Grey Ronin (The Awakened Book 3)

by Matthew S. Cox

  Maybe they are hiding. He looked at Caiden, his expression adrift between loneliness, fear, and curiosity. “If I had one, I wouldn’t let my child outside in this place either.”

  “This place is scarier than I thought.”

  “Not what you were expecting?”

  Caiden kicked at the ground. “I dunno.”

  Five women leaned on a dusty metal wall beneath the transparent red glow of the word Abaddon traced in holographic calligraphy. Of the lot, two were topless, and none struck him as appealing. One was a little too young, one a lot too old, one looked male, and the last two were far too high. All of them winked and waved. Mamoru’s gaze gravitated to the artillery on their belts rather than their chest.

  This is a strange place. Even the whores are armed.

  Caiden stared at breasts as they approached the building, leaning back to keep them in sight on the way through the door. Mamoru gave him a light swat on the back of the head.

  “Careful, boy. People like that can be dangerous.”

  A short entry corridor led to a dim room. Azure light shimmered over a number of booth tables from several life-sized holograms: virtual nude dancers of both genders on round stage-like tables. A couple of Gee-Ball themed 3D games were set up on the far right, but dust said they had not been touched in a while. Mamoru squinted at the woman behind the bar: thirties, average build, her every curve revealed by a purple and black bodysuit with a sweetheart neckline. Her bare shoulders bore tattoos of thorny roses. The flowers changed color in a slow seep, darkening from bright red to violet to black, repeating in an endless cycle.

  “You didn’t even look at them. I guess you don’t need a pross when you have your own women.” Caiden rubbed where he’d been smacked, frowning. “Did you…”

  Mamoru’s expression hardened. Once, but it was more like she used me… “Our arrangement was different. They cooked, cleaned, and managed the house.”

  “I mean, you could have made them if you wanted to, right?”

  “In terms of our law, yes.” Mamoru stopped at the end of a short hallway between the door and the barroom. “But…”

  “You liked one of them, didn’t you? Avas used to look at my mom with the same face you’re making now.”

  “Who is Avas?”

  “Was. Some guy who was seeing my mom, but he wasn’t a badass like you. He made a couple creds sellin’ illegal stuff. Softs, ‘lectronics, some chems. He had mom’s PID in his NetMini, so the MDF dragged her in for questioning and to identify the body.”

  “It’s possible.” Mamoru walked towards the bar.

  Caiden held his hands out, following. “Possible? You either like her or you don’t.”

  “In her situation, it was in her best interest to do everything she could to make herself appealing. She could not accept her change of status. Had I taken her for a wife, she would rise in social class.”

  “So?” Caiden crossed his arms on the bar.

  “My feelings are meaningless if hers were false.” Mamoru thought back to Nami’s face, pleading eyes staring through the lined display on the spider bot. “I suppose I have some hope they were genuine.”

  “Aww, he’s adorable. Getting him started young?” The bartender leaned all her weight on one leg, hands on hips. Violet patches on her suit hinted at the shape of a lace corset. “You still smell like Earth.”

  “I smell nothing but dirt in this place.” Mamoru gestured at the door. “The entire planet reeks of metal and dust.”

  She laughed. “You get used to it. Need a menu?”

  “I am not here to eat.”

  The woman leaned on her elbows, squiggly black hair hung to the bar as she leaned forward. “Oh, that sounds juicy.”

  “I ran into one of your associates a short while ago near the Hollow. Helix I believe his name was. He was convinced you could give me some information about Raziel. You are Shanna, correct?”

  Shanna cocked an eyebrow and leaned back. “I’m supposed to believe Helix said anything about me?”

  Mamoru folded his arms. “He became rather conversational after he got back up.”

  “You…” Shanna pointed at him. “You beat Helix in the Hollow?”

  “It wasn’t much of a fight… Lotta people lost money,” said Caiden.

  “Horseshit.” She set her hands on her hips.

  “He said you would say that. He also said that he loves some little squeaking noise you―”

  “Stop!” She held up a hand. “Okay, fine. Maybe you did.” Shanna fired another disbelieving glare at him. “Tell me how your skinny ass beat an aug with combat-grade limbs?”

  “I desired to.”

  “That doesn’t tell me anything.” Shanna squinted, letting a sigh slide through her teeth. “Maybe I don’t want to know. What are you after Raziel for? You lookin’ to find God? Only people that wanna find him are either kooks or spooks, and you don’t look like an intelligence agent.”

  “No. I wish to understand what power he holds over a man I once worked for. I must reclaim my honor.”

  “Reclaim your honor sounds like you mean to kill him. Good luck with that, hon. He’s he’s supposed to be an angel, if he’s even real.” Shanna waved her hand about. “You know, power of Heaven and all that. Bunch of dustblow if you ask me.”

  Caiden stared at an animated hologram of buffalo nibbles, all but drooling.

  “The result of our meeting is up to him. I seek understanding before anything.”

  Shanna stared into space for a moment, a glazed look coming over her. Seconds later, his NetMini beeped and her eyes regained focus. “I gave you a nav point. Go talk to Jasden at NuOrganix. He claims to know where Raziel is. I’ve never seen the man. I don’t even think he’s real.” She looked from Caiden to Mamoru. “You sure you don’t want to see a menu?”

  Mamoru closed his eyes and slouched. “Fine. What do you have that won’t kill me?”

  Shanna winked. “You’d be surprised.”

  In the Garden

  ccording to the Nav pin Shanna gave him, NuOrganix placed their facility deep within the interior of Araphel, close to where the digging had ceased. Were it not for the stone forty meters overhead and the inescapable taste of dirt, this could have been any other metropolitan area. Residential and office towers spanned from floor to ceiling, but continued deeper into the rock below the ground level. Pro-Martian-Independence graffiti covered every surface, ranging from crude black outlines to full-color pieces depicting daggers stabbing a bloody Earth.

  Caiden kicked trash out of their way as they walked down the center of a two-lane street. Mamoru expected some manner of ambush or hostilities in every shadow. I wonder why they made the hallways look like roads. No one has cars here.

  The odor of molten plastic mixed with the eye-watering ambiance of burning thermogel. Smoke wisps trailed from the broken windows of a large building, near a shot-out sign, no longer recognizable for whatever corporation put it there. About thirty people sat around portable cooking units in what appeared to be the former lobby of a corporation. A red-haired woman bundled up in too-large coats sat on a metal shipping carton in front of a tent, exhaling into her hands to warm them. She seemed in her early to mid thirties, and stared at him as if weighing the odds of success at robbing him.

  Deep azure light bathed the right half of the room, emanating from a broken wire conduit as thick as Mamoru’s thigh. Broken fiberoptic strands sprouted in several layers, resembling a sad attempt at a tree growing out of the cracked metal.

  On the left side, near a metal table bearing several small cans of blue fire, two preteen girls clung to a man who appeared to be their father. Mittens of tied cloth strips covered little hands seeking warmth. Their clothing appeared to be made from scraps of plastic and cloth tied on with twine, and their shoes seemed made of silver duct tape that left their toes visible. Neither girl noticed them, focusing all their attention on their imminent meal.

  Carcasses rotating over the gel cans bore an alarming resemblan
ce to rats the size of dogs. The adults gave Mamoru glares ranging from challenging to wary, which seemed to soften when they spotted Caiden. None reached for weapons.

  Mamoru put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and whispered, “They are as afraid of us as you are of them.”

  Caiden locked eyes with the only other children he had seen since arriving in Araphel. The older girl was his age, the sister about five. Their makeshift garments suggested a life even harsher than what he had endured in Arcadia. Only after they’d walked too far to see them anymore did Caiden look away from the girls.

  “I’m gonna wind up like that…” He tucked his hands under his armpits and shivered. “Maybe I should go back. I’d rather be in jail. At least it’d be warm.”

  Mamoru sighed through his nose, without making a sound.

  Other buildings had the appearance of offices, though the locals had repurposed them as living space. Narrowed eyes and brandished weapons gave him the feeling people here occupied whatever area they could find and defend. A few blocks over, tucked in a shadowy dead-end alley, a white metal wall bore the word NuOrganix in three-foot tall block letters. Unlike the rest of this section of town, this facility seemed to be in operation and the area relatively clean.

  A pair of broad-shouldered men flanked the door, clad in pale grey longcoats. Both held full-sized rifles with boxy frames glittering with electronics. Mamoru paid them no mind as he went for the door between them.

  The one on the right moved to block the entrance while the other one fidgeted at the grip on his weapon.

  Roadblock raised a hand. “Hold it. I don’t recognize you. This is an employee only entrance.”

  Mamoru offered a slight bow. “I need to visit one of your employees.”

  “You’ll need to wait for him to leave or request a guest authorization from the corporate office.”

  The man with the rifle smiled. “They usually get back to you within forty-eight to seventy-two hours.”

  “I am afraid I am pressed for time.” He held his hand up, moving it to the side as if scraping something out of his way. “Please move. I do not wish to injure anyone.”

  The man blocking the door grabbed Mamoru’s shoulder. “I ain’t gonna ask you again.”

  Energy simmered on the back of Mamoru’s hand. He felt the presence of significant cyberware within the man touching him and forced some of his consciousness through the machinery, causing a plastisteel fist to fly to the side. The hand not on his shoulder smashed the other guard in the head. The unexpected and superhuman attack bounced the rifle-bearer off the wall to the ground, where he flopped corpse-still save for a sporadic twitch.

  The still-conscious sentry gawked. “Fuck… What the―”

  White luminescence flared, creeping up Mamoru’s arms as it brightened.

  “Aww shit…” The guard leaned away, staring in confounded fear.

  The man’s array of cybernetic implants unfurled in Mamoru’s mind. A mental command leapt across a synapse, and the man’s eyes rolled back in his head. He collapsed in place, an inert sack of meat. Mamoru stooped to touch the other one before he could recover from the punch to the head. Two seconds of concentration disabled the man’s Neural Interface Unit.

  “Did you kill them?” asked Caiden, failing to sound braver than he was.

  “No. I turned them off for an hour. A piece of cyberware exists between their bodies and their brains. These unfortunate fools both have augmented arms and legs, which are now disconnected from their minds.” Mamoru gestured at spasmodic curling of the lips, a futile attempt to growl. “I imagine they are quite angry.”

  “That’s awesome.” Caiden went to search their pockets, but Mamoru snagged him by the back of his coat and pulled him away. “Aww.”

  “Do not steal.” Mamoru set him back on his feet. “We are guests.”

  Mamoru touched three fingers to the mirrored panel by the door. Sharp lines defined azure numbers through the surface as it cycled through access codes. Digits locked in place one after the next until a five-digit sequence remained. The seal broke with a sharp intake of air that resolved to an exhalation of earthy chemical stench. Caiden pulled his shirt up over his face.

  Inside, a minimalist lobby of grey and black held a reception desk positioned below a holographic rendering of the word NuOrganix as if formed from emerald. Flowers, vegetables, and formless meat lumps sprouted from the letters on vines, a fast-forward animation of growth. Behind it, a slender woman in her later fifties looked up with hard slate eyes. Steel-grey hair pulled back in a severe bun added to the harshness of her presence.

  Mamoru covered the forty feet to her desk in an instant, grasping her wrist before she could touch the button an inch below her fingers. The fading glow over his shoulders left her speechless. He walked to the side, dragging her away from the desk on a rolling chair as he rounded the corner.

  “This is not a corporate action.” He released her arm. “I am here to speak with one named Jasden.”

  Caiden caught up, standing at Mamoru’s side.

  “I cannot discuss personnel matters with a non-employee,” said the woman, folding her arms. Though her expression remained stony, sweat beaded on her forehead.

  The boy sighed and darted to the terminal, shifting his backpack on one shoulder. His face turned shades of blue and violet from the holo-displays as patterns changed with each screen.

  “That’s private!” shouted the receptionist as her attempt to stand ended with a shove back into the chair. “You”―she glared at Mamoru―“he can’t do that. It’s secure corporate…” She surrendered to a resigned calm, tinted with worry. “They could terminate me.”

  Caiden looked at her. “Tell him where Jasden is. He doesn’t wanna hurt the guy. We need to talk to him.” He frowned at the screen. “I don’t know where to look. Maybe you could try bribing her instead of threatening her?”

  “One hundred thousand, on my way out… Provided you do not create trouble.”

  The woman squinted. “You expect me to believe you have that much?”

  Mamoru flashed the credstick.

  Some of the dark veins in the woman’s cheek faded away. “Two and we have an arrangement.”

  “Done,” said Mamoru.

  Radiant glow from thousands of heat lamps positioned above long tanks filtered through grow fluid, saturating the interior of Biosphere 4 in lustrous green light. Above them, a tall domed ceiling of black steel came alive with dozens of cat-sized spider bots crawling over dangling cables and support beams. Some had reservoirs of liquid on their backs, which they squirted into tanks while others scuttled up to the side of the growth vats and conducted tests.

  Mamoru covered his nose for a moment in an effort to adjust to the overpowering reek of chemical growth medium. The teeming activity in the ceiling conjured images of a rainforest rendered in steel and rubber. Caiden seemed far less amused by the thousands of eight-legged bots and turned almost blue in the face.

  Strands of translucent biomatter twisted and fluttered in the viscous green fluid, sprouting buds wherever something had started to emerge. Gauze-like sheets of nanometer-thin material, a form on which meat would grow, turned milky as cells built up in layers. Deeper in, more developed six-foot long slabs of beef, chicken, and fish floated in the substrate.

  Caiden followed him down the nearest passage between tanks, gawking at the various pipes, filters, and maintenance systems keeping the growth medium in constant motion. He gazed transfixed at a warped version of his own face sliding along the tank surface. A great slab of chicken tissue moved with a muscle spasm that clanked it against the glass. Caiden jumped and grabbed Mamoru with a gasp.

  “This is where food comes from? This stuff looks nasty.”

  Mamoru chuckled. “This is the expensive food. The presentation improves with preparation.”

  “I guess.” Caiden stared at the floor to avoid looking at the writhing primordial ooze. “At least they don’t kill real animals anymore.” He looked up after a m
oment of quiet. “Have you ever seen a real animal?”

  “Yes. There are still a few left on Earth.”

  Caiden’s face shifted through varying degrees of contemplative expressions. “Why are they making this stuff here? Can’t fly a shuttle in.”

  Mamoru raised an eyebrow at a rectangular block of salmon four feet long, and imagined an enormous pillow of rice under it. I must be hungry. “They need less security here. Perhaps the credits they save on staff offset the increased logistical complications of ground transport.”

  “Huh?” Caiden blinked.

  “This place is so remote, no one bothers trying to steal anything.” Mamoru smiled. “That piece of fish is likely half a million credits.”

  Caiden stared at him, mouth open, eyebrows together in a flat line. “That’s stupid. Who would pay that much for food?”

  Mamoru chuckled, thinking back to several 10,000 credit-a-plate functions at the Matsushita office. “It is a matter of perspective.”

  The corridor between vats narrowed as they progressed, their pace slowed by the need to step over an occasional twelve-inch diameter cable snaking along the floor. A hundred meters later, the narrow gap forced Mamoru sideways to slip into a central hub where more pipes and wires ran haphazardly over an ebon floor. All of it connected to a horseshoe of ceiling-high machines and computers. From here, it was obvious they stood in the center of a massive round chamber full of growth beds arranged like spokes of a wheel.

  In the center of the C-shaped mainframe, a cluttered desk bore the weight of a ragged-looking man in a pale blue lab coat. His fluorescent green hair exploded from his scalp as if he’d touched an electrical line. He sat up, startled, babbling at Mamoru and yelling about intruders and security protocol. Loud metal scraping from above announced the arrival of a multi-legged Tarant: a robotic spider with a five-foot body and twelve-foot leg span. It weaved through girders on the ceiling with grace, sprouting a pair of vibro-blades where chelicerae would be. Dozens of smaller bots scurried out of its way, sliding down wires in an effort to avoid being knocked to the floor.