttered. “We need to get that fixed.”

  “Thinking about turning me in, Commander?” I asked, staring at William.

  “No,” William said, looking at Isla. “How about you, Ms. I-Will-Do-Anything-to-Survive?”

  Isla stared at me, clearly contemplating her options, then looked aside. “Apparently, that was hyperbole. Can we get to Ida and Clarice?”

  “I’ve already given them an evac point,” Judith said. “They should be meeting us there.”

  “Excellent,” I said.

  “So we can shoot them?” William asked, almost growling.

  “That’s up to you,” I said. “But you should know Hiro was a Fixer.”

  William stopped, apparently recognizing the nickname of Hiro’s organization. “Son of a…is everyone on board a spy?”

  “Apparently,” I deadpanned.

  William lifted up his rifle with one arm again. “Well let’s just get the hell out of here and we’ll sort things out later. I’m not going to try to do it with one damned arm.”

  “A wise decision.”

  “Ain’t nothing wise about anything I’ve done since I’ve joined this crew.”

  I shrugged. “I’ve recently regained my fortune. I can give you a hundred thousand credits for your troubles.”

  William paused. “That helps. Really.”

  The sound of plasma fire blasts drew closer as I lifted up my own rifle and started toward the doors. The Water Palace wasn’t designed to stand up against a sustained military assault, and while the Commonwealth Marines would soon be overwhelmed with the entirety of the forces here on Shogun, the rest of the Free Systems Alliance military and Commonwealth Navy was what I was really worried about. If we didn’t get out of here now, then it was very likely we’d be staring down the barrel of their orbital cannons.

  “This is what you get for trying to make the world a better place,” Judith said in my ear, appearing as a glowing purple diamond in my HUD after her virtual body disappeared. “It never ends well.”

  “Yeah, I’m starting to get that.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The sight that greeted me upon exiting the prison made me believe I was back in the war. The skies were alight with gunships blasting at each other and armed skycars exploding all around us, only to bounce against the Water Palace’s shields as they fell from above.

  The party I’d seen on the prison security system had turned into a massacre as Commonwealth Marines engaged with the bodyguards, mechs, and even a few kriegermonsters which Janice Rin-O’Harra had called to defend her guests. A few of the partygoers had been taken prisoner but this just made them easy victims of crossfire.

  A group of Shogun Special Forces and Orbital Drop Troopers were already beginning their descent, and I had no doubt Janice had called in the military to repulse the Commonwealth’s unexpected assault. It was a nightmare to watch, and I confess my next actions were less than heroic.

  Seeing the nearest group of six Commonwealth Marines with their backs turned to us and not paying attention to our position, I lifted up my rifle and proceeded to gun them down before they realized they were being flanked. They fell before they could respond, unaware they were next to a power-armored soldier.

  “Why the hell did you do that?” William called out, horrified by my sudden act of violence but, thankfully, not pointing his gun at me.

  “They were in our way to get to the nearest gunship,” I said, coldly. “I intend to kill every single trooper, Shogun, FSA, or Commonwealth who stands in our way of getting off this rock.”

  William was silent, right before he fired into a trio of Shogun soldiers who ran up to join with us, mistaking us for reinforcements. “Whatever you say, chief.”

  “You could have used the stun setting,” Judith said in my ear. “You don’t have to kill anymore.”

  “Blast vests and adrenaline mods make those impractical,” I muttered. “You can kill a man on the field of battle, but you can’t take him alive.”

  Judith was silent.

  William, Isla, and I moved across the beautiful stone walkways of the Water Palace, passing several fountains now turned red with the corpses leaking their remains into them. The Commonwealth had clearly expected an easy victory, born from surprise and awe, but it had turned into a pitched battle with several of Crius-born guests actually throwing their lives away by seizing weapons to attack the people who’d killed their world.

  Passing under a fallen set of pulsating green, white, and blue lights strung out over a fallen archway, we entered into an underground walkway. According to our map, it led right to one of the Commonwealth gunships. They’d already spread out from their position so there was very likely only a token force guarding it.

  The underground tunnel was less ornate than topside, full of pipes and wires designed for thousands of servants or bioroids to maintain. There were numerous holes in the wall from energy fire and some bodies, too, mostly those very servants and bioroids. The Commonwealth Marines had cleared their entrance with gas grenades. For whatever reason, they’d chosen not to go with subdual, perhaps for the exact same reason I did—they couldn’t risk someone coming back to kill their buddies.

  In war, you looked after the man beside you and everything else was secondary. I’d forgotten that as a Colonel-Count. I wouldn’t forget it again.

  “I’d forgotten how much I hated war,” I grunted out over the radio as I moved the Durandal suit through the so-far-empty hallways.

  “How do you forget something like that?” William asked.

  “Memory drugs.”

  “You know those can cause hallucinations if you drink alcohol with them.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “You didn’t know that? I just thought you considered that a perk!” Isla said, joking at about the worst time possible.

  “I can see why you were with her,” Judith said. “She’s cute.”

  “Not now, Judith.”

  “Of course, I’m obligated to kill her. You know, just once we’re safe. No duels, just straight-up murder. You can watch.”

  “Judith—”

  “By the way, I didn’t know you had a fetish for artificial girls. Is this something you’ve known all along or is it a new thing?”

  My response was cut off by a heavy plasma blast slamming into my armor’s heat-plates and sending me spiraling back on the gr
ound. We’d accidentally run into a quartet of soldiers standing guard around the corner.

  Dammit! Amateur hour stupidity at its finest.

  Isla fired her pistol repeatedly at our attackers while William retaliated as well. The enemies fired back but at point-blank range, the people wearing armor designed to repel energy blasts had the advantage. A group of three dead Commonwealth troopers were on the ground with a fourth raising his hand in surrender. He was young, barely an adult, and had probably enlisted on a world which conscripted teenagers.

  Too young for this line of work.

  William lifted his gun and I stepped in front of him before punching the kid across the face and sending him to the ground. I then removed his helmet and stunned him.

  “What the hell was that for?” William said. “I thought you said kill everyone.”

  “I dunno,” I said. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”

  William grunted something unintelligible.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  “I said you’re just lucky this isn’t the first time I’ve fought without an arm. It’s just the only time I can’t feel it.”

  “That must be quite a story,” Isla said.

  “Not really, I got my arm blown off during a fight and had to shoot my way out or die. Not much of a story there. I got myself in two years of debt paying for an organic replacement.”

  “Wouldn’t the Marines have paid for a replacement?” Isla asked.

  “You’d think, wouldn’t you?” William muttered. “Fucking politicians.”

  I saw the closed supersteel security doors leading to the docking bay. They were locked down, and while we’d disposed of the guards who were there to keep others from entering, it didn’t really improve our chances of getting in.

  “Is the gunship still on the other side?” I asked, hearing the sound of plasma fire behind us. The Commonwealth troopers were in full retreat now and that meant they’d be arriving soon to deal with us in a decidedly permanent way.

  “Yes,” Judith said. “The chatter on the CSM channels confirms they’re pulling back with a number of secondary targets captured and many more eliminated but no sign of Janice. The gunship’s tracer is still present but I’m not getting a life-reading from its crew.”