Cascading Error:Critical: A Lovecraftian Technothriller (The Dossiers of Asset 108 Book 4)

by JM Guillen

  Engaging aperture, she informed us.

  Right behind you, I confirmed. Excellent work, guys! This may not be as impossible as we thought. I stepped through, with no concept of what awaited us.

  One would think that by now, I would know to keep my big mouth shut.

  ***

  Hallway clear. Sofia linked as we stepped through. We’ve got a little bit less of a run on this one.

  We’re in stepping through. We’ve got too many hostiles here.

  Copy that, Preceptor. Delacruz and I are pulling point down the hallway.

  As we trotted through the darkness, Sofia fired the gatekeeper. As before, she aimed as far as she could and shot the corner, where the passageway turned.

  We’re through, Gatekeeper. Wyatt’s link felt somewhat calmer. Cadre secure.

  I watched as the quarrel in front of us blossomed into a scarlet aperture.

  Sofia effortlessly linked the two together, even as she closed the one in the room we’d just left.

  It amazed me how quickly Delacruz juggled apertures without the risk of paradox looping. The one time I’d geared the thing, I’d hurled most of my spine through space-time.

  Hallway ahead is clear of hostiles, Wyatt informed us. Stepping through. He, Anya, and Rachel took control of the passageway.

  This place smells like ass, Wyatt complained.

  I’m surprised it doesn’t smell like corpses, Sofia responded. Although I suppose most of the corpses down here decomposed a long time ago.

  Cadre together, Sofia killed the aperture behind us, and I peered down the new hallway. Not twenty steps in front of us, I saw something that hadn’t showed up on any of Sofia’s maps.

  A metal door.

  “Well, that’s unexpected.” Rachel bit her lip. “I don’t suppose we know what’s on the other side of it?”

  “This area of the map has a maze-like series of small rooms,” Sofia responded. “Over thirty of them, approximately five meters by five meters. Each is connected to the others by a short hallway less than ten meters long.”

  Am I reading this right? Wyatt linked. We think the puddle portal may be just off of the fourth room?

  It’s kind of hard to tell, I responded. The overlay of Anya’s readings on Sofia’s maps isn’t quite perfect.

  It’s an approximation, Anya informed us.

  I’m happy to attempt to create an aperture on the far side of the door. Sofia raised one eyebrow. We’d be able to look through, if nothing else.

  That’s not a problem? I raised an eyebrow back at her. What about aberrant vectors? You said the pools caused problems.

  They do, she confirmed. But If I miss my cast, it’s not that big of a deal. We’ll still be able to see.

  I jumped through one of your portals where the vectors were all wonky on Ar’Ghosa. I seem to remember throwing up on a Sadhana agent.

  The conversation abruptly halted when the Zealator threw open the door, screamed, and shot Rachel in the chest with a semiautomatic pistol.

  “Arrrckk!” She cried, and two blossoms of blood appeared on her white jacket. She fell.

  Wyatt swung the tangler toward the man.

  WHUF! WHUF!

  Before I even had time to respond to any of it, a silvery stasis field filled the doorway.

  “Rachel!” I crouched next to her and held up her head. “Can you hear me?”

  “System shock protocols initiated,” she whispered, flecks of blood on her lips.

  “She’s lung-shot.” Sofia stood stock still, a hand over her mouth. “[Mother of God.]”

  “A stasis field?” I glanced up at Wyatt.

  “I had one pre-queued!” He held up one hand as he tried to explain. “I didn’t think, I just shot!”

  “No.” I gestured Rachel. “Should we put a stasis field over her?”

  She’s initiated system shock protocols. The fingers on Anya’s left hand twitched. The Caduceus has remarkable self-diagnostic and repair systems.

  “I don’t know that she can heal after being shot in each lung.” I turned to Anya, and I knew she could see the helplessness in my eyes.

  My fault. This was my fucking plan, my fucking fault.

  From the other side of Wyatt’s stasis field, I heard men yelling.

  I started the sound, glanced at the field, and noticed approximately five centimeters of space lay between the ceiling and the top of the silvery dome.

  They can shoot over the field.

  On it. Sofia stepped over to the dome and fired one of her quarrels through to the other side. Then she initiated a second aperture, one that filled the entire hallway.

  If they try to shoot through, their bullets won’t pass the aperture. I’ve also set a quarrel on the other side for us to get past.

  I need Asset Emergency Services. Rachel gazed up at me, even though she linked the entire cadre. There is a Crown docking bay there. Also, the Designate said I had synthetic assistants at the Citadel. She coughed. I might be able to take care of this but not here.

  I hereby suspend your moratorium on splitting the party. I gave her a weak smile and glanced up. Sofia, if you can get her back to the Corvus, then initiate that conduit. From there, it’s straight a shot to AES.

  Yes, Alpha. But… are you certain we should move her? What if we make it worse?

  From the other side of the stasis field, we heard more men yelling.

  I’d known that we’d lost all measure of surprise the moment the woman used her radio back at site one. However this situation had spiraled much further out of control.

  I caught Wyatt staring at me, confusion and panic evident on his face.

  Remember Gideon, Michael. I glanced up toward Anya as she linked to me only. Think about what he would do. Think about how he made you feel when things became dangerous.

  I took a deep breath. Anya was absolutely right.

  I stood up.

  Wyatt, I don’t think they’ll get through. But we’ll be engaged here for just a moment. I need you to switch over to something that might work better in a firefight. Put it on your quick trigger. If things go bad, you’re our first defense.

  Wyatt paused in place for a moment and then blew out a long breath.

  Okay, Hoss. He gave a tiny shake of his head. Alpha. I’ve got this.

  Rachel, I met the young woman’s gaze and tried to fight down the panic and fury I felt at her injury. Can you respond?

  Yes, Alpha. Her link felt distant.

  I have a patient who has been shot twice. I believe she has received injuries in both lungs. I need to know if I can move her without further injury.

  Um, she linked, obviously somewhat dazed.

  Rachel, I need you to listen to me. I crouched down next to her and put my fingers beneath her chin. I lifted her head so she could see my eyes.

  Okay, Bishop. She gave the faintest little grin.

  Someone I care about very much has been shot twice. I held my gaze on hers. What is the safest way I can move her so she can get to AES?

  Has she been shot in both lungs? Her head lolled, and it almost seemed as if she might laugh. Is she particularly brilliant?

  Yes to both. What do I need to do?

  You want three shots of type I viral mecha. That will cut the pain. She coughed.

  Okay. Frantic with haste, I patted my pockets until I found the one I’d stashed my personal vials of mecha.

  I also recommend two shots of type IV. She coughed again, and I saw the blood on her lips. For repair. They’ll automatically begin to knit up significant injuries.

  I can do that. I picked through my vials, pulled out what I needed, and stuffed the rest back in. After I inject the patient, can I move her?

  Yup. She blinked and gave me a somewhat sickly smile. But I worry about your patient if you’re the one playing Caduceus, Bishop.

  Here. I handed the vials to Anya. Get the mecha into her system. Once you have, Sofia can take her home. I nodded at Delacruz as I linked.

  Okay. Delacruz bounc
ed on her toes, a little too eagerly. Ready.

  Hoss, we need to move. What’s the play?

  Can you drop that stasis field? I jerked my chin at the construct. Or is it set to remain in place until the heat death of the universe?

  Sure. I can shut it down. He spat. ’Course, it sounds as if every Irrat ever born is on the other side of that thing.

  Here’s our move. I stood up and surveyed them. Wyatt, Anya, and I are going to hoof it back down this hallway. While we’re on the move, I need Sofia to get Rachel back to AES.

  Got it. Sofia nodded.

  I expect that to take less than three minutes. It’s just a couple of quick apertures for you, right?

  Right. As long as I don’t hurt her when I move her.

  Patient will be fine, Rachel linked weakly. As long as she gets to AES quickly.

  When Sophia gets back, Wyatt’s going to drop that stasis field. I raised one eyebrow at him.

  They’ll come after us. They know we’re down here.

  We’ll fall back to the first spike Sofia used on this location. She can rendezvous with us there. After you take the initial stasis field down, you’ll put another one in front of us at our new location.

  To protect us from pursuing assholes. Wyatt nodded. Okay.

  Once we have our Gatekeeper back, she’ll link up the two apertures. We’ll be right back here, and we can go forward. I jerked my chin in the direction of the active state field. You’ll put that bad boy back, behind us, and they won’t be able to get to us.

  They’ll be trapped between the two of them. I couldn’t tell whether Wyatt enjoyed or was disgusted by the thought. As in, forever.

  You can set the fields to eventually drop if the idea turns your stomach. I glanced down at Rachel. Just now, I don’t mind the idea of them suffering.

  Wyatt nodded but didn’t say anything.

  I realized that unless I asked him, I would never know what he decided to do.

  Any questions? I glanced around my cadre, but saw no confusion. It seemed as if they knew their roles.

  I believe that covers all eventualities. Anya injected Rachel with the last of the type IVs and stood. The patient is ready to be moved, Gatekeeper.

  Copy that. Sofia pushed her hair out of her face. On your mark, Alpha.

  Mark. I jerked my chin toward Wyatt and Anya. Let’s do this.

  6

  For this moment at least, everything went exactly according to plan. Sofia easily escorted Rachel back to AES, and our remaining trio quickly fell back to our previous position.

  Michael, I have a concern, Anya linked Wyatt and myself. Something we may not have considered.

  “What’s that?” Almost unconsciously, I’d taken my familiar position at point. It seemed odd to take point as Alpha, yet it was simply the best way for the three of us to work.

  I am uncertain if Asset Guthrie is aware, but you are probably carrying at least two vials of medicated viral mecha that are specially formulated for your specific condition.

  “I didn’t know you knew about my anti-wolfy meds, Anya.” I glanced back at her. “But yeah. The Designates had to formulate a medicine I could use while in torpor. It’s been recommended that I carry a couple of vials with me when I’m on dossier.”

  I will not advise you on how to deal with the aberration, Anya clarified. Yet as we prepare to engage in a potentially combative situation, and the Caduceus has been removed from play, perhaps you should consider an early dosage?

  “No, you’re right.” I’d already considered taking one of the injections; I’d been reminded of it when I dug through my stock for Rachel. “Once my bestial friend decides to make an appearance, I don’t know if I’ll have the time or clarity of mind to take my medicine.”

  “Will it drive the thing away?” Wyatt shook his head and shuddered. “I remember what you looked like when it’s come on ya, Hoss. You were positively bathed in blood. Weren’t pretty.”

  “The Designates don’t know.” I sighed. “Last time, only hyper-Rationality drove it off.”

  “You know, I don’t have any of that in my pockets.” He made a show of patting himself down.

  “I don’t know,” I said wryly. “There’s an awful lot of pockets in them overalls.”

  “Ha!” Wyatt gave a belly laugh and shook his head.

  “When we arrive at Locale Two, I’ll take my medicine.” I shrugged, and snuck a glance at Anya. “They aren’t really certain how long it will last. We also don’t know if it’ll be enough.”

  I understood that testing took place while you were in torpor?

  “Oh, it did. The thing is, while one is in torpor, it’s a little difficult to emulate fighting for your life against Irrats.” I popped my knuckles. “All the Designates can really say is that they know the injectable is likely to assist in keeping the creature at bay.”

  “And that’s why you’re always supposed to have a babysitter.” Wyatt scratched his beard.

  “Long and short of it, yeah. The Designates are apparently afraid of how scary I get when I’m possessed by a four-armed, Japanese monstrosity.”

  “They ain’t wrong, Hoss.” The giant man blew out a breath. “I watched you rip a man’s legs off, saw you drink another fella’s blood.”

  “That was a bad day.” I tried to lend a touch of levity to my voice. “I’ll take my medicine, and we’ll try to make certain I don’t have another one.”

  We hadn’t quite made it back to Locale Two before we saw the aperture open. Sofia stepped through and gave us a playful smile.

  “I beat ya.”

  “What’s the status on my Caduceus?” I fumbled in my pocket and pulled out the small injector.

  “Better than I imagined.” Sofia gave a small shrug. “I apparently didn’t realize ‘synthetic assistants’ meant she had Facility drones capable of most AES functions to help her out.”

  “That’s true.” Wyatt nodded. “I got stitched up by a drone a few years ago. A little creepy but damn efficient.”

  “Her prognosis will be updated to her Alpha in four hours.” Sofia jerked her chin toward me. “That’s all the robots would say.”

  “Sounds good.” I applied the injector to the underside of my arm. “We ready for step two?”

  “I’ve got Rosie all ready.” Wyatt smiled and stroked the length of his tangler as if it were a pet.

  “Mark.” I nodded at him.

  WHUF!

  Approximately two meters ahead of us, the silvery dome of a stasis field blossomed into existence. This one stood a touch taller than the previous to fill the entire passageway from floor to ceiling.

  Wyatt tapped a couple of keys and gave me a wicked smile. “First stasis field is down.”

  “Let’s give them a moment,” I said and glanced at Anya. “Watch our telemetry?”

  I have been. A smug little glint sparkled in one blue eye as she plucked at her interface. And yes, Irrational targets are on the move.

  “Ready to ignite aperture.” Sofia raised her right hand to adjust something on the side of the Temporal Corona.

  Moments later, we heard voices and the shuffling of feet. As they got closer, I pointed first to Sofia and then to Wyatt.

  Without word, without a link, Sofia ignited the aperture behind us. She’d already linked it to the one we’d come out of when this whole interlude started, and we could easily see into that hallway.

  “Seems like we’re clear.” I pointed toward the aperture.

  We went through.

  ***

  You actually stuck this guy? I stepped over the corpse of the man who’d shot Rachel.

  He lay on the ground, his face wide with surprise. One of Wyatt’s spikes jutted out in the middle of his chest, buried almost to the top.

  I’d like to claim t’ be a sharpshooter. Wyatt hopped over the man as well. Truth to be told, I panicked. I just shot on instinct.

  He won’t require this ammunition. Anya crouched and pulled a couple of clips from the man’s belt. I do apprec
iate it when an enemy can provide us with supplies.

  The passageway before us appeared exactly as it’d been detailed on Sophia’s maps. The low hallway couldn’t have been more than ten meters long; Wyatt had to duck a bit.

  Ahead of us, it opened into a small room.

  Shit’s ancient. Wyatt traced his fingers along the stone wall and noticed how easily it crumbled. Gotta be early Roman. Like, well before the Church.

  Before we get into more of your conspiracy theories, wanna close the back door? I waggled my eyebrows at him.

  Oh. He flushed sheepishly. Right.

  Alpha, Anya warned. She stepped forward, and I noticed that the fingers on her left hand twitched considerably faster than those on the right.

  What do you have, Preceptor?

  WHUF! Wyatt fired and ignited stasis.

  I’ve observed that same signature. They have opened another amphora.

  Fuck! The last thing I wanted was to add another stop on our trip. This is the shit I worried about. I’m afraid as long as Amir is afoot, he’ll just keep cracking open more jugs.

  He does remain onsite. Anya paused. We haven’t lost him, Alpha.

  How far off is the new rift?

  She turned around and met my gaze.

  Less than thirty meters. We now have two of the rifts open within fifty meters of our current location.

  Delacruz, let’s use the Wraith. I toggled my own, even as I linked.

  I thought you said the creatures could still somehow see you? she asked as she faded from sight.

  They could. I strode forward and entered the small room. But the human cultists might be a different story.

  Would you look at this? Wyatt gaped up at the walls.

  Four passageways exited the room, exactly like the one we’d just come in. Rounded on top, intricate decorations had been fastened down the sides of each doorway, universally, leering skulls or capering skeletons. In several locations, Latin inscriptions had also been added, yet these had become too worn for even the Crown to translate.

  Huh. I traced my fingers along the intricate designs. How long had it been since anyone touched this stone? The thought fascinated me.

  In the corners between the archways, three shelf-like recessions pushed back into the walls. They held emaciated corpses, most of which had rotted away to skeletons. A few, however, appeared to be dried mummies.