Animus Complete Series Omnibus, page 238
“Can’t they use any of the actual Arbiter soldiers?” The technician sighed. “I suppose they are mostly used to fight the military right now. Fine but keep an eye on him. If it gets too much, eject him manually.”
“I’ll see to it.” The crewman nodded. “I’ll send C12 into the other body. He’s just finished a week of rest. It shouldn’t be a big deal anyway. The area is deserted after the evacuations. Who are they gonna run into?”
Chapter Six
Two guards stationed outside the hastily erected barricade tensed and drew their weapons when the sound of footsteps crunched on the gravel. Cautiously, one turned a light on the approaching soldier. The slender figure held her hands up and flashed the light on her shoulder pad three times, the signal of a runner.
“Oh, good, a friendly,” he said wearily with no sarcasm in his tone as they holstered their pistols. He was tired and grew more so by the hour. “Did you have any luck out there?”
“I’ve found some supplies.” Izzy nodded and removed her sack from over her shoulder. “Mostly food and other bits and pieces. I checked the residential areas and the only weapons I could find were a couple of pistols that were left behind. There are a few light kinetic rounds to go with them as well.”
“Still, it’s a good haul for one person. The others are still out there,” the guard told her and handed the sack to the other guard, who took it into the camp grounds. “It’s brave of your group to split up like this. You certainly find more items that way, but it’s a hell of a lot riskier than staying together.”
She shrugged and glanced at the darkness behind her. “It’s calm for the most part. Besides, if we were caught, they could kill all five of us in one.”
“Five Nexus trained scouts?” He chuckled. “I’d like to see them try.”
He had merely tried to be supportive, she knew that, but as she walked past him, she couldn’t help but lower her head and made no effort to respond. The guard realized what he had said and looked away a little guiltily. The enemy had already proven they could eliminate Nexus scouts—and many others too.
Izzy made her way across the wooded area to the bunker stairs. She descended to where several soldiers and officials paced the halls. They exchanged cursory greetings and she moved on to the makeshift medical center and opened the door. Amber looked up from where she worked on a patient.
“Is your arm better?” the battle medic asked and the soldier nodded as he ran a hand over the darkened area.
“I can move it now so that’s a hell of an improvement,” he confirmed and stood from the bed.
“It will still be tender for a couple of days. Take this.” Amber handed him a vial of gel. “Apply it gently to the wound once a day and it will clear up soon.” He thanked her as he put the vial away and shook her hand with his good arm before he left. “I wish I could simply use my stem-pack or emitter.” She sighed and plopped onto the bed. “I think most of them understand that we’re strapped and they should be saved for bigger battles, but we’re all used to being able to fix laser wounds in seconds.”
Izzy took a seat beside her. “So are we spoiled because we can heal serious wounds so quickly, or do we suffer because we’re so used to it?”
Her friend chuckled at the dark joke. “I won’t say they cancel each other out, but it is rather confounding, isn’t it?”
“I merely try not to get wounded either way,” she admitted, opened a small satchel on her belt, and removed a small package in a pink wrapper. “I found these while out on patrol and thought you would like them.”
Amber took it and unwrapped it. Inside were several small macarons, each a different bright color. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen something so joyful-looking.” She smiled and hugged her friend. “Thanks, Izzy.”
“Don’t mention it. Thanks for coming back.” They broke from the hug, both thankful for friendship in these dark times. The medic offered her a confection and she took a green one while her companion chose a red. Both bit into them at the same time with a small smile.
“I’m surprised at how many have stayed in Bellingham,” Izzy stated once she’d swallowed. “With so much activity down here and in the campsite above, you wouldn’t think we worked only with a skeleton crew.”
“To be fair, that’s only because our group came in last week,” Amber reasoned. “Those other guys—the military officials—are only here to confirm when the colossus returns. I don’t know if they will stay or not.”
“They haven’t exactly been chatty with anyone, have they?” The scout huffed and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “It feels like we have the same enemy but different objectives.”
“That is probably exactly the way it is.” Amber sighed and focused her gaze on the box of pastries. “I’m worried that…they only want to destroy the colossus. I don’t think they are thinking of any of the prisoners inside.”
Izzy frowned and drew her legs up to her chest. “Are you sure they are still on board?”
The medic nodded and placed the box on the bed beside her. “Chiyo and Cyra told me that with the codex the comm—chancellor was able to sneak away with, they were able to locate the signals of every student and staff aboard. They were very faint but they were there. If it had changed, I think they would have told everyone.”
“Then when the time comes, we’ll have the be the first to make a move,” she stated firmly. “Everyone is working on missions to prepare what we need to retake the Academy and rescue the others but we need to be patient for a little while longer. If Kaiden and Luke can hold their impatience in check for now, I think we can manage.”
“But will the military stop us?” Amber asked, her voice much quieter as if to make sure it couldn’t be heard by any outside listeners. “They want their revenge. I can understand that, given all the loss of life and the destruction of Terra, but if they try to pull rank when we try to mount an offensive…” She shook her head despondently.
“I don’t think they’ll try,” Izzy replied to reassure her. “Sasha has been in talks with a General and several other high-ranking members of the military. With the embassy still in limbo right now, those have to be guys who are temporarily in charge, right? If they intended to stop us, they would have said something by now. I’m actually more worried that they plan to use us as a smokescreen so while the AO is dealing with us, they spring their own trap and we’ll have no support.”
“I’m not sure about the smokescreen idea, but I think we have already accepted the idea that the military won’t help us, at least.” With a heavy sigh, the medic stretched her arms back and let the top half of her body fall onto the cot. “If so, then fine. This is what we’ve trained for, and when we get the chance, we will get our friends back.”
“Damn right.” She nodded emphatically and lay beside her friend.
“Speaking of Kaiden and Luke, do you happen to know how they are doing?” Amber asked and glanced quickly at her. “I’ve been so busy that I haven’t stayed in contact all that much. Have you?”
“I check in with Chiyo and Silas when I get bored out on patrol. It’s probably not the safest time, admittedly, but whatever works, right?” The scout clasped her hands together and stretched them above her. “Kaiden is very restless, the last Chi told me, and he’s probably badgering Sasha to send him on a mission. As for Luke…well, I can’t talk about him specifically, but Silas told me that a few of them were headed to Oakland.”
The titan roared as he brought his hammer down to demolish an elite droid with one blow. “Who’s next?” he shouted and focused on the targets his EI marked to indicate several other droids close by.
“It looks like they are,” Silas muttered as he and Cameron changed their kinetic ammo cartridges. “Mack, are your shields up?”
“Energy is building,” he answered and thumped his fists together. “I have enough if they want another round.”
“Feel free to—” Before he could finish, Luke activated his bounce jets and leapt at the advancing droids that were almost within range.
“Uh…feel free to go second,” the bounty hunter muttered as he raised his rifle. The group now faced the third group of droids in a row and they knew there were many more ahead.
Chapter Seven
Luke drove his hammer into the doors of the ground level of the tower. “So have we simply thrown stealth out the window?” Cameron asked snidely.
“Do you honestly think it’s still an option right now?” Mack asked as he walked past with his shield up and brightened its light as they walked into the lobby. Silas took point and scrutinized the various cracks, burns, and destroyed ornaments and walls in the area. If there was anyone hiding out in there, they hadn’t been present when the Horde invaded.
“Cam, do you have any readings on the droids?” the enforcer asked from his point position. He glanced over his shoulder at the bounty hunter, who retrieved his tablet and studied his map.
“There are a few along the edge of the sector, about twelve miles out where we started. I don’t think there are many left, though. The Omegas have been the ones making runs through here.”
Silas looked around and listened intently. “Which means we have different targets to worry about, ones that can’t be tracked as easily.”
“Hey, I’m working with what I have. Blame Raul for taking that gig with Julius and Otto. I think he wanted something cushy,” Cameron muttered as he stowed the tablet.
“Let’s make this quick—split up and search but stay in contact and let us know what you find,” the enforcer ordered and held his shotgun in the port arms position as he made his way to the stairs on the right.
Luke and Mack nodded. The bounty hunter looked up to confirm that he had a clear shot to the floors above. He raised his arm, fired his grappling hook from his armor, and hauled himself quickly to the sixth floor.
Silas walked through what was his fourth hallway thus far. He had heard nothing since he entered, but cuts had been etched into doors and along a few of the walls, obviously from metal blades rather than plasma. They wouldn’t be so clean, otherwise.
What concerned him was the dried blood and other fluids but no bodies thus far. He wasn’t sure what had happened there and whether the Horde or the droids had arrived first. Not only that, there was no way to tell if their purpose had been to capture or simply terminate the occupants.
None of those options were easy to swallow, especially given the hope that this would be a rescue mission.
He stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall. A window in the middle was partially broken but faded lettering on it indicated that this was the main work floor, clearly some kind of assembly plant. A few dim lights were on, the only signs he’d seen of activity or an indication that someone might be there. A couple of small belt lines were within, worn but still functional, and his keen gaze noticed something robotic hanging off one of them.
Cautiously, he pushed the door open and walked in and crossed to the conveyor belt. On the end was the partially disintegrated arm of a droid—not an Arbiter droid but a Guardian droid, so it must have been the company’s. Something was odd, however, and he studied it intently. It hadn’t been damaged by a blade or blast or even by something like a force hammer. Instead, it looked like the metal plating around the arm had been crushed and then pulled from the body. Was this done by another droid? If so, why were there splotches of blood along the frame?
A rattle from the other side of the room was followed by a growl.
It sounded like a sickly inhale and he looked up from the arm, instantly alert. A monster—there really was no other way to describe it—moved into the dim illumination of one of the lights hung overhead. It was gaunt with long spindly arms and a black-and-gray body, but wispy lines of purple energy wove through its entire being, similar to veins. The face, however, was what terrified him.
The skin resembled pale, ragged leather stretched over a sunken skull. On the top of its head, it wound together into a crescent-like shape that was mirrored beneath its chin to a long, sharp point. Jagged sockets with eyes of pure white reflected an artificial glow beneath and it approached with its mouth agape to reveal splintered, broken teeth.
Silas didn’t back away and simply stood and observed as it inched closer. He glanced up when something tapped against metal and he identified another one that walked on the railings above and stared at him, either with curiosity or hunger.
The creature in front of him uttered a shriek and attacked. He raised his shotgun and used it to block the attempt to take hold of him. The ghoul pushed him back but he planted his feet quickly and they both came to a halt with his attacker pressed against the gun. The weapon thankfully didn’t buckle beneath its abnormal strength. It stretched its head back to lash out and tear into his face. He responded by headbutting it first and thrust it back before he kicked it into the conveyor line. It impacted with a solid thump and fell.
The ghoul above took the opportunity to jump with a low growl but Silas raised his shotgun and fired. Several lines of light burrowed into the fiend in midair and he stepped back and stared as its eyes darkened and it sailed past him. The creature was dead when it landed, but its comrade had found its feet and turned to strike. His plasma blade emerged from his gauntlet and he swung to sever its raised arm, caught it in his other hand, and spun to whip it against his attacker’s face before he hurled it aside.
With a malevolent hiss, the creature recoiled and clutched the massive wound. Silas ran up to it with his shotgun raised and pounded it into its chest. The monster wheezed and snarled, but the synthetic light in its eyes began to dim. He pulled the trigger and the force of the strike catapulted it into several machines behind them.
Above him, something clanged against the metal railing and he looked up. The figure of a thin man with cropped hair was visible in the shadows. He tapped the edge of what looked like a curved dagger against the railing.
“Silas, what the hell is going on?” Cameron asked over the comms.
His gaze remained focused on the walkway. “I found a little trouble and I’ll take care of it, but stay alert. There might be more.”
“More of what?”
He looked hastily from the man above to the two humanoid creatures nearby. “I’ll have to get back to you on that. Give me a minute.” The enforcer vented his weapon as he took a couple of steps forward and once again focused on the man on the walkway. “Is that your way to applaud me?” he asked and flipped his weapon so it rested on his shoulder.
“It was a good show—very brief, but you made it look good,” the man replied in a gruff Australian accent.
“Are you an Omega?”
“I am. My name’s Dred,” he stated and crouched with one hand holding the railing above him. “Might I ask who you are and to what I owe the pleasure of your little visit here?”
Silas pressed the switch to close the vents with his thumb. “I’m Silas, a soldier trained at the Nexus. I’m here on a rescue mission.”
“Is that right?” Dred chuckled. “I’m not sure if you noticed but you might be a little late.”
The enforcer stopped and pointed to the corpses, which now seemed to smolder, for some reason. “What the hell are those things?”
“Heh, to be honest, I’m not so sure myself.” The man’s current position enabled Silas to see his features more clearly in the light—tanned skin, brown eyes, and a crooked smile above a dark brown goatee, with several small scars across his forehead and his mouth. “Me and my boys were sent to test them. They’re some kind of golem, I think. I don’t know what they did to them, but the fucking things act like zombies now. Well, they did before, but that was metaphorical. Now, it’s almost quite literal in this case.”
“You unleashed these monsters on innocent civilians?” Silas demanded, his voice almost a growl.
“Calm down there, mate. By the time we arrived, the only guys walking around here were military. I guess that’s not much better, but not civvies, at least.” He tapped the blade against his jaw as if in thought. “If it makes you feel better, we don’t exactly have a great record controlling them and they killed a couple of my boys too. I was given the order to exterminate this batch. You might have finished the job for us, but we forgot how many came along. The guy keeping track of that was one of the first to go.”
“So there are both other Omegas in here and these golems?” he asked.
“You walked into the lion’s den, huh?” The man laughed mockingly.
“It looks like it.” The enforcer flipped his shotgun into the ready position and aimed it at the man. “I guess it’s a good thing I brought this.” He pulled the trigger and the man leapt into the shadows. “Guys, we have both Omegas and feral golems on the premises. I’m calling a retreat,” he ordered and held his shotgun in both hands as he ran deeper into the room. “I’ll join you soon. This won’t take long.”
Chapter Eight
Although Cameron heard Silas’ order, he didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he raced down the hallway of the eighth floor toward the edge, vaulted over it, and fired his grappling hook to descend to the fourth level where loud blasts and the clash of metal indicated a battle in progress. It sounded like his teammates were already engaged with someone or something—whatever a feral golem was. He released the line and landed smoothly, then sprinted deep into the west wing and finally located his teammates in what looked like a large office.
Mack and Luke both fought heavies dressed in the Omega Hordes black and dark-red armor. Luke faced an enemy titan who wielded a spiked mace rather than a hammer, and as both men exchanged blows, the clash of their weapons rumbled through the room. His large teammate’s opponent was a demolitionist who fired a huge cannon that put severe strain on the vanguard’s shields until he condensed them and hurled the energy forward. The force thrust the demolitionist away and gave him time to attack.
