Ronin Born

by Percival Constantine

  “If this is supposed to be a joke, it’s not funny,” she said.

  “No, it’s not a joke.”

  There was a new voice echoing in her head. Somehow, someone had tapped into her frequency and cut her off from her allies. The voice was disguised with a modulator and the image that was displayed on her AR-HUD was just static.

  “Who is this?”

  “I should ask you the same thing. When you interfaced with our systems, you gave us a path into your communications. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get a visual on you or backtrace whoever it is you were speaking with. But no matter. Once you’re dead, we can peel that armor off you and discover who you really are.”

  “I’d like to see you try,” said Erika.

  There was a distorted chuckle followed by, “Famous last words.”

  Erika’s AR-HUD picked up on movement just around the corner. She stopped and held out her hand in a gesture telling the refugees to halt their movements. The sword hilt slid into her hand and the energy blade flared to life again.

  There was a lumbering noise. A creature turned the corner, an unholy amalgamation of technology and flesh. The skin was pulled tight over the face, half of which had been replaced by cybernetics. The right arm was still human, but the left had been replaced by a mechanical one that was so long, it would be dragging on the floor if the creature held it at his side. The monstrous arm ended in a hand with razor-sharp blades for fingers. The torso ended in mechanical hips and legs that put the poor soul at close to seven feet in height.

  “Why are you doing this to them?” asked Erika.

  “Because we’re finding new weapons to use against the nation’s enemies, new ways to improve our soldiers, and a method for these parasites to actually contribute to this great society of ours.”

  The cyborg let out an inhuman wail and swung his mechanical arm towards Erika. She rolled towards him, going under the arm. If she could get him further down the junction, she could clear a path for them to escape.

  Erika sprung to her feet, activating the stun setting on her blade. The cyborg was hunched over and she was right within range. She jammed the sword into his chest, and he let out what sounded like a mix between a human scream and tearing metal.

  When she pulled the sword from his chest, he lumbered back. His expression was fixed in its current form, so she couldn’t get a sense of how he responded. But he did stand motionless, though she knew it wouldn’t last long. However, she had managed to get him past the junction, leaving the corridor to the right open.

  “Go,” said Erika, glancing back over her shoulder. “Get to the stairs and go down to the bottom floor. Then find the submarine dock. I have a friend who will see that you get out of here safely.”

  Their expressions showed a mixture of emotions. Some clearly were worried of going off on their own, but others seemed to have concern for their savior. Others were still in a state of horror at the cybernetic creature that used to be one of them.

  “Please, go now!” Erika ordered, louder this time. “I can’t risk you getting hurt by this thing!”

  That seemed to convince them to move and they started to flow towards the right down the corridor. She only hoped they could get down there before the security guards intercepted them. And she had to keep trying to connect to Masao or Himiko.

  The cyborg stirred to life again, breaking out of his trance. His cybernetic eye, which glowed bright red, focused on Erika. The light it emanated became brighter, and Erika knew what was going to happen. She jumped as a laser fired from the eye, striking the spot where she had just stood and leaving a burn mark on the floor.

  Once she caught her footing, she propelled herself at the creature’s legs. She changed the setting to lethal, slicing through one of the legs and severing the knee. He collapsed, bracing himself on his cybernetic arm.

  “A good strike, but it won’t matter. Even if you can defeat my little pet, security will make certain your rescue attempt ends in tears.”

  He was right. She had to finish this off quickly and get down to the refugees. Erika jumped for the cybernetic arm, but instead of cutting it off, she used it as a springboard.

  Her energy sword cut through the air and just as it was about to connect with his head, the eye unleashed another blast. This time, it struck her square in the chest and threw her against the wall.

  Warnings flashed on Erika’s AR-HUD, informing her of what the pain in her chest had already told her—the armor integrity had been compromised. She looked down and saw a hole right in her chest at the point where the blast struck. A scorch mark was on her bare skin and the nanites were struggling to slither in place and repair the damage.

  “Dammit…” she muttered.

  She got to her feet and readied her blade again, determined to press on even if her suit was compromised. Erika started moving again and the cyborg seemed to be preparing another blast from its eye. She raised the sword and it released an energy pulse that intercepted the cyborg’s optic laser. Another pulse struck the cyborg’s face and he reeled back.

  The cyborg flailed, throwing his cybernetic arm around the area. Erika had to duck and dodge to avoid the blades. Her chest screamed in pain with every move she took, and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep this going.

  He recovered from the pulse and now swung at her with more coordination. Erika tried to flip away to avoid the latest strike, but the pain in her chest threw her off and she was slow to react. That allowed the cyborg to strike her with his claws.

  Unlike the laser, the claws were not strong enough to pierce her armor. But his strength was enough to stagger her. She tried to shake it off when another blast hit her, this time striking her abdomen.

  Erika dropped to her knees and hunched over. She had to brace herself on her hands to stop from faceplanting. More warnings flashed across the AR-HUD and the pain only got worse. She reached with a hand and felt the hole in her armor just below her ribcage.

  “You can end this yourself, you know. Offer to stand down and I’ll deactivate the cybernetics that are keeping him moving.”

  “And then what?” she asked.

  “Then you will tell us just where you got your armor and who sent you.”

  “What about those people?”

  A chuckle followed by, “They aren’t people. They’re parasites.”

  Erika raised her torso upright. She slid one leg forward, her knee bent and she leaned heavily on it as she pushed herself up. Her grip tightened around the tsuka and the blade flared to life once more.

  “That’s all I needed to hear,” she said.

  “Don’t be an idiot. You can’t win against him.”

  A new fire ignited in Erika. She pushed past the pain and rushed at the cyborg. The eye hummed once more and Erika deflected the blast with a pulse from her sword. She raised the energy sword and brought it down on the claws. The blade strained against them, having trouble going through the metal.

  The cyborg tried to push against the sword. He fixed on Erika, his eye glowing again. She met his gaze and stayed determined, struggling against the claws while never looking away, timing her strike just right.

  Then, she pulled away and the energy blade vanished. The force the cyberg had been using to fight against the blade now had no more resistance and his arm flew up just as the eye unleashed another optic beam. The laser ended up blowing a hole right through the cybernetic hand.

  The cyborg recoiled in pain and Erika used this as her chance. She maneuvered around the flailing arm and jumped on his back, then jammed the energy blade into the spot where his head met his neck.

  The scream was cut short and the cyborg collapsed. Erika fell on the ground herself and remained there for a moment. She was eye-level with the cyborg and she watched as the red light in its cybernetic eye slowly dimmed to blackness.

  “What have you done?”

  “Put that poor soul out of his misery,” she said, just as footsteps echoed through the hall. Erika’s AR-HU
D warned her of approaching figures, as if she couldn’t tell herself. She pulled herself up in time to meet the barrels of a dozen assault rifles all trained on her.

  25

  Erika’s armor had been breached and now she found herself staring down the barrels of a dozen assault rifles. She wondered if the armor was still strong enough to hold up to them, or if she even had the energy to keep on fighting. But as she tightened her grip on the tsuka, she knew she was determined to try.

  “You’ve put up a good fight, my friend. But now, the best thing for you to do is to stand down. I’d hate to have to kill someone who has proven so capable in battle.”

  “Go to hell,” was her response as she strained to rise to her feet.

  The guards tracked her with their weapons. She saw that their fingers had moved inside the trigger guards. At the slightest provocation, they would fire on her. If this was the end, then at least she’d go out fighting.

  “YAH!”

  The shout came from behind. The guards blocked her view and they all turned to the source. They opened fire and while they were distracted, Erika took her opportunity. She activated her blade and rammed it through the back of the guard closest to her.

  Another turned his attention to her and she was thankfully within range enough to slice through his barrel and she performed an elbow-strike on his face.

  There were other groans and screams of pain from further ahead. As the guards fell before her and the other mysterious attacker, her view became unobstructed. And what she saw was Masao cutting through them one by one.

  He moved faster than she expected, and judging from the pristine state of his armor, seemed he hadn’t encountered any resistance until now. Erika took a few steps back to just watch the battle unfold. The guards were certainly no match for him alone, so it gave her the chance to run a check on her armor systems.

  “Two of you, huh? That won’t do. If you think you’re going to escape from here, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  “Judging from how we’ve taken out your guards, seems you won’t have much of a say in that,” said Erika.

  “We’ll see about that.”

  The line went dead. Erika wasn’t sure what he meant, but she knew she didn’t like the tone. There were just a few guards still standing. Even though her armor wasn’t in the best state—or herself, for that matter—she needed to help Masao to speed things up.

  Masao weaved between the guards, dodging and deflecting gunfire. He alternated between sword slashes, kicks, and elbow strikes. Even a headbutt or two. Erika came in from the rear. While Masao drew their fire, she attacked from behind and cut them down.

  Her movements were sluggish compared to normal and every single action she took sent pain ringing through her body. As she cringed after a kick, she suddenly felt another sensation—that of something warm and wet on her side.

  Erika’s eyes shot downward and she saw a guard pulling a dagger from her abdomen. He had stabbed her in the spot where her armor had been compromised. She hadn’t felt it going in, but now that it was out, she felt a dull throb that began to increase in its intensity.

  “No!”

  The voice was Masao’s, but he sounded distant. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion. Erika looked from her bloodstained hand up to the guard as he raised his gun to eye-level with her. He squeezed the trigger and there was a burst of light, then the feeling of the bullet striking her helmet.

  Erika’s head rocked back and that impact drew her out of her shock. Time returned to normal just as she saw Masao grab the gun. He turned it on the guard and fired several times right in his chest. Masao dropped the gun and then focused on Erika.

  “Hey! You okay in there? Can you hear me?”

  Erika tried to shake off the effects of shock, but the pain had now become piercing. “Bastard stabbed me…”

  “Yeah, so I see,” he said. “You okay to move?”

  “I’m fine, just—” she cringed again as she tried to move, “—takes some effort.”

  Masao knelt down and examined the wound. He placed his hand on it and some of the nanites from his armor flowed onto her, covering the wound and applying pressure.

  “Himiko said she lost contact with you, so I went to see what the deal was. Along the way, I found your people and got them on the sub,” said Masao.

  “Good,” she said. “We have to get out of here now. Whoever’s in charge of this facility was able to disrupt my comm and speak with me directly. He gave some sort of vague threat and then just vanished. I think they might be planning something.”

  “In other words, we probably shouldn’t linger around here.” Masao picked up one of the discarded guns. “Can you shoot?”

  She nodded and took the gun in her right hand. Masao put her left arm around his shoulders and supported her as they went down the hall towards the stairwell. Going down was a bit difficult with her wounds, but she managed to do it thanks to Masao’s aid. And when they reached the bottom level, the door opened with two guards standing and waiting.

  Erika raised the gun and squeezed the trigger, spraying them both and taking them out of the equation. Masao pulled her along with him, trying to increase the pace. It sent more pain through her body, but she did as best she could.

  They managed to get to the submarine dock without too much trouble. The fact that they faced so little resistance caused Erika worry over what exactly her mysterious adversary had planned. And as if on cue, that’s when the rumbling began.

  The entire complex shuddered and shook. Masao stumbled and Erika fell from his grip, hitting the floor. He helped pull her back to her feet as he struggled to keep from staggering himself.

  “Shit, what’s going on?” asked Masao.

  A pit formed in Erika’s stomach. “I think they’re destroying the facility…”

  “Fuck!”

  “C’mon, we have to hurry!” said Erika as she tried to move towards the gangway.

  Masao kept his grip on her and pulled her along with her. As they continued on their path, the complex shook again. A rafter right overhead fell. Masao pushed her away just seconds before it crashed down.

  Erika landed on her hands, gritting her teeth in pain. She pushed herself onto her back and strained to sit up. The fallen rafter was just ahead and Masao was pinned beneath it. She moved forward, crawling forward to him, even as the quakes continued—growing more frequent.

  “What are you doing, Kuroki?” he asked. “Get your ass to the sub already!”

  “You came back for me and I’ll be damned if I don’t return the favor.”

  She got to her feet and crouched low, wrapping her hands around the bars of the rafter. Erika strained to try and lift the rafter off him. After a few moments of trying, she relented and took a breath, then glanced down at Masao.

  “Are you going to help or what?” she asked.

  “Just go!”

  “Shut up and push.”

  Erika gripped the rafter again and again tried to pull it off. This time, Masao contributed effort, trying to push up against the rafter. It started to move and he could slide one leg out and bent the knee. Erika’s legs straightened just a little more and Masao was able to free himself from the rafter.

  “You can still walk?” she asked.

  He nodded and stood, then put his arm around Erika’s waist and they went for the gangplank. They quickly crossed and boarded the submarine. While Masao went to the controls, Erika checked on the refugees she’d spared. Seemed everyone had made it onboard in one piece.

  “What happened?” asked one of them. “That…thing?”

  “It’s over,” said Erika. “You’re going to be okay now.”

  “Everyone hold onto something, gonna get a bit bumpy!” Masao shouted from the front.

  The submarine descended and Masao opened the door via remote controls in the cockpit. It rocketed out from the complex just as the ceiling came down behind them.

  Erika checked the periscope and looked back at the island. Explosion
s blasted out from various points of the extinct volcano, which would no doubt draw attention from the mainland. She lowered the periscope and joined Masao in the cockpit, taking the seat beside him.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “Himiko says Miyata has a place we can take them,” said Masao. “We’re heading there now, then we have to destroy the sub and see about getting you some medical attention.”

  “You sure they’re not tracking us in this thing?”

  “No. Which is why we have to ditch it sooner rather than later,” said Masao. “But hopefully blowing that facility will have slowed them down from responding.”

  Erika rested her head against the rear of her chair. That’s when the voice returned.

  “You may think you’ve one, but you haven’t. I’ll find out who you and your friend are. Eventually.”

  “We’ll see about that,” said Erika before cutting off all communications with her armor.

  26

  Days had passed since Erika and Masao’s liberation of the Hachijo-Kojima facility. In that time, Erika and Masao had mostly stuck to casual pleasantries throughout their workday as she attempted to keep up the ruse of investigating leads into Miyata’s disappearance. Naturally, none of them panned out, which was her intention.

  Then one day, Erika felt a presence behind her while working at her terminal. She spun her chair around and saw Hiro standing there, looking down at her.

  “Do you have a minute?” he asked.

  “Sure,” she said and then stood from her desk.

  Hiro led her from their section office and over to the elevator. He hit the call button and folded his arms, waiting in silence. As Erika waited by his side, her mind kept throwing possibilities in front of her.

  Did he know something about her involvement? Did that guy at the facility who had co-opted her comm somehow manage to identify her? Was he after answers about the Miyata investigation? Or what if Miyata hadn’t been as skilled in co-opting the armor as he had believed and Hiro discovered where her and Masao went?