Skyler Grant Anthology

by Skyler Grant

  Roma was the most likely culprit, but I couldn't trust anybody. An attack against a corporation of that magnitude, destroying Olympus, would have required alliances. I'd witnessed the whole thing and someone would probably want to see me dead for that, when it was known I’d survived.

  A group of people willing to watch my back would be a welcome thing, even if they were Independents.

  "I need some things. If you can help me to find them you've got a deal," I said.

  "I'm listening," Diva said, after taking a swig from her beer.

  "An Olympian network symbiote," I said.

  "Told you," Sparks said.

  "You did. Sparks thought you had the look to you. I don't know if you're somebody’s kid or if you just crawled out of a clone tank, but you're in luck. Don't care. I know a guy," Diva said.

  "Do we really want to do business with him again?" Masque asked.

  "No. But I don't know of anyone else that has Olympian spare parts lying around. We even have something he wants," Diva said.

  It didn't sound like they liked who they were talking about very much. If they could get me a symbiote, I didn't care. I felt like a second class citizen without Network access.

  "My suit still isn't working like it should. I think it’s probably damaged from some rather extensive trauma it went through," I said.

  "I already had one look, but I can have another," Sparks said.

  "Any other demands, Princess?" Diva asked, with a pointed look.

  I guess I'd pushed my luck enough.

  "I think that’s it. If you can do those things, I'm willing to help out," I said.

  "Good," Diva said. "That interface is going to cost you. Welcome to the Divas."

  "We're not calling ourselves that," Sparks said.

  "It’s terrible," Masque said.

  "Well, we can't call ourselves the Lancers anymore. It doesn't exactly apply, does it?" Diva said.

  "I don't think he'd mind. Besides, it sounds solid, professional, and what kind of client is going to want to hire a team calling themselves the Divas?" Masque asked.

  Diva was scowling heavily, but I thought they had the point.

  "You want a name that’s going to sound intimidating. Speaking of which, if I'm officially joining the team this whole Princess thing needs to be discussed," I said.

  "Pretty sure you already named your terms. We're the Divas and you're Princess, and that is fucking that," Diva said, before turning and storming off down the stairs.

  "I think we pissed her off," I said.

  "Oh, she's always jumpier than a dog that stuck its nose up a hornets nest," Sparks said in his thick drawl. "Don't give it no mind. Losing Lance hit her harder than she'd care to show, too. They've been running jobs off and on for years."

  Thinking of her loss only made me think of my own. It was something I'd been trying very hard not to do. My shoulder throbbed and my ribs ached, and I really just wanted to break down and spend the next few days in tears. I didn't have that luxury.

  "Got any place I can sleep?" I asked.

  "We'll be roomies. Space is a little tight," Masque said.

  At the moment that sounded nice. I didn't want to be alone with my own thoughts.

  It usually isn't easy sleeping in a strange place. The sounds, the different feel of the bedding, and the unfamiliar surroundings. Soldiers learn to sleep at a moment’s notice though. Sometimes in a simulation, when a battle would go for days, you'd have to get in those few moments of rest any time you could. It was an ability that served me well now.

  I woke up feeling restored. I didn't know how much time had passed, but my suit had put it to good use. I had proper movement in my arm and shoulder again, and that dull ache from my ribs was gone.

  I made my way out to the kitchen where something smelled atrocious. A pot filled with a brownish green sludge was bubbling on the stove. Hammer was having a bowl of it at the table. It must be food.

  "What’s for breakfast?" I asked.

  "Break your nose? Food fourteen," Hammer said.

  I couldn't help wincing. Historically armies might have gotten used to some fairly horrible rations, but it wasn't the case on Olympus. Our same sense of aesthetics led to us having a fine appreciation of food. I'd heard of the "Food" brand, well-balanced sludge that would keep lower corporate drones working away at peak efficiency. If I remembered correctly type fourteen was great for physical laborers. It had a high caloric load and everything required to build and maintain muscle mass.

  I grabbed myself a bowl. I'd survive eating it, but I might not survive if my hunger got the better of me in the field. The taste was even worse than the aroma.

  "Where are the others?" I asked.

  "Getting the equipment ready. We've got a job tonight. I'll be driving there, in case you need backup, but I'm not sneaky enough for the rest of it," Hammer said.

  Something sneaky. Theft or sabotage would be my guesses unless I really had signed up with a team of assassins. I didn't think so, despite that a lot of killing seemed to happen in their general vicinity.

  "So where did you get your augments?" I asked. The cyborg really did seem to be more machine than man.

  "Mostly picked them up during the Sentience War. I was in a battle walker that got blown to hell," Hammer said.

  I'd heard about that at the Oracle. It sounded like a war with the Artificial Intelligences.

  "How was it? The war I mean, not the getting blown up," I said.

  "Not going to ask me which side I fought on?" Hammer asked.

  I didn't know that it was an option. I'd rather figured that if the world had turned against them, the AIs were fighting on their own.

  "I'm thinking you just told me by asking that," I said.

  "Pay was good, and when you got blown to hell they patched you up right," Hammer said.

  The AIs I'd known were good people.

  "I'm fuzzy on how that whole war ended," I said.

  "Way most wars end, with both sides getting tired of fighting. AIs got their own station up with the high and mighty, and are now loyal corporate citizens along with the rest of them," Hammer said.

  They had their citizenship, although paid for in blood instead of by a vote. I'd have to find a way to contact them. If anyone knew more of what had befallen Olympus, it seemed likely they would.

  87

  A few hours later I was looking down over a factory from a nearby rooftop. Regularly spaced obelisks marked with Cuneiform writing marked it as Pharosa territory. The factory was largely automated and after about an hour of watching I'd only seen two guards making the occasional patrol around the building.

  Sparks had been tapping away on a portable computer for awhile now, I was amazed such primitive technology was even still functional.

  "They can't have just two guards on duty," Diva said.

  "Well now, the factory is all automated and I figure they can have more security here in under a quarter of an hour. I'm surprised they even have the two," Sparks said.

  I zoomed in with a pair of binoculars. There might only be two of them, but the guards were well enough armored. Pharosa favored energy-driven weapons and shielding. If the guards had an opportunity to activate their equipment they'd be pretty much invulnerable against anything we might throw at them—at least until their power ran down.

  "They'll have automated sensors," I said.

  "They do. I can fiddle with them and get them all turned around without them even knowing anything is wrong," Sparks said.

  "Then our best option is to just kill the guards and move in," Diva said.

  These guys weren’t corporate elites, and I didn't like the thought of killing them. Unemployed gangers were one thing, but these guards were trying to lead a normal life.

  "I can sneak in," I said.

  "This is your first real job with us, Princess. I'm not sending you into corporate turf alone," Diva said.

  "Then come along," I said.

  To her credit Diva considered it only
for a moment before nodding.

  "Everybody stay on mic and in contact. Sparks, keep that security suppressed and if anything flags us, speak up. Hammer, just hang back and be prepared to come in hot if we need a quick exit. Masque, you're with us," Diva said.

  A group of three wasn't particularly stealthy, but I was glad for the company.

  "So what is your clever way in? Those obelisks aren't connected to the main network and will zap anything that gets in range," Diva said.

  I knew that, but I had seen something. I wasn't fluid in Cuneiform, but could read some of the basics. One of the obelisks was displaying a need for service. That was also likely the reason for the security personnel—they had a small hole in their defenses and were being thorough.

  We came to the perimeter of the disabled obelisk and I took a deep breath. "If I get zapped, pull me out."

  "If you get zapped, you are probably dead," Diva said wrily.

  "Wouldn't be the first time," I said, and took a step forward.

  The obelisk hummed, building a charge, but I remained happily unblasted. I stepped forward and motioned for the others to follow me. We had three minutes between the guard patrol’s rounds, which was more than enough time to slip through a side door and into the factory.

  It was entirely automated, manufacturing twenty-four hours a day at peak efficiency. It was factories like this that had allowed the rise of the modern corporation. When supplies of goods became nearly infinite, it was expertise and creative properties that became the most valuable commodities.

  Diva ran her wrist comp in front of one of the assembly lines, "Sparks. Have a look at what I sent you. Can you identify what they're building here?"

  "Whatever it is, it's pretty specialized. Give me a few minutes," Sparks said.

  "Fair enough," Diva said, slinging a backpack off her shoulder. It was filled with explosives, little blocks with timers inset. "One of these at the base of each of the green bumps."

  I saw what she was talking about. Spherical modules where I'd guess robotic arms performed more specialized operations.

  "So we're just blowing this up?" I asked.

  "That’s the job. I guess if we can hit in all the right places, it will be awhile before they can get up and running again," Diva said.

  I began securing explosives into place and activating them. Diva and Masque were doing the same and between us we were making quick progress.

  "Well, I got you an answer, but it’s a confusing one. Full neural Network interfaces," Sparks said.

  "Aren't those only used up on the stations?" Diva asked.

  I'd have thought so. Twenty years ago that was mostly the case. Network access was just another sign of wealth and privilege. The higher the class, the more access you would have. A full neural interface was both costly and time-consuming to produce, and usually limited to the very upper echelons of a corporation.

  "The output of this place is huge," I said.

  "Not for long," Diva said.

  Once our charges went off, this factory would be out of commission for awhile.

  "We got an alert that just went up. Security is on the way," Sparks called.

  "Finish setting the bombs and we'll lay an ambush," Diva said.

  "They're Pharosa. If they're on alert, their shields will be up and we aren't packing the firepower to get past them," I said.

  "I'll deal with them," Masque said, as she hastily started to slip into a change of clothes. I recognized some Pharosa design to them, although the style was unfamiliar. I'd just have to trust that she knew what she was doing.

  I finished planting my last two charges and Diva did as well. Together we found a place to hide behind one of the production machines. It wouldn't escape a full search of the room, but hopefully Masque knew what she was doing and it wouldn't be necessary.

  Masque in the meantime had completed her transformation. The outfit she wore was mostly in white and left her midriff and legs bare. Kohl had been quickly dabbed around her eyes and she wore some ornate jewelry of gold and lapis.

  Pharosan women weren't big on showing that much flesh, but Masque certainly wore it well, her posture straightening so that she displayed an imperious demeanor.

  The two guards stormed in from different sides of the room. There was a faint blue shimmer in the air around them—they had their shields up.

  Masque gave an exaggerated yawn and looked down her nose at the guards. "Terrible. I should have taken a nap while waiting for your response."

  The guards leveled their rifles at her. Pharosan energy weapons could be set to either incapacitate or kill an opponent.

  "You aren't authorized to be here. Identify yourself," said one of the guards.

  "Scribe Thuyu of House Henuttaneb, sent to test security response times. They are terrible. Do you realize I penetrated the facility almost ten minutes ago?" Masque asked.

  That had been our actual penetration time. I had to admire mixing the truth in. Whatever we had triggered should fit her story.

  "Search the room," said one of the guards, while keeping his weapon leveled at Masque.

  "I am alone, fool. Do not make this situation any worse for you," Masque said, her voice dripping with contempt. She was quite the talented actress.

  "We picked up your entry on satellite. You arrived in the company of three others and you are not a Pharosan scribe," said the guard who seemed to be in command.

  So, in addition to the local sensor net they were watching this place from orbit. It made sense—now. This was a valuable facility and we'd very much just wandered into a trap.

  Diva was fondling the detonator for the bombs. I could imagine her thoughts. We were behind cover and might be protected from the blast. Masque wouldn't be. Pharosan shielding would let the guards survive anything the secondhand blast would likely do.

  I shook my head. I had my pistol, it really wouldn't penetrate those shields, but it could provide a distraction. I just had to keep them busy long enough for their energy charge to run out.

  I could see Diva was working herself up to pushing the button. I couldn't let her. I snatched it from her hand.

  "We don't have a choice," Diva hissed at me.

  "Follow my lead," I said, and drew my pistol. Without waiting I angled my shots and let off several rounds, first towards the guard speaking with Masque and then aimed at the one searching the warehouse. Shields flared to full life as they stopped the rounds.

  "Bitch," Diva said, as she drew her own pistol.

  88

  Facing vastly superior power, there are a few tactics that can help. One is knowing what your enemy considers important and making sure you hide behind it. If you were squaring off against an artist, you would hide behind their paintings, a banker his money. We knew what was important here—we'd been ordered to blow it up.

  I dove behind the nearest green pod and, using it for cover, fired off several more shots.

  One of the guards raised his rifle towards me and a blast of high energy discharged, hitting the pod. The scent of charred oil filled the air and sparks erupted from the machine.

  "Cease fire," yelled the other guard. "Don't hit the alignment pods. Circle around and get a clear shot."

  Masque was quick on her feet and had already found her way back to her bag. Soon enough a spray of bullets from her submachine gun caused a shield to flicker and flare.

  I really hoped that battery technology hadn't advanced in the last twenty years. If it hadn't, by my estimates these guys had another two minutes or so left until they'd be vulnerable.

  Without any concern for our weapons they were free to move openly and try to flush us from our cover. I did my best to keep them focused on me. Fortunately with my pistol I could fire almost unlimited rounds, and my Olympian reflexes gave me an advantage the others didn’t have. I flung myself behind another of the green domes as a series of blasts left charred marks on the floor where I'd just been.

  Those guns would be drawing from the same power supply as the
shields. With Pharosa, when they started a fight, they were kind of all-in.

  One of the walls of the factory exploded inward with a spray of debris. Our reinforcements had arrived. I rather wished they hadn't. With the right ammunition Hammer's massive gun might actually penetrate their shielding. Still, the roar of gunfire as he poured fire into one guard was at least distracting. Too distracting. Two rifles swiveled in his direction and a cascade of energy rounds struck the heavy truck. Metal glowed and melted, and the air was filled with the sharp tang of ozone.

  I was afraid our escape vehicle might not have survived. If so, extraction was going to be a real problem.

  About one minute to go. Pharosan energy shields had a tell when they got low, a brief tonal shift. I hadn't heard it yet.

  For all of our shooting we weren't getting anywhere, and they were quickly closing in on Diva.

  Perhaps it was time to try a more civilized thing?

  "We'd like to discuss terms," I called out.

  "Surrender and you'll be stunned, bound, and presented to an arbiter charged with espionage and trespass," said the lead guard.

  Those were, relatively speaking, decent terms. Pharosa had the rights to defend their property with all reasonable force, and killing a few Independents who had strolled in would certainly qualify. I wasn't really interested in terms, but until I'd agreed there was nothing dishonorable about negotiating. Anything to advance the clock.

  "I seek adjudication by arbiters of Roma and Creta," I called out.

  That was something to which they likely wouldn't agree. Pharosa and Roma had never gotten along, but then the very fact that I was making that request would seem to point to them that I was serious.

  "Null on that. You can choose SantaFe," said the lead guard. As he spoke I heard it—the tell-tale tone that his shield was running down.