Eye of the Abyss

by Michael Formichelli

  “They are reinforcing their position with some kind of large weapon. Analysis suggests it is a mobile plasma cannon.”

  “What?” His eyes widened.

  “I thought they were not allowed to have that kind of weaponry,” Sorina said.

  “With Login working with them, they can fabricate whatever they want,” Athame responded. She stared at the alley wall beside Sorina for a moment. “We need to move.”

  “Ship’s here.” Nero smiled and looked up as the high-pitched whine of the Akanda’s dark-energy generators pierced the air. Her long-necked silhouette appeared above them, blocking the rain as she descended towards the tops of the buildings.

  Detecting targeting sensors, Prospero said in alarm. Nero, the battle-stations have recovered! They’re firing!

  His eyes widened as the first bolt of high-energy particles sliced through the neck of his ship. His mouth fell open when the cockpit section separated from the body of the vessel that had been his home for as long as he could remember.

  “No,” he heard Sorina say as the ship’s engines faltered.

  A second bright bolt cut clean through the Akanda’s body and ignited the building’s roof to their left. Numb, Nero watched his ship fall out of the sky with a mechanical scream, trailing long streams of flame as she plunged down to Zov’s surface. She hit with a deafening explosion that shook the ground beneath their feet and flashed light across the clouds over the square.

  He stared at the sky, barely feeling the icy pins of rain strike him in the face. His ship, his home, was gone.

  “We have to move,” Athame said in a loud voice. “They will attack soon. Give me three seconds, then follow me. I will take advantage of the distraction.”

  He nodded, and looking down met the clear, blue-eyed gaze of the kid in his arms. Something about those eyes broke through the mind-numbing shock. He had a job to do, and he was going to do it.

  Athame didn’t wait for a response. She charged down the alleyway towards the square where the Akanda’s funeral pyre blazed over the rooftops. She jinked to the side when she reached the alley’s exit, and a moment later Nero saw tattooed body-parts go flying across the gap between its walls.

  Rage boiled his blood and sent a tremor through his muscles. Lifting the kid with one arm, he nodded at Sorina and charged forward. It took him seven steps to reach the end of the alley, and then he was out in the open where a group of white-skinned Maskhim were just starting to react to Athame’s attack. They raised their laser-rods towards her, but it was clear they hadn’t expected a half-berserk Nero to appear on the scene. He shoved his gun straight into the nearest Maskhim’s little mouth and pulled the trigger. His head exploded as the round tore through it and the skull of the Maskhim behind him. With Prospero guiding his hand, he shot four more in less than a second, then caught motion at the end of the square and spotted a group of DS-109 combat bots pouring in from the streets as the bodies hit the ground.

  “Move!” He charged toward a gap in the buildings obstructed by a low, metal railing as particle beams lit up the night from the drones’ arm weapons.

  He heard the throbbing pulse of the plasma cannon. Brick and pavement exploded around him, bombarding him with superheated shrapnel. Pain burned its way into his thigh just as he reached the railing. Below it water streamed from the mouth of a tunnel through a narrow canal and into another leading beneath the buildings framing the gap. Hope swelled in his chest. If they could make it into the rushing water of the storm drain, perhaps they could escape.

  He holstered his weapon and took another step, thinking to swing himself over the railing with one arm when a burning sensation blazed to life in his knee. His leg collapsed and his body tumbled forward, twisting instinctively so he didn’t land on Kaeden’s kid. He was half-way to the ground when his nostrils filled with the smell of cinnamon, and something hit him from the side hard enough to propel him over the railing. Still clutching the boy, he fell.

  The dark water hit like a hard, wet slap and swallowed them down its icy gullet. The brutal current shoved them forward, slamming their bodies into the canal walls hard enough to send sparks through Nero’s vision. He tried to kick up to the surface but only one of his legs responded and the current dragged him down deeper. His lungs ached and his body was going numb, but he refused to allow it to give up. He wasn’t going to let another innocent die because of him, so he fought the fatigue leaking into his lead-like muscles and continued pumping an arm and a leg against the raging water. His lungs felt like they were going to explode, but he refused to stop struggling against the icy darkness.

  Hands grabbed him from above, and for one horrible moment he thought the Maskhim had him.

  “I’ve got you,” Sorina transmitted.

  Take him! he sent back, thrusting the kid up at her. He felt her grab the boy and he let go, expecting the water to sweep him away, but instead felt a tug on his collar. She was still holding on to him with her foot-hand, letting the current have them all.

  Let me go, get the boy to safety!

  “No,” she transmitted back.

  Sorina, you can’t pull me out of the water, I’m too heavy. Let me go and save the kid!

  “The Void will take me first, Nero. Shut up and hold on!”

  I concur, Nero. Shut up! Prospero added.

  Dammit, he thought, but did as asked. Spots formed in his vision, and it seemed like an eternity passed before he felt Sorina snag something. The current’s pull seemed to increase, and then a hand reached down and hauled him out of the rushing water. He blinked, gasping in air as he found himself dangling above the raging current, held up by Athame’s outstretched arm while Sorina climbed out of the water beside her. The kid, he noted, was already on the narrow stone ledge by the tunnel wall. Athame put him down and he collapsed into a heap.

  “Nero!” Sorina shouted over the roar of the current. She helped get him propped up, then sat down on the far side of the boy, wedging their shivering bodies together.

  Off to his left he could see the city lights over the water as it rushed down an open-air spillway past the mouth of the tunnel. Athame stood beside him. She was the only one among them who didn’t show a scratch because her polymorphic coating allowed her to hide the damage, though he knew she had taken her share of hits.

  Sorina and the kid shivered at his side. He figured he was shivering too, though he couldn’t feel it. With a laser-burned knee and a shrapnel-torn face he thought it was for the best that Prospero keep his body as numb as possible. It was sort of funny in a way. It hadn’t been that long since Mitsugawa’s med-techs fixed up his appearance, and here he was cut-up again. It seemed he was destined to be scarred.

  Athame moved over to within a meter of the exit for a moment, then returned. “We are near the edge of the city. I recommend we remain here until the immediate search for us, and the storm, are reduced in intensity. We do not have good odds of survival if we attempt to continue our flight at this time.”

  “And then what?” Sorina asked.

  “Let’s not worry about that right now,” he said, drawing in deep breaths. “Let’s catch our breath.”

  Sorina looked about to say something, but nodded in silence. He blinked and the chronometer in his heads-up display jumped ahead by two-hours. His UI reported the injury to his knee was almost repaired, and there was light streaming in from the mouth of the tunnel. The storm was broken, and dawn turned the clouded sky from matte-black to bright-gray. They watched it from their perch overlooking the exit of the storm sewer. Beside them the water poured into a broad, vee-shaped spillway and ran about two-hundred meters out in the open to where a canal cut its way through the city streets.

  “I want my father,” the kid said between chattering teeth.

  Nero wrapped an arm around him and hugged him close. “We’ll get you to Kaeden, I swear.”

  The kid squirmed some, then relaxed and looked up at him. “You’re Lieutenant Nero Graves of the Star Jumpers, right?”

 
He nodded.

  “My father talks about you a lot. I’ve heard all of your adventures!” The kid’s eyes grew wide. “Like the time you guys raided that convoy in the Maragah Canyon, or the time you hit that munitions base on the Plateau of Skulls! You’re a hero!”

  He stared at the kid for several long moments trying to remember anything about those battles. “I don’t know about any of that.”

  “My father says you did it all, and that you were good. You can take down hundreds of Orgnan in seconds with your snake tongue. You killed so many they called you ‘Corpsemaker.’”

  “They did?” He exchanged another look with Sorina.

  Her ears twitched, but a smile formed on her quaking lips. “If he says it, it must be true.”

  “See?” the kid grinned, then looked concerned. “Your face is bleeding.”

  He touched his face. It came away dark red. “It happens, kid. What’s your name?”

  “Rune.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, Rune.” He patted him on the back. “This is Sorina, and the tall solemn one over there is Athame.”

  Aren’t you going to introduce me, Corpsemaker? Prospero asked.

  Watch it! And no, I’m not. Kids don’t get cerebral implants until they’re in their teens, he reminded his counterpart. I’ll introduce you back on the—he cut himself off, realizing his ship was in pieces, burning in the city above them.

  Yeah, Prospero said. I guess you’re right, we’ll wait.

  Yeah, he thought.

  “She’s a Praetor, isn’t she?” Rune pointed at Athame.

  “Was,” Nero said. “Now she helps us.”

  Rune looked down at his lapel. “You are, too.”

  “Not anymore.” He reached up and tore the Eye from his chest, tossing it in the water flow at their feet. “That was just for show.”

  “Dad said you got kidnapped by the Abyssians. They’re bad people who took you away.”

  “Yeah, but I got away.”

  Rune nodded. “Is this your new fire team Lieutenant Graves?”

  “Fire team? Ah, no, not exactly. I guess you could say this is my team, though. Also, don’t call me that. I’m just Nero now.”

  “Okay, Nero. I’m sorry I ran.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I needed the exercise. I’m more concerned with how to find your father, now,” he said.

  “He’s almost here,” Rune stated.

  “What? How do you know? Do you have an implant?”

  “Not yet. Luan says they’re almost here. He’s tracking me,” Rune said.

  “Luan?” He looked to Athame and cocked an eyebrow.

  “Detecting multiple seismic impacts above us. I do not have sufficient data to sort out individuals.” She reached into her coat and produced the gun Baron Mitsugawa gave him. “You dropped this.”

  “Thank you,” he accepted it with his off-hand. Gonna need your help aiming, Prospero.

  On it.

  “Luan’s good,” Rune said. “Don’t shoot him. He’s dad’s boyfriend.”

  Nero froze. “What?”

  “He’s dad’s boyfriend. He takes care of us, helps us out.”

  “Contact approaching,” Athame said, moving towards the exit to the spillway.

  “Hold position,” he ordered and she stopped in her tracks. “Rune, if shooting starts, stay behind me.”

  “Luan’s a good guy, don’t shoot him,” Rune repeated.

  Sorina put her hand on her sidearm and shifted so that she could draw it unhindered. A moment later a VoQuana dropped into view hanging on the bottom of a rope-ladder. Nero pointed his weapon and frowned. The green sparks in his eyes were familiar.

  “It is the VoQuana from the ziggurat, Ameluan,” Athame transmitted.

  “That him?” He asked Rune.

  “Yes, don’t shoot!”

  “Stand down,” he said as the VoQuana swung himself onto the walkway.

  “I appreciate your restraint, Praetor Graves.” Ameluan took several graceful steps forward, stopping within arm’s reach of Athame.

  Nero was about to say something, but saw motion behind him. The rope shook and a man with brown hair tied back in a tail, and thick mutton-chops decorating his face, came down the line. He swung himself over onto the ledge with a grunt and stood up, brushing off his brown jacket. When his sea-green eyes settled on Nero, a crooked smile stretched the scar on the right side of his face.

  “By the Will, I never thought I’d see you again. Fuck me,” Kaeden Faen said.

  “Naw, you’re too ugly,” Nero answered reflexively before it hit him that he was looking at Kaden Faen, the one man in the Spur who could tell him who he really was. He rubbed his face with one hand and refocused on the man.

  Kaeden’s smile turned into an idiot’s grin. “Looks like you’re fucked up, sir. Care for an evac?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, we do.”

  Kaeden laughed. “You look like you’re staring at a ghost. Maybe, in a way, you are. I can’t imagine what you must be feeling. Wow. Huh. Well, there’s no sense in standing around here, right? Come on, we’ve got to double-time it.”

  Nero looked back at Sorina and Athame, then nodded. “Lead on, Sergeant.”

  “Are you sure we’re okay here?” Nero watched Kae maneuver a portable heater closer to the woven brass table serving as the centerpiece of the apartment’s kitchen. Ameluan sat across from him with his narrow hands folded on its top. Athame loomed over them from in front of the refrigerator with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “No one saw us come in,” Ameluan said in a soft, deep voice. “I made sure of it.”

  “Can they use you to find us?” she asked.

  “As a government employee and an aide to the lugal, I have training to block such a search.”

  “Fortunate,” she responded.

  “Luan’s kept my secrets for a long time, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” Kae sat down on his right. He smiled and put a hand on his forearm. “I can’t believe it’s you. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to see you again. It’s—wow.”

  Nero blinked, trying to fathom the depth of the man’s feelings. “I don’t remember much. I know you tried to save me from Praetor Modulus, I appreciate that.”

  “Those bastards. I would’ve blown the lid on their bullshit if I could have. Modulus came after me, you know, after he put you in that nanomed tube. The fucking captain let him do it. If not for your sister I would be dead right now.”

  “My sister?” He felt his eyebrows rise.

  Kae paused, working his tongue back and forth in his mouth. “You don’t remember your sister?”

  He shook his head.

  “Fuck. Daedalus really did a number on you. She’s a Lieutenant Commander on the CSS Peleus last I checked. Her name is Orithia Graves. She came to visit you while you were out, but pulled a duty shift and wasn’t there when you woke.”

  He looked to his left through the small doorway between Kae’s living room and the kitchen. Sorina sat on a wood-frame couch wrapped in a towel; her copper-red hair was still wet from the shower she took when they got in. She watched his boy play some holographic video game, but had one ear cocked in their direction.

  “Do I have other family?”

  “You mentioned a mother on Sasstossa,” Kae said. “That’s all I remember. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It’s not your responsibility to remember for me. I appreciate any bits you can recall.” Nero sighed, wishing his past was the only reason he had to seek out his old friend. In a perfect galaxy, it would have been. “I don’t even remember our campaign on Savorcha, not any of what really happened at least. Daedalus stripped it all from me.”

  “That I can share with you. Oh, that reminds me of something.” Kae rose and held up a finger in Nero’s direction before heading to the living room. “What will you drink? Beer?”

  “Sure.” He watched Kaeden rifle through a drawer in the dresser behind the couch and noted Sorina twist around to look as well.


  Ameluan got up and gestured for Athame to move out of the way. She gave him a long stare. Several moments passed before Nero looked up and gestured for her to step aside.

  “You are no longer Daedalus’ creature. Is she like you?” Ameluan asked as he placed drinks on the table.

  “She took some persuading… And reprogramming.”

  “You reprogrammed an Abyssian?” Kae returned holding a small artifact a little longer than his palm.

  “Not exactly.” He gestured towards Sorina in the other room.

  “She did it?” Kae cocked an eyebrow.

  He nodded. “Impressive, yes?”

  “Fucking yes, it’s impressive. Amazing, I didn’t think it was possible, actually. Oh, I have something for you. I took it out of your locker when that bastard Abyssian hauled you off. Here.”

  He placed the object on the table between them. It was rectangular, angled into a wedge at one end, and plated with a crosshatch-style grip. Seven chrome dots decorated it on either side connected by thin lines. Nero picked it up and shuddered.

  “This is my old thermal-blade.”

  Kae nodded. “You had it with you for the whole campaign. You’re pretty good with it, actually.”

  He flipped the embedded switch along the handle’s spine. The blade extended forward ten centimeters and started glowing. It was red at first, but became white within seconds. He could feel the heat of it on his face from almost a meter away. He watched the air waver around it, letting the odd sensation of nostalgia wash over him, then flipped the switch again. The blade disappeared back into the handle with a click, and the heat vanished with it as special sinks within the device converted it back into electrical power for the battery.

  “We were called the War-Dogs.”

  Kae’s smile stretched from cheek to cheek. “That’s right. The old-Earth constellation, Canis Major, is what’s on the hilt there.”

  “I think I remember.” He felt at once awkward and happy.

  “Anything else?”

  He stared down at the hilt, trying to pull the memories from the depths of his consciousness, but nothing happened. He shook his head.