Chapter Six
“He lied. He knew all along. I warned him there was something inside that asteroid. A psionic presence deeper and darker than anything I’ve ever felt before. But he said nothing and sent us all out here anyway. He sent us out here to die. If you find this and he’s conned you into helping him, beware. And if you find this first… fuck you, Nolan. Fuck you and your lies and your empty promises. You’re a heartless inhuman bastard and I hope you find exactly what you’re looking for you feckless piece of–”
–Unfinished draft from the personal log of one Nicole Woods, chief of staff for Montgomery Holdings, and a known psionic biokin.
Thirteen hours in, Felix was marching side by side with Duncan as the entire crew delved into the heart of the asteroid. The orange-furred Maur and the red-haired Terran had been pulling jobs like this for the better part of a decade. They’d been partners since before Duncan purchased the Shrike. Only one who’d known the space cowboy longer had been his ex-wife, and she wasn’t around anymore.
Felix checked his babydoll once more. The hodge-podge rifle wasn’t pretty by any means, but what it lacked in aesthetic value it more than made up for in firepower. This beauty had gotten him out of a number of scrapes in the past.
Judging by the itch between his shoulder blades, Felix figured he was walking into another one of those scrapes even now. Babydoll’s familiar weight in his hands and the footfalls of Duncan standing beside him were the only sources of comfort he could find.
The asteroid itself was massive. Shoulder-mounted beams and the glow from Squint’s little drones were the only source of light in the cavernous space. As far out into space as each of their respective species had traveled, and they were still just sentient bipeds wandering through a dark cave by the light of flickering candles.
All that darkness out beyond the reach of their lights or night-vision HUDs brought with it all the old fears that haunted the sentient races all across the galaxy. What lay out in the dark? Was it hostile? Could I defend myself if it tried to kill me?
Felix forced himself to loosen his mechanical grip upon babydoll’s stock. His cybernetic arm bumped his already impressive Maur strength up to the accidental metal-bending tier, and he’d already ruined a few handles for his favorite killing machine. The latest one may have looked like wood, but it was actually heavily reinforced endurite alloy. Last thing he wanted to do was ruin another one and leave himself defenseless.
“Almost there,” Nolan announced, keeping his eyes firmly planted on his MODAC. He had no fear in his voice. No concept of the danger that might be lurking in the shadowy recesses of the asteroid. Just pure excitement.
Felix flashed a warning look towards Duncan, who nodded solemnly.
They both saw it. They were ready to take the man down when shit went sideways. But they were playing it straight until he made his move. Honor was in far shorter supply than krets in their line of work. The crew of the Shrike prided themselves on being honorable thieves. It wasn’t much, but it kept their consciences clearer than most, and that was worth all the krets in the void.
Three more minutes they walked on through the dark.
Sybil dropped down to a knee, clutching her head tightly.
“Oh fuck what is that sound?” she hissed.
“What sound?” Blue demand, kneeling beside her and setting a hand on her back.
“You can’t hear that?”
Felix watched Duncan look at Squint for answers. The petulant little hacker may have been a perv and a nuisance, but he had his uses. When the three-eyed cyborg came up empty and offered the Captain only a shrug, Felix felt that itch between his shoulders worsen.
“Something psionic, then,” he concluded aloud.
“Seems like it. You want to turn around, Sybil?” Duncan asked.
Sybil immediately snapped her mouth shut and got to her feet. Shakily, but she managed. “No. I go where you go. It’s a bitch of a migraine, but I’ll manage. Let’s keep moving.”
“Yes, yes. We’re almost there,” Nolan agreed, already walking off into the dark as if he was oblivious to their concerns. Felix caught him mumbling to himself. Something about seeing it with his own eyes.
Blue let his shotgun dangle from his chest strap and offered Sybil his arm, carrying his massive shield like it was a grocery bag while also lending Sybil support.
Felix shook his head ruefully and refocused on the mission at hand. If the big Munako bastard wasn’t such a prude, Felix would’ve proposed to the Maur a long time ago. He had some old-fashioned ideas about not getting slick with members of opposing tribes, and the Munako and Obaguar had been rivals since before the disastrous Terran first contact.
Two more minutes of walking, and the cavern changed. Grew narrower and began sloping downward. They were descending now. Felix’s grip on his rifle never slackened, and with every step he expected enemies to come flying out of the dark. What manner and what quantity of enemies was an unknown equation his imagination solved differently every few seconds.
Rabid Terran employees in stark white exo-suits, infected by some potent zombie virus. Orchallen mercenaries hired by a rival Forgotten House to wipe out the Montgomery name once and for all. Giant spiders from the fighting pits of Krakuno IV. War bots. Cryo-frozen Maur in full power armor. A Dorian assault regiment here to secure classified data the Terrans weren’t supposed to uncover. A low-level Kintari Matriarch attempting to expand her power. His mind spun with possibilities, but nothing ever emerged from the darkness.
One minute further on, they finally found it.
It was a floating sphere of black liquid, suspended between three pillars of dark crystal.
“Lith’s clit,” Sybil spat, leaning more heavily against Blue. “You’re seriously telling me none of you can hear that?”
Felix looked to the Citza-Kintar hybrid in concern.
“I’m running scans on every frequency I know, and getting nothing of interest. As far as my instruments can tell, there’s nothing there,” Squint said defensively, pointing at the floating orb of black fluid.
“What are you hearing?” Duncan asked.
Sybil winced. “Voices. Dozens of them, maybe hundreds. Like we’re standing in a crowded G-ball stadium at halftime. It’s too much. Can’t focus on my own thoughts.”
“It’s beautiful,” Nolan said, walking up towards the sphere and letting his MODAC slip from his fingers, forgotten. “Do you idiots even know what this is? Of course you don’t. One of the Kintar’s most closely guarded secrets. This is how you make a Sahaia. This is true power. The ability to decimate a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Nethra. And it’s all mine. Oh, we’ll put Houston back on the map, no doubt about it. But we’re also going to change some things. ‘Forgotten House’ my ass. Time to rebrand. Behold, the first day of the Montgomery Coven of Sahaia. All I need is a few willing subjects.”
He rounded on the crew of the Shrike, stopping a mere meter away from the floating black orb. “What do you say? The girl’s already a psion. But the rest of us could join her. I’ve read the manuscripts. Parts of them, at least. Enough of them,” he swore. “We link hands and step into the pool. We emerge, changed. Powerful. Sahaia. Or whatever you Maur and Orchallen wish to call yourselves. This could be the dawn of a new era for us all. No more relying on krets. No more running. We could have it all. Immortality, power, influence, obedient thralls to do our bidding. We could be unstoppable. Join me, and together we can reshape this galaxy as we see fit.”
Sybil shook her head and stumbled a little. “They’re screaming at me. Chanting. ‘Beware the deceiver. He lies. He lies! Beware!’”
Felix took a step back, away from the orb.
Duncan took a step forward, interposing himself between his crew and the madman.
“We’ve held up our end of the bargain. The rest of our fee, if you please.”
Nolan let out a frustrated groan. “You fools! You lack vision. Fine! I don’t need you anyway! Take your filthy krets and go. I’ll do it myself!” He kicked the MODAC back at them and Squint caught it. The CEO turned back towards the floating orb and reached up to touch it.
The moment his hand made contact with the orb, the liquid flashed out and enveloped him, absorbing the man whole.
Silence fell across the crew of the Shrike.
Sybil sagged to the ground. “They’re quiet now.”
“Guess that answers the question of where all those personnel went,” Squint said. “Rip. Anyway, we’re all filthy fucking rich now. What do you say we blow this popsicle stand and get the hell out of dodge?”
Blue nodded in agreement. “We shouldn’t be here.”
Gunner, however, took a step toward the orb and leveled his rotary cannon on all the others. “Wait just one fucking second here. Did you hear what he said? This is how they make Sahaia. This thing, whatever it is, could be a game changer. We’re just going to leave it here?”
Duncan glanced around at all the others. “Yep. It’s been floating out here who knows how long and the only people who discovered it got wiped out by their curiosity. You want to stick around and fuck with it? Be my guest. But the ship’s leaving, Gunner. With or without you.”
Gunner shook his head. “No. Orchallen are the only ones out here who don’t have psions. I secure this for my people, all my crimes are forgiven. I’ll be a goddamn hero. Castaway, no more. Blue, Felix, c’mon guys. We could share this. Think of it Maur and Orchallen working together, no longer held back by the threat of more powerful psions. This is an equalizer! We can use this.”
Blue took a step back. “No. This day has been crazy enough. I’ll take the payday and the peace that comes with it. Leave it be, Gunner. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Gunner leveled his rotary cannon at Blue. “I’m not the one being stupid! There’s real power here, you idiot! Power enough to change all our fates!”
Squint held up the MODAC Nolan had kicked their way. “We already have what we need to change our fates, Gunny. All the krets we’ll ever need and then some. C’mon man. Leave it. Come with us. Take your share of the krets, buy a ship and fly out here to stake your claim of this weird fucked up Nethrian thing if you want. I don’t care. But point that thing somewhere else. We’re your crew, man! Your family.”
Gunner bared his teeth. “My family sold me to the fighting pits when I was six years old. Don’t talk to me about family. In fact, don’t speak at all. This is ours. We deserve this. I deserve this! If you try to stand in my way, I’ll cut you down where you stand!”
Sybil clutched her head again. “‘Beware the deceiver,’” she intoned once more.
Felix lifted baby doll up and fired before he could think. A six-round, three kinetic slugs and three blaster bolts, tore through Gunner’s skull before the orc could scythe his blaster cannon through them all and rip them to shreds.
The big green bastard got off a few shots before Felix’s shots hit home, but they were mainly focused on Blue, who absorbed the bolts with his towering shield.
Duncan’s pistols were up and smoking, and Felix spotted a hole right through Gunner’s heart to match the one in his skull. His instincts and the Terrans were right in sync as per usual.
Gunner slumped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
“We should leave,” Felix said firmly. “Before whatever madness haunts this place decides to infect one of us next.”
“Too late,” Squint said softly. “You fetid mortals and your machines,” Squint said with a light scoff, examining his hand and the articulated cybernetic joints moving it. “Oh my. It has been some time, hasn’t it? Last time I tasted Terran, you were still a one-planet species. Fighting each other for sport and territory and religion. Pathetic, even then. Now look at you. Crawling on all fours through the stars, like babes sneaking from the cradle, unaware of the dangers. How amusingly primitive you still are in spite of your putrid machinery. Look how fragile you are.”
Squint snapped his fingers, and Felix’s cybernetic arm malfunctioned, jerking straight out to aim at Blue.
“Hey!” Felix shouted, trying to bring the disobedient arm back under his own control.
The finger twitched and unleashed a six-round burst right into Blue’s unprotected flank.
