“The Codex is gone, as is Chronos and the tachyon generator,” said M’Lak. “It appears the mole has been compromised. She’s now effectively useless for our purposes.”
“It was a mistake to activate the Codex, I warned you about this,” said Callus. “Years of research and development, gone in a flash of light—literally.”
M’Lak narrowed his gaze at Callus. “You speak out of turn. You may wear the rank of general in Earth terms, but do not forget your true master, human.”
“Calm down,” said Ramsey. “Nathan’s manner may be a bit brash, but he’s not wrong. We’ve lost the Codex and now your mole’s been revealed. What other choice do we have?”
“You know what we can use,” said Callus.
“No,” said M’Lak. “Far too dangerous.”
“Do you have any better ideas?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” M’Lak turned his eyes to Ramsey. “What of the second prototype?”
“The second…?”
“It’s secure,” said Ramsey.
“What second prototype? Another Codex?” asked Callus.
“No, another tachyon generator,” said M’Lak.
Callus took a step back. His jaw dropped and it took him a moment before he recovered from the shock. “What do you plan on doing with another tachyon generator anyway?”
“Chronos has proven time travel is a possibility. Thanks to Shift’s actions, we have information Vanguard collected on his armor. We believe we can replicate his technology and open a portal into the past.”
Callus shook his head in disbelief at M’Lak’s words. “What possible reason would you have to do that? Why risk going after him?”
“This isn’t about going after him, this is about ensuring the Kotharian rule is strong,” said M’Lak. “There will be no dissent, no opposition to us. Not if we had then the tools we have now. We can prevent wildcards such as Vanguard and the Red Fist, stop them before they become a threat. Then, our rule over this desolate rock will be absolute and we can integrate decades worth of research, springing forward our attempts to discover how to increase the effectiveness of the Chaknaar on the Kotharians.”
Callus said nothing. He remained silent as M’Lak continued to rant about his plan. Things were definitely going too far and he would have to be the one to put a stop to it once and for all. M’Lak feared what Callus had in his possession, that much was obvious. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have rejected the possibility to stop Vanguard.
Although he wondered if control were even possible. Or was he simply pushing things too far?
“You’re taking a very big risk here,” said Callus. “How do you know the tachyon generator will even work? You know from Shift’s memories how dangerous the forces you’re playing with are. What if you unleash a timequake?”
“Then so be it,” said M’Lak. “I am a warrior, Callus. I do not fear death. Perhaps you should look into it yourself.”
Callus bit his tongue, containing his anger. He clasped his hands behind his back, trying to remain stoic.
“How will we use the generator?” asked Ramsey.
“The Kotharian ships are moving towards Earth. Once I am in range, I shall teleport in with the gateway we have constructed.”
“Why bring it to Earth?” asked Callus. “Wouldn’t it be simpler to teleport the tachyon generator up to your ship?”
“If this so-called timequake is truly a possibility, then it’s best to conduct this experiment planetside,” said M’Lak. “Perhaps the damage will be contained to Earth.”
“But…that’s not likely, is it?” asked Ramsey.
M’Lak chuckled. “No, of course not. You have served us well, Joseph Ramsey. And you shall be rewarded for that service.”
“What do you want from me?” asked Callus.
“I have lost my connection with Shift,” said M’Lak. “Perhaps it’s the Analyst’s doing, perhaps I underestimated his power. But I need you to seek out where she is. Vanguard is no doubt in pursuit of her and if you bring the full might of Cerberus down upon them, it will provide the necessary distraction to ensure my plan goes through without interruption.”
“The full might of Cerberus…? But the camps…”
“The camps will be fine with a simple skeleton crew,” said M’Lak. “Will you continue to undermine my authority, Callus?”
Callus grunted. “No, sir. I’ll get right on it.”
“See that you do.” M’Lak’s image vanished.
Callus now fixed his attention on Ramsey, who avoided his gaze. “Now do you see what we’re dealing with?”
“Just do as he says, Nate.”
“This has gone far enough. I’m not going to risk destroying the damn planet just because you’re a spineless sycophant.”
Ramsey’s head jerked up. “Excuse me, I didn’t see you complaining when I pulled you out of that hole you were hiding in so you could join up with us.”
“I wasn’t aware of what I was signing up for. This was supposed to be an alliance against the specials, not a betrayal of the human race.”
“The human race is still alive.”
“Not if he uses that portal. I don’t believe for one damn minute that he’s capable of controlling it.” Callus sighed. “We have to do something about this.”
“Fine,” said Ramsey. “What’s your plan?”
“Not here. We meet in person. I’ll get the details to you through back-channels.” Callus ended the call and Ramsey’s image vanished. There was a flicker as a figure clad in white armor appeared in the room with him. She reached her hands up and removed her helmet, revealing a middle-aged woman with short, red hair.
“Well?” asked Blindside. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s time to move ahead. Get word to Ramsey through those back-channels, tell him I’ll meet him at the DC facility.” Callus tapped his smartwatch and began a call. “This is General Callus, I want my private jump-ship ready within the hour.”
***
After Callus ended his transmission, Ramsey sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin in thought. If Callus was going to risk going up against M’Lak, he’d be drawing the ire of the Kotharian Empire. And though Ramsey knew Callus had a point, he wasn’t willing to put his life on the line for such a desperate, impossible gambit.
“Send an urgent comm-request to General M’Lak,” said Ramsey. The voice-activated computer processed the command. Within a matter of moments, the computer told him there was a call incoming and a projection of M’Lak appeared in front of his desk.
“Governor,” said M’Lak. “Did you have something more to add?”
“Callus is planning something, and he wants to mix me up with it,” said Ramsey.
“And I should care because…?”
“Don’t underestimate him. Whatever he’s planning is no doubt doomed to failure—even if he could kill you, he’d still have the rest of your people to deal with. But that’s a headache I’d rather not deal with.”
M’Lak folded his arms across his chest. “Tell me about his plot.”
“To be honest, I don’t know. Callus is smart, wouldn’t say anything over a comm channel, probably afraid you could intercept. He said he wants to meet in person. No location yet, said he’d get it to me through back-channels, whatever that means.”
“Knowing of his plot could prove crucial. Particularly if he’s allied himself with the specials.” M’Lak scoffed. “If not for those damned inhibitors you use to keep out the Analyst, I could read his thoughts and discover the truth for myself.”
“So what do we do?”
M’Lak pointed at Ramsey. “Go to the meeting. Discover what he’s planning and report back. We can’t risk the possibility that he might disrupt our work with the tachyon portal.”
“You want me to go?” asked Ramsey. “Alone?”
M’Lak gave a dismissive wave. “Take security if you must, but be sure they remain out of sight. Should Callus suspect anything out of the ordinary, he won’t
hesitate to kill you. Just find out what he is up to.”
Ramsey tugged on his shirt collar. He didn’t want to risk the ire of M’Lak, but he also feared what Callus would do to him if he discovered this betrayal.
“We have important work to conduct, Governor,” said M’Lak. “Do not disappoint me, or I assure you, you will live to regret it.”
The projection faded and Ramsey sat forward, resting his shaking hands on his desk. He knew what M’Lak meant by that—torture, endless torture, if he didn’t do as he was ordered.
No choice. So when his aide arrived with news that Callus requested a meeting with him at the DC facility, Ramsey shakily looked at her and said, “I want Gunsmith units surrounding that facility. And snipers. Make sure there are snipers there.”
CHAPTER 4
The jump-ship rocketed towards the small island in the Pacific. Gunsmith stared through the windshield, his cybernetic eye and the jump-ship’s own HUD identifying the tiny island of Arcadia on the horizon.
“We should be there within minutes.”
“Good.” The Analyst slid the co-pilot seat back from the console and released the harness. He stood and moved into the passenger bay, looking at the rest of the team. Tuwa remained separate from everyone, as usual. The Analyst didn’t need telepathy to know that she was uneasy about returning to this place. But at least her powers gave her an advantage on the island.
Cache and Pulse talked amongst themselves. The Analyst was pleasantly surprised at how well the former Red Fist operative had integrated with the team so far. Ink had fallen asleep on the ride and Talon stared out the window. It was clear she was worried about going up against her mother and concerned whether her father would still be there once they arrived.
“We’re just a few minutes away from the destination,” said the Analyst, drawing everyone’s attention. Talon pricked Ink’s arm with one of her claws and the young woman’s eyes snapped open.
“We know where they are?” asked Cache.
“My suit’s tracking Sharkskin’s signal, we’ll be able to find them,” said Gunsmith, appearing beside the Analyst. “But we need to be cautious. We don’t know why M’Lak has drawn Shift to Arcadia or what her purpose there is.”
“This was that special island thing, right?” asked Ink, still rubbing her arm where Talon pricked her and giving her friend the occasional side-eye.
“It was.” Tuwa spoke up from the back. “The Exemplar, myself, and a few others. We set it up to be a haven for specials, a place they could be free from persecution.” She cast a hard stare in Gunsmith’s direction. “Until Cerberus decided to attack.”
Gunsmith tightened his lips. Tuwa was beginning to work his last nerve. But taking her bait wouldn’t accomplish anything—he had to stay calm, for the sake of his friends.
“This is why Tuwa will be invaluable to us,” said the Analyst, trying to distract everyone from the building tension. “She knows Arcadia better than anyone. It was her powers that helped shape it.”
“Assuming it’s still intact,” she added. “As far as anyone’s concerned, the island’s been uninhabited for decades.”
“There are rumors, though,” said Pulse.
All eyes fell on the newest member. “What rumors?” asked Talon.
“What, you guys don’t know?” Pulse shifted in his chair. “There have been a few people—escapees from the camps—who tried to get to Arcadia. Most never came back. The ones that did said they heard voices.”
“What kind of voices?” asked Ink.
Pulse shrugged. “Damned if I know. But one legend is that the spirit of the Exemplar is there. That he haunts the island that was once his kingdom.”
Tuwa rolled her eyes. “It was never a kingdom. We were a democracy.”
“I’ve heard those rumors, too. Whenever a Cerberus patrol was sent to scout the island, no one ever wanted to go,” said Gunsmith. “But it’s nothing more than superstition.”
Pulse scoffed and held up his hand. He generated an orb of electromagnetic energy in his palm. “I can do this. You’re wearing a suit of armor. The kid sprouts wings. Boss-man transplanted his consciousness into someone else’s body. And we’re in a war against an alien species.” He closed his hand and the orb vanished. “What makes you think ghosts are so unbelievable?”
“Because I’ve seen a lot of strange things since the Event, but I’ve never seen a ghost,” said Gunsmith.
“Yeah, but didn’t everyone think you were dead?” Ink gave a shrug. “Just sayin’, some might say you’re a ghost. Or a zombie.”
“I’m not a—” Gunsmith sighed. “Look, let’s forget about myths and legends. Just focus on the job at hand. There’s obviously something on Arcadia, or else M’Lak wouldn’t have a reason to draw Shift towards it.”
An alert beeped from the cockpit. Gunsmith cast a quick glance in its direction, then back at the team.
“That’s the autopilot, we must be at the landing zone. Strap in.”
He and the Analyst returned to the cockpit and took their seats, once more fastening their harnesses. Gunsmith glanced at the bald man by his side, who remained stoic and stared ahead.
“You’ve been pretty quiet. Don’t tell me this ghost stuff is bothering you.”
“No, it’s something else.”
Gunsmith activated switches to begin the landing protocol. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense.”
“I’m worried that we might have been led here.”
“You think it could be a trap?”
“M’Lak had to have known we’d find a way to track Shift. With her compromised, maybe he’s trying to keep us distracted from something more.”
“That’s something I’ve considered, too. But even if there was a big, neon sign with the word TRAP written on it, I’d still be here.”
“And why’s that?”
Gunsmith gave him an incredulous look. “Because they’re our friends and no matter what the situation, they need our help. And that’s all I need to know.”
The VTOL system engaged and the jump-ship lowered to the ground, right beside the one Shift and Sharkskin arrived in.
***
Shift had long ago left the outskirts of what was once Arcadia’s major—and only—city. She’d traversed into the forests that made up most of the center of the island. It was here that her powers took over. With her arm raised, her hand stretched out the distance between where she stood and a large tree branch overhead. Shift pulled on the branch and retracted her arm.
Like a stretched rubber band just being released, she shot up into the air, soaring over the tree that had been her leverage. Shift reached out and her arm elongated, snagging another branch from which she swung. It wasn’t long before she swung through the forest as effortlessly as if she’d spent her entire life doing this.
A respite came when she landed on a high branch belonging to one of the taller trees in the forest. Yellow eyes scanned across the area. The call continued to come, although from where, she wasn’t quite sure. Shift narrowed her eyes. There was something else on this island, something that was trying to draw her near.
Her focus was so single-minded that she couldn’t detect the man following her.
***
Sharkskin pursued his wife’s trail, moving through the forest as well. His senses told him exactly where she was, and so he opted to give her as much distance as he could. Koji didn’t want her knowing he was here, not until he could figure out what was going on.
The one thing that bothered him was whether or not the beacon worked. He didn’t have an earbud, so communication outside of a beacon was impossible. Koji tried to reach his mind out to touch the Analyst, but as he heard no response, he didn’t know if it was actually working.
All he could do was follow his wife.
Sharkskin stayed low to the ground, using brush for cover when he could. Whenever there was a clearing, he made sure to triple-check for any surveillance and then crossed the distance as fast as possible. With those
rare exceptions, his footfalls were soft and slow as he followed the trail.
Sharkskin looked up and his black eyes focused on his target. They spotted Shift standing atop the tree, surveying the land. He ducked, making sure he was concealed by the bush he found himself huddled behind. What was she doing? Why did M’Lak lead her here?
Shift sprung from her vantage point. Sharkskin gave it a moment before he rose from behind the bush and continued after, following her scent. The trail led deeper into the forest, finally coming to a stop at the mouth of a giant cave. Remaining back, Sharkskin watched as his wife stepped into the darkened maw.
Memories of this place flashed through his mind. This was where the Exemplar kept him prisoner the last time he and Shift came to Arcadia. The memory wasn’t a pleasant one.
Now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Once he was certain the coast was clear, Sharkskin stepped into the cave. Not for the first time, he was grateful his mutation provided him with night-vision. It was specifically tailored for the ocean depths, but Sharkskin put it to good use in other ways.
Voices came echoing through the cave. When he first heard one, it felt like it came from right behind him. Although Sharkskin’s other senses told him there was nothing nearby, he still stopped and pivoted to check.
Discerning whether the voices were male or female, or even how many of them, proved remarkably difficult. They seemed to come from everywhere. It wasn’t until he moved deeper into the cave that Sharkskin could pick out one voice clearly from the crowd.
Shift.
Pushing up against the wall, he stepped closer, following her voice and her scent. Peering around the corner, he saw Shift standing in front of something. His brow arched in shock and his eyes felt like they would burst from the sockets. Sharkskin stepped away from the cover, no longer caring if he was discovered.
It didn’t seem to matter one way or the other, for Shift paid him no attention. She just continued to speak, talking to the being that sat in the stasis pod connected to machinery. Sharkskin came up beside her.
“I can’t believe it…” he muttered.
CHAPTER 5
Vanguard: Season Four: A Superhero Adventure Page 22