Airith- the Kentilan War Page 14

  “I will have you, baby. I feel it. You’ll need me again.” He winked and spun his back to them, sashaying over to the vast array of monitors to one side of the room and flopping down into a swivel chair. “I have genuine interest in the mechanics and programming of these beauties.”

  He gestured toward a glass display on the other side of the room that Airith hadn’t noticed before. It was their Skyfire armor. Which they had been stripped of to ensure they lost. Airith hadn’t been worried about giving it up. The armor’s programming only identified with their DNAs.

  Long strings of alphanumeric streamed om the monitors as Mox began typing away, mouth chatting. “As you already know, there was no way I could leave the pie untouched until you got back.”

  “You wanted to hack it, see if you could keep it for yourself. Unsurprisingly low standards.” Airith had already sensed that the skimmer would have tried to establish a failsafe. “So how did it go?”

  Mox grinned, eyes glowering in her direction. “Actually, I got electrocuted once or twice trying to manipulate the code to my advantage,” He stopped to survey Rapha. “Or any advantage in the least. Guess where my bright idea for an electrifying start came from?” He snickered, his mocking eyes darting amongst the trio.

  The implication dawned on the three. Rapha darkened and Airith tensed. Phara was Phara.

  “So, you’re saying you couldn’t do shit.” Each word caused Rapha to move. “After risking our lives playing your stupid games.” He closed in on Mox fast, fists balled and twitching. Mox wasn’t fazed as Rapha towered over him, veins bulging from his face and arms.

  “Here.” Mox flicked something at him. Rapha caught it. It was a small flash with a master bus. Rapha assumed what it was. Mox returned his attention to his screens.

  “I call it the K-code. You’ll know what the K stands for when you use it. Like I said, I studied the Creator’s programming and the circuiting that feeds the armor’s motors. I even tried to extract its energy source. Hehehe. Almost died.” He marveled at something invisible before him. “Anyway! I’ve been able to circumvent your armor’s energy circuits to allow a few extra short but efficient series. I can’t test my model out because I don’t have access to the repository. So, I computed it into that beauty you have there. A bad boy waiting to play. But I’m 99.9 percent sure it will work.”

  “It will work? And that remaining 0.1 percent?” Airith retorted, eyeing the small device. Her disgust stood out in tortuous lines across her face.

  “Well, in case of that 0.1 percent, your armor short circuits and you guys blow up.” Mox offered an apologetic smile. “But let’s stay positive!” He snapped a finger and was out of his seat and beside the glass exhibit in only a moment. He tapped a button on his staff and the glass cage parted at the seams.

  Rapha and Airith retrieved their possessions without invitation.

  “I must say, that was a wild, wild race. By far the best I’ve ever been honored to spectate.” Mox clapped eagerly. “I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to remain here with me, Rapha! All the glory of racing could be yours, not to mention a legacy that could reach far and wide to the other realms of Alpha Sierra!” He gestured grandly.

  “How ‘bout you take all of that and shove it up your arse. I’m sure it’ll fit.” Rapha was disinterested. He took both Airith and Phara by the arm and turned to leave.

  The room shook away from them. Airith staggered forward and caught herself before she could touch the floor. She shot an angered glaze at Mox and saw unrecognition in those beady eyes. It confused her. Then what was that?

  A holoscreen as large as a full wall morphed before Mox. It had everyone’s attention. It was video feed from one of Mox’s sentinels, a direct feed of one of the engine towers, one of the nodes emitting Homecity’s great barrier. A tall tower of burnished metal and mechanics built by the Creator himself. And then boom. Fiery clouds puffed from the base of the building, unfolding in a fury of red and orange streaks and smoke. Along the walls of the barrier, wide fissures shot up to the skies, disappearing in the bright beam of the artificial sun. The barrier flickered intermittently as the tower toppled and the fissures widened to cracks of real sunlight. The explosion carried like a ripple along the base of the barrier, hitting each tower in quick succession, until the last power node exploded. The barrier snapped; the impact lashed at them with blinding speed. The feed went off and the deafening split echoed right down to the centers of Homecity. The atmosphere resounded with the catastrophe.

  A terse breath held in the room. The barrier had been blown open. The meaning was a sickening broth at the pit of their stomachs. Another monitor flicked on, heralding dread. It caught their attention and the first thing Airith saw was the looming silhouettes of vast war ships hovering in Homecity’s skies.

  “What is happening?” The panic in Mox’s tone was the cry of a little child. His eyes strained to gather enough visual detail to understand what he was seeing.

  “This is an all-out attack by the Kentilan Empire. My advice is to flee, now.”

  Phara’s subtle announcement accompanied more rumbling from the grounds beneath them. It bothered Airith because they were already far underground, and reverberations of this degree only meant fire power heavy enough to decimate a full city. But what where they after?

  “Mother.” Rapha completed her thoughts. His eyes never left the void that had held the hologram. There was cold, distilled fear in those eyes.

  “Isabel Rae.” Airith shook, reminded that the only other person she cared about was miles away from them and that they might not be able to get to her in time.

  “I have to get back to the Springs.” Toddboy grabbed Rapha by the arm. “I’ll save your little friend. Even I benefit from how messed up Homecity is in these parts. I’d lose everything if the Empire gained control. Besides, you already know I’m wanted by the Kentilan Intelligence.” He smirked and headed for the exit, his companions following closely. “I’ll bring her to you at the ruins.”

  Rapha barely nodded, watching Toddboy hopefully. Airith hated to dwell on the scoundrel’s word, but it was all she had in that moment.

  “We have to get to Mother before the Emperor does.” Rapha struggled to keep a bold tone. He was looking everywhere except where it mattered, the eyes. Airith was accustomed to this behavior. Was accustomed to Rapha not wanting to be the one with the plan. She heard diffidence in his tone.

  “And how do we do that?” Airith heard anger in hers. She could feel revenge dancing away from her. She would kill before Mother was served to anyone else on a platter.

  “You can have your crafts back. I will be getting out of here as well. But if by some miracle you save Mother and she is to show mercy in her oncoming onslaught, I want you to vouch for me.” Mox gestured with his hands and two guards followed him. Airith and the others followed closely.

  Their elevator ascent ended in the lot where the Katalina and Penelope were parked.

  “I think you might like what’s under the hood this time around.” Mox smirked as he was led away to a fleet of waiting airships. “It’s not a gift. It’s a favor. So, you owe me.” His smirk disappeared behind a sliding door before Rapha could protest.

  “I didn’t ask for no favors,” Rapha cursed under his breath.

  “We don’t have time sulk.” Phara was always the perfect harbinger for death. She stood far off, gazing into the horizon, which was loud with beams of smoke, fire, and death. They were miles away, and yet they could feel the vibrations beneath their feet.

  “Phara, you take Katalina.” Rapha and Airith got into the Penelope.

  *

  He held her hands. It was a brief and rushed contact, one where their eyes only held for a split second and just like that, he returned to his stern, heroic countenance before starting the craft. Together, the two crafts hovered out into the dying sunlight. It was a marvel, Mox thought. These relationships were a marvel to him. How two people could bond over time, engrossed in the illusion o
f a forever-burning flame. He just wanted to fuck. And get rich, and powerful. He was well serviced on the first need and was also doing well on the second one. Now, for the third one. He raised his arm and pulled back his sleeve. A tactile device had been integrated to his forearm. Already the device hummed, and Mox already knew who was calling.

  “My Emperor. Your will is finally here!” He smiled wide at the glowering, sculpted face on the other end of the holofeed.

  “Almost. News?”

  “I have located the two assassins; Mother and the Creator’s assassin, and their accomplices; the wonder child called Phara and the little monster that accompanies them. You’ll be pleased to know that they bear the rumored Skyfire technology!” He heard the Emperor’s sharp gasp.

  “Interesting. Inform me.” The Emperor grinned. Those radiant eyes were absolute in focus and intensity.

  “They’re currently on their way to the old ruins, where the Life Pool and Mother are situated. I am sending you their coordinates, as I have tracking chips on them. They hope to get to Mother before you, I’m not sure why, but I feel it is of great importance. The two assassins travel with Phara. Their little monster is away at the Springs, under the protection of another one of their accomplices. I’m sending you his details now. I’m sure you’ll be pleased. He’s been on your wanted list for quite some time.” Mox swiped at folder of data, sending everything he had garnered on Toddboy.

  “Is that all?”

  “For now, my Lord.”

  “You have been helpful in our fight to return the Kentilan Empire to its original glory. I’ll be sure to reward you accordingly.”

  The connection cut. Mox’s grin never left his face; instead it twisted hideously into the feral snarl of an animal. He had just one more call to make. His recipient wasted no time answering. This face was well-molded and smooth, with a prominent chin, split in half by grisly scar. Her black mane of tussled hair fell to one side of her face, shrouding her mechanical eye. The other eye, a deep green gem guarded by arched brows, watched him solemnly.

  “Have you found them? The one who stole from me?”

  “Yes. Ever heard the name Rapha? His driving alias is Cheese.” He saw absurdity flicker over her features and read her thoughts. “I know!” He gestured with raised hands. “He’s nothing special, believe me. Just a two-timing scoundrel from the depths of the reject pile. I’m sure you picked up his signal from my death race, where one of your sisters almost met her fatal demise.” Mox paused for impact.

  “You say almost?” Her eye narrowed and her nose scrunched.

  “She lost a leg and she would have lost her life. But I saved her. I figured Cheese would love to see her again.”

  The being that had been sitting still next to him now moved. Slow and measured, leaning into full view of the woman on the other end of his screen.

  “Salt,” she whispered as her eyes glistened.

  “Leader.” Salt reached to touch the screen. Her fingers went right through it. She retracted her hand.

  “They took one of my legs.”

  “And for that, we will take two,” her leader replied.

  LIFEPOOL ASSUALT

  “T his makes no sense,” Airith almost whispered as she stared out into the horizon. The bombardment of the populate sectors had stopped, having only lasted a few minutes, and now a dark swarm of weaponized machinery was flying low over the main cities, absolute in their course, as if they had a specific objective. “I thought this was an invasion.”

  She was peering through binoculars, but Rapha could tell she wasn’t seeing enough to satisfy her—or answer her questions. Her left lid was twitching erratically, the way it did when something was frustrating her.

  “It’s almost as if they are directly on course for…”

  “The old ruins. They want Mother. As do we. As if they know what we know. Kill Mother, kill us all.” Phara’s words were bland as they came over the comms. and for the next few moments their wavers travelled in parallel silence, kicking up a trail of dust as they flew across the desolate lands. They were nearing Mother’s sector, now, a harsh, arid wasteland that had long since been abandoned by those who feared her too much to stay.

  “She’s probably going to be expecting us. Especially with the Three. We should have some idea of what we’re going to do when we get there. What we’re going to do about her,” Airith noted finally.

  “No time for plans. We go in loud. We’ve still got our Skyfire. We use it to take out her army, and possibly the Three.” Rapha knew it was the only possible move, but he was avoiding eye contact—like he had back at the race when he asked her to man the cannons and asked Phara to give them a life. He was afraid it wouldn’t work. It knew it wouldn’t work. They would die before they had a chance to even reach Mother if their Skyfire only lasted fifteen minutes.

  “Sounds like a shitty plan, Rapha. You always come up with shitty things!” Airith snarled.

  His nostrils flared. “Want a crack at it?! Be my guest. You’ve deftly killed hundreds of people and without so much as a whisper from anyone. Maybe you’re better suited for coming up with a plan to kill Mother.” His lips tightened and the leather squelched under his grip. “I’m sorry about that. Shouldn’t have said it.”

  But his remark had merely bounced off her consciousness. She had accepted long ago what she had been and didn’t feel any remorse for it. It hadn’t had anything to do with her, really. The hierarchy in Alpha Sierra had been a cesspool of white-coated wolves of all calibers: racketeers, fraudsters, adored and lauded figure heads that cleaned off the Emperor’s boots. Mother had tried to establish an understanding with the Emperor—one that would relieve the Creator of his jurisdiction over Homecity and hand her the golden mantle. But the Emperor had taken one look at her and vomited all over the holofeed. Then he’d burst into a cackling fit of pure, unbridled mockery. He had called her by her name. Her real name. The one she’d had when she had just been one of the whores by his bedside, tied down and submissive, forced to served him.

  She’d been furious, and that one brief, distasteful encounter had led to a series of events; events that brought Airith to life and caused economic shifts in Alpha Sierra’s vast economy. Shifts that ensured a change in important trade routes through Homecity. It had tilted the Empire toward the first bloody war. And Airith had been the catalyst through it all. A memory she embraced wholly.

  “I said I’m sorry.” He sounded more genuine now, trying to get through to her.

  “Sorry for what? You’re telling the tru—”

  She was thrown out of her seat before she could finish, something violent flying through her vision, and collided head-on with the wall of the waver, her body twisting at odd angles, her surroundings rolling around her before the world stopped and blacked out.

  *

  When her senses came back to her, she realized she didn’t know how long she’d been out—which infuriated her. She hated being out of control in any situation. She could hear someone speaking softly, pulling at her, and rousing the million nerves that had been too shocked to lead to a scream. She groaned, her blurred vision gradually beginning to take form. She was staring at the Penelope’s dash, only this time she was looking up at it. She became aware of strong fingers under her arms, and that they were pulling at her. She bit back at the pain until she was propped up against Rapha, looking up into his bright, worried eyes. There was blood smeared halfway down his cheek and a small gash just above his other eye.

  He looked beautiful. Or had one of her knots unscrewed?

  “Phara crashed into us,” he said, and her full consciousness returned with a vengeance. She tossed a wild gaze about them. He had pulled her out of the Penelope, which was turned on its side, and they were now sitting in the sand right outside the waver. The Katalina was resting on her side as well. Rough skid marks trailed away from the crash site. It looked like they’d both crashed into a large dune.

  “Are you okay?” He kissed her forehead.

 
She winced at the rawness in her throat and the aching in her neck and her head. The pain had the one benefit, though, of bringing her thoughts back together. And she had one big question. “Where’s Phara? Why would she do that?” She pushed herself onto her arms and out of his hold, her body groaning, her limbs shuddering, and glared into the other ship. But there was no sign of life coming from the Katalina —and no sign of danger.

  “The Katalina is empty. Phara disappeared.”

  The news angered her. “She better stay disappeared, or I swear when I get my hands on her—”

  “Airith, listen.” Rapha was squinting out at nothing in particular, his whole-body tense, his face dark.

  Airith followed his gaze… but found nothing. She listened. Nothing. She stilled herself. The sand beneath her palms and the sound around her… The grains were alive. Vibrating steadily in place and building momentum as she sat there. It was the feel of something crawling. Something heavy. Only a lowbed carrier could do that. Something was coming their way.