“No worries,” Hamish interjected. “I'm sure this won't be a raging disaster like last time, will it? No, you always bring good luck with ya...” Then he tapped his ear and the connection went dark.
“Last time?” Kita asked.
“Never mind that,” Eli coughed nervously. “Prepare for landing,” he instructed as he took Slowpoke in to dock.
Fox leaned forward in her seat. “Are you sure we can trust Hamish? What is that anyway? Scottish?”
Eli barked a laugh and raised an eyebrow at her. “As much as we can trust anyone, I'd guess.”
“Point,” Fox conceded, reclining back into her chair as she crossed her arms.
As they pulled in to port, Stella could already tell the protests had spread like wildfire, and the hangar next to theirs had smoke coming out of it. Eli grimaced with a furrowed brow, and glanced at Kita. “This is gonna be messy. You sure about this?”
“When isn't life messy?” Kita asked.
Eli set Slowpoke down with a hydraulic hiss. The ship settled into landed position with a slight bounce from the four support legs, coming to rest in a hangar cluttered with tubes and old machinery. Eli looked back at Fox, and said, “Okay, let's get that message decrypted.”
“I can't do it from here,” she frowned. I've got a hack that'll let me into the system, but I have to look at it from inside, and that means getting past the cloistered server vault that the military uses to house all their restricted data.
“What?” Eli asked, but Fox held up her hand.
“I have to get inside their faraday cage,” she explained. “Unless you've got a better idea?” she asked with a smirk.
Eli cursed. “No. I just don't want us in the middle of...well, that.” He pointed at the chaos that was coming into focus through the street windows around the hangar. It looked like mass hysteria.
“We?” Fox chided. “No way! I'm going in by myself!” She glanced over at Kita. “I work better that way. I swear. Just...trust me. I'll send the files when I have them. Here,” she said, and handed Stella a small display projector. “Stella, I have a direct link set up with that, so the instant I decrypt the file, I'll stream it right to you, okay?”
Mtumba chimed in. “And while you're doing that, we can find old John.” He smiled at Rok and Stella. “He should be here on the Citadel, right?”
“Hold on. Hold on, kids,” Eli said. “You can't just run in there without a plan! We don't know for sure if the High King's even on this Citadel! I didn't hear anything about that on the news...”
“But he has to be! I just...I know he is!” Stella huffed, flustered, but Rok and Mtumba nodded their support. “Come on, guys. Let's find him!” She said as she got up and walked toward the rear exit.
Rok and Mtumba got up to join her, and Eli cursed as he pulled himself out of his safety harness. “Hey, slow down!” He ran around them to block the exit. “Listen, I get it that you all want to go be a bunch of big heroes, but that's not how it works here in the real world! You've gotta be careful if you want to survive! You have to plan! I mean, just open your eyes! Or your ears! You can hear the riots from here!” Sure enough, in the abrupt silence, Stella heard the rumble of a people in chaos.
Eli groaned, and looked at the strange trio. Stella gave him a hard look and said, “We need to do this. This is important to me.” She was almost crying, but held herself together. She had to be strong right now, she knew, and so she was.
Eli sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “I just don't know if you fully appreciate how dangerous this is.” Kita and Fox came up behind him. Kita looked concerned, but Fox spoke up without pause.
“Believe it, Stella,” Fox added with urgency in her dark eyes. “Trust me. I know.” Eli spared her a nod of gratitude, but Fox continued, “Yet, I have to also admit that some things are bigger than me, and this just might be one of em. See ya, Cap'n,” and she pulled him in for a hard, impersonal kiss, then hit the exit panel and rushed down the extended ramp to begin her mission. Stella watched her go, and felt conflicted about the strange woman.
Not Kita, though. Her body went stiff, her eyes burning into the back of Eli’s neck. Eli coughed, and looked at Stella.
“Let’s do this,” he nodded, and Skippy beeped. “Not you, Skippy, I’m sorry. You need to stay here with Slowpoke in case everything goes sideways and we have to make a quick exit.”
“We should make our way to the House of Lords,” Kita said. “If the High King's anywhere in this crazy place, it's there.” She looked at him, and said, “We're here for something important, Eli, and we don't have much time.”
“I know...” He looked at Stella. “Let's find the High King. Together.”
“Alright,” Stella said, and looked down the ramp. She felt Eli's hand on her shoulder, and looked up at him. He smiled at her and her friends, and nodded at the ramp. Then they made their way down toward an uncertain future.
26
All Roads Lead to the Prime Citadel
The streets were even worse than Eli had been afraid they would be. They were nearly drawn into several roving brawls before they made it out of the dock sector, but at least the tram was still working. They'd jumped on just in time to avoid a peacekeeper patrol that had started firing into the crowd.
There was a massive amount of panic in the streets, and Eli couldn't see how this would end well. He hadn't wanted to mention it to Kita or the kids, but on the way up the boarding platform, he'd seen someone who looked trampled, and as far as he could tell, they were dead.
“Stay close,” he urged them, and squeezed Kita's hand. Was that for her, or for him? He wasn't sure, and all he cared about was that it seemed to help them both. He looked at Rok, who seemed to be on the edge of tears. “You okay?” he asked the boy. Rok didn't respond, so Eli put a hand on his shoulder. “We'll be okay, Rok. Just stay close and pay attention, okay?” The boy nodded, and so did Eli. “Good.”
Kita leaned over and whispered to Eli, “We've passed three dead people so far.”
“Three?” he whispered back.
She nodded. “A woman and her child, then the man who you saw on the way up to the platform.”
He blushed. She was observant. Hopefully that would help them stay alive. She squeezed his hand, and gave a halfhearted smile, but the expression was overshadowed by concern.
“Hey,” Mtumba interrupted. “Someone's coming.”
Eli cursed. Sure enough, an armed quartet swaggered through the doors. One strong youth, one massive man in his middle years with an exposed mechanical arm, a filthy, grizzled old man, and one fierce-looking woman. Brigands, maybe? The middle-aged man in front was particularly large and muscular, like he was used to breaking other men without much effort, and he had the eyes of a seasoned hunter.
What his prey was, Eli could only guess, but he didn't want to find out the hard way. That shockblade was more than just for show. Eli was positive he couldn't take this gang in a fair fight, and felt his hand move toward his blaster.
“Calm down,” she said, “We're not here to hurt you.” This lady seemed calm. Maybe he could reason with her.
“What are you doing?” Eli challenged. “What's with the weapons?”
The strong man in front barked out a laugh and gestured with his shock-blade at Eli's pistol. “Well, a gun's got only a few uses that I know of,” he chuckled, as he crossed his arms over his powerful chest, and glanced over at Kita. “You all right, ma'am? Is this guy giving you or your kids any trouble?”
Kita shook her head. “No, my husband's a good man, and apparently so are you. Thanks for asking.” The large man and his friends relaxed their stance, and Eli felt his own shoulders loosen. The man with the shock-blade stepped forward with a broad smile and extended his hand.
“Quinn Deston,” he grinned, and Eli shook it.
“Captain Eli Hawk,” he reciprocated, and Quinn nodded approval.
“It's everywhere,” Kita murmured sadly, and Eli squeezed her hand. The streets outside had dev
olved into a battle between the peacekeepers and the citizenry.
“Where are you headed?” Quinn interjected.
“The great lawn,” Eli grimaced, and the tram slowed down as it approached the station.
“It’s crazy out there,” Quinn said as he stood up, “and the Regent's got his peacekeepers attacking civilians now. You might all want to stay on the tram until it blows over.”
“We have to see the High King,” Stella said firmly.
“Really?” Quinn looked at her, then Eli. “The High King?”
“That’s right,” Eli sighed and prepared to enter the crowd.
“We have to warn him about some traitors,” Rok supplied, and Eli glared at him.
“We can trust him,” Rok said defensively. “He’s a good man.”
“Traitors, huh?” Quinn glanced at Kai, who nodded. “Okay then...count us in. We’ve got a debt to settle on that, too.” As they stood at the door, Quinn leaned over to Eli and muttered, “This reminds me of my first time on the hunt.”
“Really? What did you used to hunt?” Eli asked as they stepped off the tram onto the station platform.
“Dragons,” Quinn laughed as he pointed at the sky, and clapped Eli on the back. The word was muffled by the roar of pulse cannon firing stun-blasts into the crowd. People surged into the gaps almost instantly to get at the peacekeepers.
“What?” Eli shouted, but Quinn was looking in front of them, then up.
“I'm just glad the aerial units aren't here,” Quinn said. “Must be engaged with the dragons.”
“Oh my God,” Stella said with horror as she surveyed the violence in front of them.
Eli leaned forward and put his hand on her shoulder. This was no place to bring kids, and he felt a spike of concern in his gut. “This...” Eli shook his head as he saw a group of angry men pushing over a patrol vehicle. “We need to get you back to the ship. Right now.”
“No,” Stella yelled as she pulled away. “You know why we're here! We have to get to the House of Lords right now and find the High King!” There was a loud explosion nearby, and Eli flinched.
Once the dust had cleared a bit, Eli looked up. The side of a nearby building had collapsed toward them, leaving a gap to the other side of the block. The old Knight clapped Eli on the back and grinned, “We just found our way through the crowd. Let's hurry before anyone else figures it out. Follow me, and watch your step!”
27
Infiltraitors
“Father Davenport! I thought you were on the Alba! Thank heavens that at least one of our scientific celebrities made it off safely!” the military scientist exclaimed to Fox as she made her way toward the servers. The guard who was about to question her turned away, satisfied to do something more important.
Fox could see that the facility was wild with activity from the uprising on the Prime Citadel. They were trying to keep information from spreading to the other Citadels, but so far were barely staying ahead of a relentless tsunami of transmissions. News was spreading quickly, and there was an air of desperation as the people here realized it was only a matter of time before everything fell apart.
Fox looked at the scientist, inspecting his ID badge. “Dr. Bell, I need to see the servers right away.”
“Of course, but might I ask what for?” He led her through the rush of foot traffic that clogged the hallways. Almost as bad in here as on the streets, Fox noted with concern.
“What I have in mind needs both discretion and a highly skilled assistant.”
Bell beamed with pride, and Fox knew she'd scored with his ego. “Then I'm your man,” the scientist grinned, narrowly avoiding being trampled as a group of peacekeepers rushed past them. He looked at Fox and shook his head. “Goodness, things are bad. I hope your plan works.”
Fox nodded reassuringly. “It will,” she said as Bell stepped up to the door.
“Ah...you'll have to do a hand-scan,” he smiled sheepishly, and gestured at the door panel.
Fox frowned, but put her hand up, and the door slid open. Bell smiled and followed her in. “Sorry about the formality, Father,” he said, clearly embarrassed. “We have to verify the DNA is authorized before we're allowed in. Security, you understand.”
Fox waved it off and moved toward the door at the back of the room. Something felt strange, but Fox wasn't sure what it could be. Maybe something about Bell? His vocal inflection, perhaps? Could he already be on to her? She'd have to listen closer. For now, she just nodded and smiled.
“No trouble,” she said in Davenport's resonant baritone. “Now let's get to the servers. We need to stop this insanity from spreading.”
“Oh, I completely agree Father,” Bell said, and she heard a familiar electric crackle behind her. “It's gone quite far enough.” Something was definitely wrong, and Fox swiveled just in time to avoid catching a shock-blade between the ribs.
She caught Bell's arm and twisted, forcing the blade from his grasp. It clattered to the floor amidst the Spartan array of central computer hardware. She kicked his legs out from under him, but he used the momentum to pull her over him, and threw her onto her back.
It knocked the wind out of her, and Bell snaked a gavotte around her neck. He yanked it tight, cutting off her air supply. Fox struggled against him with all her strength...she didn't have much time before this would kill her. With great effort, she put her fingers under the gavotte to keep it from crushing her neck as she stood up, and kicked him with all the force she could muster.
Her foot connected with the side of his knee, and he screamed as it popped to the side. The metal cord he'd been holding went slack, and Fox pulled herself free of it as fast as she could. She barely had time to recover before Bell had a pistol pointed at her and fired.
The pulse-blast caught Fox in the shoulder, spinning her to the floor. A sharp, searing pain shot through her, and she shook her head to collect her wits. Bell grunted as he slapped his kneecap back into place with the butt of his gun, and hobbled over.
“Nice try, little Fox,” he mocked, “but you were always out of your league on this. You have no idea how far over your head you this goes, do you? It's a shame I have to kill you, really. You were useful. At least for a short while...”
Who was he? No, she redirected herself. Don't think. Just do. Fox executed a back-roundhouse into Bell’s sternum. His gun fired off, and hit the ceiling. An alarm sounded, and Fox cursed. As if she didn't have enough problems to deal with already, soon they'd have guards breathing down their necks.
Fox sprung to her feet and kicked the weapon from Bell's hand. He snarled, and then grinned as he flicked his wrist to reveal a snap-out arm-blade. How many weapons did he have in there? Fox avoided being skewered by him, and redirected his weapon into the live circuit-box behind her. She was rewarded with a crackling pop and the faint smell of sizzling flesh as Bell spasmed. Nothing she hadn't experienced before, but still, not pleasant.
She kicked him away from the power supply, and he fell to the floor in a twitching heap. As he lay there, she moved to pick up the gun, and checked its charge. Still mostly full. Good, she nodded to herself as she set it to stun and looked over at Bell.
Bell's disguise had dissipated under the onslaught of the raw power surge. Whoever he was, he didn't look like the mild-mannered scientist on his ID badge anymore. A closer look sparked her memory. It was the same man who'd been after the meta-chip ring back on that backwards western world! How had he tailed her all the way here?
“Who are you?” she asked as she pointed the gun at his face. Kark, her shoulder was screaming at her.
He twitched there on the floor, but grinned as he shook his head. “Wouldn't you like to know,” he sputtered. He grunted, and managed to move onto his side, leering at her through his spasms. “But I know who you are. You got away from me on Bardem. You stole my ring.” He grunted as he quickly evaluated the situation with a series of darting glances. “And now you've stumbled too far down the rabbit hole to find your way back, haven't you, lit
tle Fox?”
“You wish,” she said, and shot him in the chest. He slumped to the floor, unconscious. Fox bent down and rifled through his pockets, looking for anything that might prove useful. Might give her a clue about his identity or mysterious connections. No wonder he'd asked her to use the DNA scan! Whoever he was, he was clever...but fortunately, not clever enough.
After another glance to make sure he wasn't getting up, she knelt to pick up his fallen weapons. She pocketed the gavotte, and turned the shock-blade in her hand. It was a specialized model with a retractable electromagnetic blade structure. Nice model, she had to admit. With its charged-current delivery system, it probably could have killed her on contact.
Fox fished in the man's ear and removed his earbud. It would be ciphered, of course, but at least it would give her an edge once she had some time to figure out what was going on here. Maybe Turk could decode it. Might get some answers, then. She regretted for just a moment that she wasn't the killing type, but couldn't justify ending someone's life while he was laid out cold on the hard floor. “Stupid,” she chastised herself, then tied him up with the gavotte, shoved him into a cranny, and rushed across the short bridge to the cloistered server vault.
It was so cold inside the vault that her breath came out as white vapor. She shivered as she searched the frigid forest of tall server housings for a console she could access. There! She rushed over and pressed her ring to the console, and began to upload her stolen ciphering hack. It was the one Turk had given her for emergencies, pulled at great risk from a high-ranking diplomat's private files. She figured this definitely qualified as an emergency.
This was the best hermetic hub for top-secret military communications that she could access, and it would take everything she had to succeed, here. If she was going to discover who'd sent that ghosted job listing, and who those men in Raya's amulet had been, then this was where she'd find her answers.
Phoenix Rising (Dragon Legacy) Page 18