“Okay,” she said once she saw that everyone was ready. “Let’s get going.”
The Chief started to lead them over to an access hatch in the floor, and as she was prying it up, Skylaar, Jeena and Josette finally arrived. All three of them wore bandages and they were covered with dried blood. Seeing their disheveled state, Lilith momentarily forgot all about the operation. Her mind centered on her daughter instead.
“Where is Sarah?” she asked them, concern coloring her voice.
“She is in the shuttle right now,” Skylaar told her. “With Maya. We did what we could for them, but they will both need paramedics, and a doctor when there’s time for it.”
Lilith paled, but Skylaar reassured her. “She’ll be fine, Admiral. But right now we have a job to do. Let’s focus on that. Tell me the situation. Have you implemented the Protocole Polaire yet?”
Lilith did a double take. “How do you know about that?” she demanded. “Oh yes. Of course—the Agency.”
Skylaar and Jeena made no reply, and Josette merely rewarded her with a cryptic smile.
“I haven’t been able to implement it yet,” Lilith admitted. She went on to tell them about the lock-out, and their intent to re-take Engineering and institute the Protocole there.
“What do think that you can suggest that the Navy hasn’t already anticipated?” she finally asked her. “And before you answer that, what exactly do you three women do for the Agency? I think I deserve that information before I’ll agree to listen to any proposal.”
“I’m an independent consultant,” the Nemesian answered casually. “I’m called in by the Agency when it has to deal with troublesome personnel issues. Like this one.”
An assassin, Lilith concluded. “And you two?”
“Information Systems Security, “Josette replied. “Jeena here is a Transportation Facilitator, when he’s not filling in on special projects.”
“He?” Lilith asked, giving the neoman an appraising look. “No—never mind. Say what you need to say”.
“The Protocole calls for a commander to isolate the enemy from the ship’s control functions, and flood vital areas with GZ gas, or CO2,” Skylaar said. “Am I correct?”
GZ Gas, or Gaz d'Sanz Connaisanz Agente-417 contained a potent opiate appropriate to humanoids. Odorless, and colorless, it could render anyone unconscious in an enclosed space in just a few seconds. It had been specifically developed for aggressive ship-boardings, and Lilith was utterly confident that it, or the use of CO2, would end the crisis swiftly.
“Yes. What of it?” Lilith asked.
“The gas simply won’t work,” Josette stated. “Not on all of them. Oh, you’ll certainly put the crew to sleep, and get the troopers, but not my sister, or her officers. They will respond far too quickly. They might even manage to escape the sealed areas.”
“I seriously doubt that,” Lilith retorted. “The gas takes effect far too quickly, and if we’re stealthy enough, they won’t even realize that they’ve been assaulted until it’s much too late.”
“With respect, I beg to differ, Admiral,” Skylaar countered. “Colonel bel Thana and her fellow conspirators also know all about the Protocole, and they have certainly prepared themselves for its implementation. In addition, their reaction time is much faster than most normal women. When they see the others around them starting to drop, they will respond, and save themselves. There are portable emergency masks on the bridge, are there not? For the officers?”
“Yes, there are, but no one is that fast,” Lilith countered. “They’ll never activate them in time. Not all of them!”
“Humor me,” Skylaar said. “If I can have a word with your Engineering Chief, and have her make a slight modification to the ship’s environmental systems, we might be able to counter this problem. But we’ll need to do it before you attempt any lockdown or employ the gas.”
“What modification?”
“I can’t tell you that, Admiral,” Skylaar answered. “I’m sorry, but you don’t possess the required clearance level. It goes well beyond ‘Brilliant’. In fact, there isn’t even a classification level for the subject, but I assure you that what I have in mind will not harm your crew, or impede your operation in anyway. What it will do is help us handle Bel Thana’s officers, even if they escape.”
Lilith was strongly inclined to refuse her, just on the grounds that she wasn’t being included in the information loop, but Skylaar’s aura of confidence, and their dearth of allies, convinced her otherwise.
She turned to Bel Lyra. “Chief, hear her out. If it sounds like it will work, do it. But if it seems like it will cause us any significant problems, tell her no. I’m trusting in your judgment here.”
Bel Lyra nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Is there somewhere we can talk—alone?” Skylaar asked the woman.
“Sure,” Bel Lyra said, and then she led her into an adjoining chamber. This was a locker room reserved for the Hangar’s service teams.
As they left, Lilith confronted Grammy. “What was she talking about? Does this have something to do with that little trick you pulled in the hangar?”
“I don’t know what you mean, Lily,” Grammy replied. “Skylaar is just taking the proper precautions. It’s nothing worth worrying over. Now, if you’ll pardon me, I really should go and help her to explain things to the Chief.”
With that, she vanished into thin air, leaving Lilith both amazed and frustrated. For their parts, neither Jeena nor Josette bothered to enlighten her. Instead, they seemed to be amused.
***
When they were alone at last, Skylaar directed Bel Lyra to stand at one end of the locker room while she went to the other. Puzzled, the Chief complied.
“Chief,” Skylaar began, “When you get to Engineering, I need you to alter the anti-gravity fields throughout the entire ship. We will require a fluctuating wave that drops the gravity by one one-hundredth of a degree, and then increases it above the normal range to the same extent. I need this wave to repeat in intervals of a quarter of a second. That should achieve the desired results.”
“Sure. I can do that—the anti-grav plates are all networked,” Bel Lyra agreed. “We can make the change with a group command. But--why? It’ll screw up our mass and fek with our local time. The ship’s clocks’ll be off…”
She performed a quick mental calculation.”…by a 1/100th of a second! Do you know what that will do to the computer systems? We’re bound to sprout errors all over the place. We’ll have to have someone posted at a control station to correct for that.”
“I fully appreciate the difficulty involved,” Skylaar said. “But we need the time alteration that this wave will produce. It’s the only way that we can confuse the symbiotes.”
“Symbiotes?” Bel Lyra asked. “What are they? Why are they an issue?”
Skylaar’s expression grew somber. “Chief, can I count on your absolute discretion?”
“Of course!” Bel Lyra answered.
“Good,” Skylaar replied. “But before we proceed any further, I feel that it would be prudent for me to ensure your cooperation conclusively. Please don’t take offense.”
With this, Skylaar disappeared, and then reappeared an instant later, right next to her. At the same time, the Engineer felt a sharp pain in her arm and cried out. “Hey! What the fek! How did you just—? What did you just do to me?”
“It is what the symbiote can do,” Skylaar explained. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not teleportation. The symbiote transcends time itself. It is an alien device—a Drow’voi one to be precise, and every agent past a certain rank has one implanted in her body.’
“Many years ago, we discovered that it has a weakness. This occurred during one of our operations aboard a naval vessel. The artificial gravity malfunctioned, and we learned that the symbiote cannot adjust for rapid fluctuations in the local time-stream that this creates. Since this does not occur in nature, and artificial gravity is generally dependable, only a few women even kn
ow about this, and we wish to keep things that way. Our implanted agents must never come to suspect that we have the means to defeat their most powerful tool through such a simple process.’
“As for the pain in your arm, I have injected you with a customized nanite. It will remain inert in your body. For now. However, if I ever perceive that you have violated my confidence, I will send the signal, and it will kill you within seconds. With that said, welcome to Phantasma, sister.”
Grammy materialized next to them a nanosecond later. “There is a trade-off, you know” the older woman supplied. “Not only do you get to save Humanity, but you’ll learn about all sorts of amazing technology that you never even dreamed of. So, are you good with this? We certainly hope so.”
Bel Lyra looked at them, dumbfounded. Then she found her tongue. “All right. I am,” she agreed. “I’ll make the change.”
With that, they returned to the others.
“It’s nothing,” the Chief said to Lilith. “It won’t get in the way.”
“Very well,” Lilith responded. “Kaly?”
“One more thing,” Kaly said. She had turned to Skylaar and her fellow agents. Unlike the others, she didn’t consider them to be dead weight. She actually respected their skills as fighters. “What about you? Will you come with us?”
“I think we would be better served if Josette and I proceeded to the armory and secured it,” Skylaar answered. ”We can take care of the loose teams in the process—especially the one holding the Lifts. We can spare Jeena though. He can accompany you.”
“That’ll work,” Kaly agreed. “It’s the same deal for you. No killing any troopers unless you have to.”
“Very reasonable,” Skylaar nodded. “We shall do our utmost to abide by your requirements.”
This, Kaly didn’t doubt. “All right,” she said looking around her. “Does anyone else have something to say?” When no one spoke, she gestured for the Chief to finish opening up the deck panel.
Seeing the narrow passage, Kaly’s expression suddenly became playful. “You think you can fit down that, Astrid?”
“Yah,” the bigger woman said, “My mother handled me juzt fine ven I vas born. I zhink zat zis is wider zan zhe vas”
“Okay,” Kaly said. “I’m sure we can get the Chief to find something to grease you up with if you need it.”
“Ach,” Margasdaater answered. “No need. But maybe you or Ben Di zhould go virst. Ozervize zey might zhink ve are tvin zizsterz ven ve pop oot!”
They shared a laugh at this, and for an instant, it seemed as if they had never been separated from one another in the first place. Team 201 was whole again.
Kaly led the way, dropping down into the tunnel first. She was immediately followed by Ben Di, then Margasdaater, Jeena and T’Jinna. True to their instructions, Lilith and the Chief, with Jon and Bar Daala, went next, and Josette and Skylaar brought up the rear. The passage was just large enough for everyone to stand up in, and Kaly immediately commandeered the Chief’s hand held device, and gave it to Ben Di.
A few minutes later, when the holo indicated that they had reached the proper junction, Kaly signaled for a halt. One of the passages led towards Engineering, and the other to the Armory and the Lifts.
Wishing them luck, Josette and Skylaar left them there and headed off on their mission.
***
At the point where she was confident that they were well out of earshot, Josette stopped and turned to face Skylaar. “So”, she said, subtly relaxing her stance and readying herself for combat. “Shall we get to our business?”
Skylaar, who was doing exactly the same thing, nodded. “Yes. This seems as good a place as any.”
Josette smiled, and withdrew her sword from its sheath, and then began to circle the woman. “How much did she pay you?”
“Angelique, or Silvi?” Skylaar asked. She had taken out her own blade and was holding it in a relaxed, receptive position, point down and blade up.
“Since Angelique is dead, I suppose my question concerns my dear sister, Silvi,” Josette replied. By now, both women had embraced their symbiotes, so that neither had the advantage.
“Forty-five,” Skylaar told her as she stepped back and sideways. ”Fifty if I could bring her your head.”
Josette was appalled by the sum. “Only fifty? My head is worth much more than that!” Despite her outburst, she didn’t lower her guard by even a centimeter.
“The Guild found it acceptable,” Skylaar responded, bringing her blade up and sideways as she continued maneuvering and appraising Josette for weaknesses. “Tell me, when did you know?”
“From the very start of our endeavor,” Josette smiled. “Your reputation preceded you, and my sibling’s intentions have always been as clear as glass. It was only logical that they would retain you—and that you would wait until you could get me alone. Now you have.”
Skylaar didn’t even bother to deny it.
“I have a counter offer,” Josette continued. “I’ll make it 75, 80 for her head, and another 20 to you as a finder’s fee. Once this is over, I plan on engaging your services with regards to several bothersome individuals. Tell me, does the Guild allow you to negotiate on its behalf?”
“It does,” Skylaar answered, “and I find your offer acceptable. With one stipulation--” her sword remained poised to strike, and Josette did not miss the message that this sent.
“Which is?”
“I want Maya left alone and unharmed,” Skylaar told her. “That is not negotiable, and without it we have no contract.”
Josette lowered her blade, slightly, and frowned. “That is almost enough for me to reconsider my generous offer. But---I will agree to it. At least until I can find a way to betray you.”
“Naturally,” Skylaar responded. Her blade had also lowered by a centimeter. “We have a deal then?”
“We do.” Josette said, returning her blade to its scabbard. “You drive a very hard bargain, Skylaar.”
This was an understatement. Not only had she just promised to pay the Assassins’ Guild of Ashkele nearly 100 million Credits to save her life and retain Skylaar’s talents, but she had also agreed to let Maya go her own way. Control over Maya was priceless, but she really had no alternatives.
“You know,” she added, “You and I should talk later. “We really should have a conversation.”
As they released their symbiotes, Skylaar gave her a quizzical look. “Oh? And have you had this ‘conversation’ with others? With anyone that I know personally?”
“Yes,” Josette admitted. “With Lady Ananzi. It has been going on for some years, and Angelique became an impediment to its goals. Phantasma was the Conversâzi’s answer to the problem, and not the independent entity that you were led to believe. It was more of a project name than anything else.”
“I suspected as much,” Skylaar replied. “Everyone involved knew far too much to ascribe to one mole, however well placed she was.” By now, she had put her own weapon away.
“I do apologize for that deception, but it was expedient,” Josette said. “I assure you however, that the participants involved all want the same things that you do for the Sisterhood. We always have. Would you care to join our little talk?”
Skylaar shrugged, her equivalent of a smile. “Perhaps,” she answered tentatively. “For now, I would simply like to see our business at the armory completed, and then visit the hangar for a few minutes.”
Josette grinned, immediately grasping the shape of her plan. “Of course.”
With that, the two women moved off together down the passage. To anyone who hadn’t been privy to their interaction, they would have seemed completely relaxed, and utterly comfortable with one another. Which they were; their new business relationship guaranteed that they were now the closest of sisters.
Until the situation changed.
***
A dozen meters from their objective, there was a rhythmic tapping on the deck plates above them. Kaly recognized the sound right away.
Any Marine would have.
It was a battlebot on patrol, making its rounds in the corridor overhead. Instantly, she tapped Margasdaater’s shoulder with her boot, twice. The woman stopped moving immediately and passed her message down the line to the others with her own foot signal, but with the exception of Lilith and Bel Lyra, this was unnecessary. Everyone in Team 201 understood the danger that the sound represented.
If the ‘bot detected them, it would be able to attack them with its guns, firing armor piercing rounds right through the metal, and there was nothing they could do to defend against this, much less escape.
Kaly held her breath instinctively, fully aware that this was a useless reaction. The ‘bot’s sensors could pick up her body heat, bioplasmic signature and the magnetic differences that her mere presence generated.
If it wasn’t confused by the metal and all the conduits that surrounded them. That was what she was gambling on, and praying for.
The killer robot paused, and Kaly could just see the faint light from its scanner eye shining down through the small gaps between the plates, as its artificial intelligence tried to decide if it had discovered a threat or not. After a brief interval, the light finally winked out, and the battlebot moved on. It had not discovered them.
Kaly tapped Margasdaater on the shoulder again, telling her to start moving, and to quicken her pace. The ‘bot would not forget that something had disturbed it, and it was almost certain that would come back again to reexamine the area. She didn’t want to be there when this happened. Luck could only carry them so far.
She crawled on. Just when she was fairly certain that she was close to their objective, a message came.
Kaly. Stop. You’re there.
Instantly, she froze and looked up, pointing the micro finger-light of her glove at the deck plate. The infrared beam illuminated the component number for her goggles to see. It was 2135478-B. According to Ben Di’s readout, she was now directly below and behind the trooper stationed at the far end of the secondary bridge. Margasdaater came to a halt a second later. She was also in position to attack her target, and Ben Di and T’Jinna were in place beneath the two women guarding the entrance.
Sisterhood of Suns: Daughters of Eve Page 79