“They are unnatural by their very creation; I do not trust them completely, either.” Ch’lac subconsciously adjusted the controls on his chest panel, tweaking the shield that contained the atmospheric gas. “But we do not know enough about the Terran or the Gomar to make an appropriate assessment. They are a potential threat, but if what they say is true then they no longer exist. But by Kalian Gaines’ very existence, he is proof that such a race of beings may once again thrive, given the chance. Our races have committed genocide in the past and I agree that we must ensure the survival of this one. But I also agree that we should use them to learn more about their creators. They may be the only ones who can.”
Elondrasa nodded her approval at the Ch’kara’s words. “The humans are an unknown factor at present. But without a little trust from us, our races will never co-exist.”
The doors parted as ten elite guards piled into the room, breaking off into twos as they found their designated councillor. Xydrandil emerged from within the throng, his pincer legs visible as he quickly strode in. Before he even spoke, the guards were physically picking up the councillors and ushering them to the door.
“We are going into lockdown,” the Nix announced. The rough hands of a Raalak grabbed Elondrasa by the arm, while a Laronian closed the space on her right.
“What’s happening?” She recognised this particular protocol from the drills they had rehearsed. It had been revised since the Gomar attack on the capital; Elondrasa knew she was only seconds away from being separated from her other councillors, as they were escorted separately to the Marillion on the outer edge of the solar system.
“Protocorps Headquarters has been attacked, by humans...” Xydrandil walked ahead of them until they were taken down different paths. The Nix continued on the same route as her.
She had one last glimpse of Nu-marn’s face - You should have listened to me. The Novaarian felt a pang of anger towards the humans for this. Not only had they shattered any hope of trust but they had made her look like a fool.
“How could they be here? The last report had them entering the Trantax system.”
“We are still gathering all the information, Councillor. From the images released by Protocorps we only know that it is not Kalian Gaines or Li’ara Ducarté.” They had already been bundled into a secure vehicle and put on a priority route out of the tower.
Protocorps...
It couldn’t be a coincidence that Protocorps had an interest in the same thing the humans were currently investigating. But why attack the corporation in the first place? Protocorps’ involvement begged a deeper look, she felt.
Esabelle used a telekinetic shield to keep the blood spray off her face. Roland slowly removed the Terran blade from the guard’s neck and wiped it clean on the black Protocorps uniform. For a human, his reflexes were commendable. It was only moments ago that particular guard had his rifle to her head. Of course she had been aware of his position in the room and had already planned a way to dispatch him. It felt good to be surprised by a human though; so far she found them all to be quite predictable.
“There’s an internal grav-pillar on the other side of the lab, in front of you. That should get you to level 202.” Ch’len had only managed to get them as far as level 186 before the A.I. took back control. The small cluster of guards on this level had only taken seconds to deal with. As far as Esabelle could tell, Roland’s combat style was somewhere between finesse and that of a brawler. He had some exotic moves that he often followed up with a simple head butt or loose punch.
The doors to the lab refused to part for them, even with a fake Novattoo. Without breaking her stride, Esabelle mentally commanded the doors to explode into the lab beyond. The crash was met with screams of terror from the scientists and engineers inside as they scrambled for safety behind workstations and shelves.
The sunlight was dimmed through the wall of glass to their left. At this height they could clearly see the planetary rock that formed the roof of the capital planet. They walked quickly, ignoring the hysterical looks, and made for the grav-pillar. A large shadow beyond the glass gave them pause before they designated the desired level. The shadow swung across the lab, blocking out the sun, to reveal a patrol ship bristling with forward-facing cannons.
“Get down!” Roland’s cry came too late as the glass was blown to a million pieces. Equipment and benches were flung to the back of the room as racing globules of green goo powered through the lab. The occupants were instantly ensnared by the thick slime, holding them in place against the walls and workstations. Some of the heavier equipment proved to be deadly flying objects that most certainly killed more than one scientist. Esabelle felt their electromagnetic energy wink out of existence.
Roland fired his Tri-roller blindly in the direction of the patrol ship, with a stream of profanities accompanying every shot. Esabelle stuck her hand up and keyed in the level for the grav-pillar. If they didn’t get off this floor soon, they would be overwhelmed by reinforcements; she could feel the twelve soldiers inside the patrol ship readying for an assault. She pulled her hand back just in time before a ball of green goo splattered against the panel and hardened in place.
“Go!” Esabelle grabbed Roland by the arm and thrust him into the open portal of the grav-pillar. She dashed in after him and gave in to the anti-gravity that pulled her vertically upwards. She could see Roland above her, flying by the open doors of every level.
“Oh no... Hold onto something!” Ch’len’s warning came just before the anti-gravity switched off. They managed another ten feet before their momentum ran out. Roland caught the bottom of the open portal with both hands, kicking out his foot for Esabelle to grab a hold. With one hand she managed to get a good grip on his foot as he used his free leg to hook under her other arm.
“I’ve got you.” The strain was audible in his voice.
“How comforting...”
“The A.I. disabled the grav-pillar!” Ch’len yelled down their ear piece.
“You don’t say...” Roland struggled to shift his weight. Esabelle didn’t hesitate as she used Roland’s hanging body like climbing frame. He tried to object when her boot was firmly planted in his face.
“Come on.” With a small nudge of telekinesis Roland was already back on his feet and rubbing the dirt off his face. Having exited the lift they were now standing in front of a long opulent desk with Protocorps written in large glowing letters on the wall behind. This was the executive level. Anyone who was actually important to the company had an office on this floor, including Sav-del Tanek. Strong electromagnetic frequencies were emitting from behind the empty desk. Esabelle focused and knew there to be a young female Shay, cowering under her own desk.
Roland calmly removed a Tri-roller from his holster and rapped it against the shiny surface of the desk.
“Anybody home...?” He gave Esabelle a knowing smile and perched on the corner. “In about three seconds I’m gonna start puttin’ holes in this very expensive desk.”
A whimper was quickly followed by the mad scrambling of the young girl. She stayed low, pressing herself against the wall with a terrified look on her face. The top of her head was completely artificial with tendrils, similar to that of a Novaarian, hanging in a tight bunch out of the back.
Roland gave her a cocky smile and Esabelle wondered how the simple human had known the Shay girl was there.
Surprises...
“Where is Sal-dev Tanek’s office?” When the girl said nothing, Esabelle raised her hand, lifting the girl and pinning her to the wall. “I won’t ask again.”
The girl’s face reflected the surprise she felt at being telekinetically manipulated. “That way!” She pointed down the corridor to their left. “The last corner office on the right!”
With that, Esabelle dropped the Shay and poured her concentration into the girl’s mind, overwhelming her into unconsciousness.
They continued down the corridor decorated with holographic images of previous heads of various departments an
d board members. The whole floor was immaculate and richly designed with overly large offices built for a single being. The corner office was no different with Tanek’s name printed in gold lettering next to the door. The glass walls were translucent, obscuring the contents inside. Esabelle dipped back into the universal soup and felt Sal-dev crouching behind a long sofa opposite the door. The Intrinium signature wasn’t hard to miss, either.
“He’s armed.”
“So...” Roland kicked the metal handle, forcing the doors open. His shot was amazingly accurate. Tanek’s weapon was fired from his hand as Roland’s Intrinium round struck the barrel head on. His stride never halted as he walked round the sofa and clamped his hand around the Shay’s neck.
“This is gonna be the simplest conversation of your life.” Roland brought his Tri-roller under Tanek’s synthetic jaw. “You’re gonna tell us what we want to know, or today’s the day you die. Simple, right?”
“If I talk, they’ll kill me, slowly...”
Roland threw him to the ground and drew his Terran hilt. The black metal grew from within until the blade was just bigger than a hand.
“How long have I got?” Roland didn’t take his eyes off Tanek.
“Not long enough.” Esabelle went straight to the hovering desk and sat down. She deactivated the privacy setting on the back wall. They could now see the increasing number of patrol ships positioning around the hanging buildings. Search lights scoured every floor with built-in scanners as they hunted for the humans. The other end of Clave Tower was so far away it was just a blur between the constant movement of traffic and archipelagos.
Placing both hands flat on the table, she connected with every electron that formed the desk’s interface and the wireless system it was paired with. The table responded with a hologram asking for a password and the daily code. She sank deeper into the code and removed the firewalls protecting Sal-dev’s files. The hologram fluttered with the electronic barrage.
“Whatever you’re doing, make sure you record it!” Ch’len said. Roland threw her a small metallic cylinder, which she caught using telekinesis. Once on the table, it was highlighted in a circle of green light. She commanded the desk to transfer everything she found.
After filtering through the mountain of Laronian porn the Shay had amassed, she accessed the files marked with the highest security levels. The majority of information was what the company deemed a secret regarding the technology used to connect the seven hundred and twenty hubs across the Conclave. She skipped through the boring details about the constraints put on the A.I. to ensure it served instead of ruled. She needed to know about the cube.
There it was, the historical archive buried under layer upon layer of code designed to divert any investigation. There was no code that could keep the Gommarian pilot out, however. She had spent two hundred thousand years living like a machine. Esabelle instantly expanded the file and brought the relevant data up as a hologram. A crystal clear image of the cube floated above the desk. It was half buried in a mountain of ice and snow with only three of its corners visible. Sifting through the images, she found more as the cube was excavated by Protocorps personnel. The time stamp put the pictures at over a hundred thousand years ago.
The next file was a few months on, with the cube now situated in a lab somewhere on Shandar’s hidden surface. Machines of every kind were attached to its dark bronze surface. The Shay had no idea what they were dealing with. Esabelle realised that even she didn’t know what they were dealing with, and she had been on the same ship as a cube for millennia.
“How are there two of you?” she asked out loud. “In two completely different parts of the galaxy.”
“It can’t be a coincidence that both are found inside a civilisation.” Roland snatched Sal-dev off the floor and dropped him on the sofa. “Sit on your hands,” he commanded.
“But one was instrumental in wiping out an entire race. Why has this one just helped co-ordinate traffic and allow for better communication?”
“What are you guys talking about?”
“Shut up, Len!”
“There’s more...” Esabelle found an adjacent file with a string of numbers for a title. With a single thought she accessed the file. She felt the intrusion a moment too late and the desk went dark. Roland’s recorder stopped and the desk’s connection was severed.
“The A.I.?” Roland pocketed his recorder.
“No, something much worse. This is the cube, it’s them. They’re in the system.”
With a short squeal, Sal-dev Tanek made a mad dash for the exit. Everything happened at once then. Before Roland could end the Shay altogether, the entire wall of outer glass was violently shattered. Brilliant blue Intrinium rounds tore through the office suite like paper as the patrol ship levelled out. The sofa was ripped in half by a single round, clipping Roland on the leg and forcing him to the floor. Glass exploded in every direction, cutting both of them from head to foot. The pitch of the cannons made it impossible to communicate with one another.
Esabelle reacted with an expulsion of various powers at once. A telekinetic outburst separated her from everything within ten feet while she simultaneously erected a shield to absorb the incoming fire. She siphoned the energy and fed it into her own body, making her stronger. Extending her hand out towards Roland, she pushed him telekinetically through the glass wall and into the next office. She had no doubt it would have hurt the man, but it was better than the Intrinium rounds that blew through this previous position.
He recovered more quickly than she expected and met her in the corridor. They had to shout over the cacophony of destruction the ship wrought around them. Esabelle had to dodge several rounds as she used every manoeuvre to make it to the corridor in one piece.
“They’re not playing nice anymore!” Roland shouted.
“We need to get to the cube!”
“We need to get out of here!” Roland corrected.
The corridor suddenly filled up with soldiers as they poured out of the grav-pillar. These troops were better armoured than their counterparts. Each one appeared to be wearing an exo-skeleton over the top of the black Protocorps armour. And their weapons were significantly bigger. Roland pulled her into the office he had come from to avoid the hail of gun fire. The corridor was being blown to pieces from two directions now. They heard the thrusters outside as the patrol ship shifted to match their position.
Esabelle’s anger flared at the opportunity slipping away. They had to destroy that cube, whatever the cost. She slowed things down, retreating into her mind for a moment to contemplate. She looked at Roland, blood dripping from a dozen cuts across his hands and face. He was a fighter through and through. If she went after the cube, he would follow, but he would likely die doing so. She reminded herself that she wasn’t alone anymore. She had allies; Kalian was getting stronger every day, not to mention the allies he didn’t know about.
Kalian would want her to save Roland and live to fight another day. Looking at the odds stacking against her, she knew her own chances of survival were slim. Esabelle knew she would regret it later, but they had to escape. The patrol ship was now level again, its blinding spotlight illuminating the whole office.
“We’re taking that ship!” Esabelle knew her plan was crazy, but so far crazy seemed to work for them.
“Are you serious?”
“Come on!” She pulled him up as they both ran flat out towards the hovering craft.
There was no time to think, they had to act now if they were going to survive the next ten seconds. Before it could unleash another barrage of Intrinium, Esabelle forced the glass to explode outwards. Esabelle sailed across the gap in a single bound and landed directly on top of the cockpit.
Roland was less successful.
His jump only allowed for his finger-tips to drag across the sleek red surface. After that he hurtled towards a certain death.
“Roland!”
Esabelle couldn’t see beyond the nose of the cockpit. The two pilots lo
oked up at her, complete surprise on their furry Tularon faces. She put her hand to the metallic surface and sent an electromagnetic pulse through the craft, dropping it like a stone in water with Esabelle magnetised to the hull. The craft turned in the air, giving a view of Roland as he descended down the length of the central Protocorps tower.
His big coat flapped high above him with his arms and legs stretched out, angling towards the nearest patrol ship, surprising her again. At the last second he twisted his body to land feet first, whereupon he slowed down until his descent appeared controlled. The crazy son of a bitch didn’t stop, either. He quickly stood up and proceeded to run along the length of the ship before jumping off again. The jump was timed perfectly, as he landed on the next ship below with the same measure of control before landing.
Dozens of other ships were responding now to their dramatic escape. Eventually Roland was going to run out of places to run, or he’d miscalculate another jump and fall to his death. Esabelle sent a flutter of electricity through the ship and brought the engines back online. It took a terrifying moment for the craft to level out, narrowly avoiding another ship.
“What was the next part to your brilliant plan?” Roland’s voice came through her earpiece.
“I’m coming to you. Hang on.” Esabelle pinned the pilots in their seat and connected with the main console for flight control. The patrol-ship veered to port and made a bee-line for Roland, who was currently fighting two Laronians on top of another ship. Her mind assessed everything she could see and began making plans according to the distances and speeds of various factors. Everything had to be executed at the right moment.
Her mind overlaid the world with numbers informing her of the gaps closing between herself, Roland, an approaching ship and the lines of traffic below. At the last second she dropped the craft, forcing it into the approaching ship. The sound of crumpling metal and shattering glass was accompanied by the violent crash she felt beneath her feet. Before both ships began their emergency landing procedures. Esabelle stood up and ran across the port side wing. Her jump was beyond the abilities of any race in the Conclave.
Tempest: Book Two of the Terran Cycle Page 21