Ilisa
watched as the Corlen Warspheres entered Prauw's atmosphere and
followed them down to the planet. This Liberator craft handled much
smoother than the Raanian Stingers she was used to, and she was glad
for that; the Corlens had led her on a long and twisted journey to
get here and – while she was an excellent pilot – she wasn't
sure she would've made here in a Stinger.
The
Warspheres split into small groups, each landing at various towns and
cities across Prauw. As she drew closer to the surface, she noticed
that the familiar brown smog of Prauw had been replaced with dark
grey smoke, with red and orange flames flickering behind them.
Xaosian warships were grounded, as were their Reapers and troop
carriers. A wave of anger flooded over her, she wanted attack, to
kill them all, rain down death from above and slaughter them where
they stood. But she knew that would make her no better than them.
Instead,
she opened a com-channel to the Empire flagship. “Empire Flagship,
this is Ilisa.”
She
recognised Cinradahs's voice answer. “Ilisa!” His voice was full
of relief. “We were worried about you, you've been gone a while.
Too long, we thought.”
“The
Corlens led me here the long way.” She replied, flattered that
someone besides Strom would care. “They're on Prauw. As is most of
the Xaosian military, by the looks of it. The entire planet, or what
I've seen of it, is devastated. Not as bad as Raan,” her voice
faltered at the mention of her world's destruction, “but it's
definitely getting there. I can see Hak'i and Irinian ships too.”
Cinradahs
didn't answer straight away, but she could hear distinct voices
saying indistinguishable words away from the com. “They're likely
fitted with the Inducers which put them under the control of a rogue
Artificial Intelligence. The Xaosian military are all under its
control, so it makes sense for any allies to also be under control.
As for the Corlens, they'll do what the Hak'i Dominort wants; Keinam
told me that they follow strength, and the Hak'i have always been the
strongest. What they do, the Corlens follow. We've set course for
Prauw now, but it'll be an hour before we get there. Try and hide on
one of the moons, do not try and take anyone on.”
“Understood.”
Ilisa signed off.
She
keyed in the coordinates for Munau; there was no way she was going to
hide-out while people were in danger, she could handle herself.
*
“Lyss, stop!” The woman shrieked as the armoured man drew closer
to Ash and Carnat.
“Beldun,” he responded calmly, “My name is not Lyss Fown. It's
Foton. I'm sorry for hurting you, there's something in...” He
winced and clutched his head, before yelling, “something in my
head! An AI is controlling me and everyone here.” He stopped. “Shut
it.” His voice turned monotonous and emotionless. “Foton is gone.
And soon, you will be too.”
He threw the knife at Ash, who threw himself out of the way. The
knife embedded itself in the wall,
handle shaking. Ash looked back at Foton, who had already drawn
another one and was running towards them. Carnat's exoskeleton closed
around his face, leaving only his eyes visible. Ash pushed himself
up, scrambling to his feet, before grabbing the knife and wrenching
it out of the wall, the crumbling brick work coming away too. The
wall crumbled and fell. “Dammit!” Ash muttered as the dust blew
into his face, and he coughed.
Beldun lunged for her dropped vibro-blade, and chucked her companion
his gun, which he caught with his uninjured hand. “Don't head-shot
him, Sagar. My friend is still in there somewhere.”
Foton was on top of Carnat now, lunging with his diamond blade, which
Carnat tried to parry with his exoskeletal blades, but the blade cut
straight through them. Carnat gasped in pain as they fell to the
floor. Foton slammed an armoured fist into Carnat's stomach, where
his wound from his fight with Hak'i was. He fell to the ground,
clutching his stomach. Foton grabbed his head, and put the knife to
his throat.
Before he was felled to the ground
by a shot from Sagar. He turned to face the other human, and threw
his knife, which Sagar shot down. Ash moved in with his knife,
stabbing forward. Foton twisted out of the way, grabbed Ash's hand
and squeezed his wrist, pressing his thumb down hard, until Ash's
hand involuntarily released the knife. Foton caught it before it hit
the floor, before stabbing it at Ash, who dived out of the way so the
knife stabbed him in the thigh. Ash swore again as blood poured out.
Foton wrenched the knife from his leg, turning it and throwing it at
Beldun, who it hit in the arm.
“Just give up.” Foton called to them all. “I can have a
squadron of Xaosians here to finish you whenever I want.”
Ash sighed and closed his eyes briefly. He knew it was true, and he
suspected that at least one of the four wouldn't make it out alive.
*
Ilisa didn't recognise Munau. She had only seen it in pictures
before, but the skyline was unmistakable. The skyscrapers mixed with
the chimneys of the factories, all topped off by the planet's tallest
tallest building, The Flare. The bright lights helped to illuminate
the sky and burn through the smog. Acting as a lighthouse for ships,
it would guide them towards the spaceport. Now, the lights
illuminated nothing, not even the smoke spewing from the city below.
The Flare itself was not intact, the spire on the top had crashed
into the spaceport below, piercing its roof and annihilating most of
the civilian craft inside. Anti-aircraft batteries had been erected
atop the intact skyscrapers.
The radar in the ship started to
beep rapidly. She
glanced at the radar; a missile had locked onto her ship. She swore,
before doing a barrel-roll, hoping to put the missile off, before she
flipped the ship round behind the missile and shot it down, the
explosion rocking her ship, slamming her against the side of the
cockpit, bruising her ribs and hips.
The radar beeped again, showing that a bunch of Reapers were on her
tail. Shots rocked her ship again, throwing one engine out. Smoke
plumed out of the back of her ship, and it began to slow and drop.
She performed another barrel-roll to avoid a a barrage from the ships
behind her. She tried to flip behind the ships, but they followed her
every manoeuvre.
These AI-controlled pilots are too good
Ilisa realised.
Another barrage thumped into her ship, and it went into a nosedive.
She screamed, despite her efforts to keep silent. The ground grew
closer, and the nosecone slammed against the ground, forcing it back
into the cockpit as the ship skidded to a halt.
Someone approached the ship, and she doubted it was friendly. She
picked up the vibro-blade and pistol tucked into the side of the
cockpit. Her chest ached, as did her sides and hips, but she reckoned
she could fight.
*
“We're approaching Prauw now sir.” Tarib informed Cinradahs.
“What do you want to do?”
“Release the craft over the planet, and drop the combat-pods over
the towns and cities. We'll fight them on land and air.” Cinradahs
turned to Saiun. “How's Keinam doing?”
“He's doing well, I think he's healed up already.” Saiun's oxygen
tank bubbled loudly, and he gave it a smack.
“Call him in.” Cinradahs ordered.
“Sir?” Tarib called. “We've picked up a strange signal on Prauw
coming from the capital, Munau.”
“Where's it coming from?”
“The industrial district in Munau,” Tarib explained, “We should
send in a team to take it out, avoid damaging the area too much,
that'd cripple the planet even more.”
“Do you think that's how the AI is controlling its army?”
Cinradahs asked.
“It's possible. We checked the network already, and it wasn't
through that, so maybe.”
“Any chance you can counter the signal?” Cinradahs suggested.
“I dunno, not yet.” Tarib sounded solemn. “It's constantly
shifting and changing its patterns, I'm not sure how long it will
take. Could take a few minutes, could take days.”
“The way our luck is going, it'll take days.” Keinam walked onto
the bridge.
“Keinam!” Cinradahs beamed. “How you feeling?”
Keinam nodded. “Better thanks. In a bit of pain, and more
disappointed in myself for failing that battle.” He shrugged. “What
do you want me to do? Ground or air?”
“Where do you think you'd be best?” Saiun asked.
Keinam thought for a moment. “Ground. You can coordinate the air
battle, right?”
“That was the plan. We'll drop you over Munau, the capital with a
squadron of other fighters.”
Keinam nodded. “Sounds good. I'll go prepare briefly, then I'll
head to the combat-pods.”
Cinradahs nodded. “You've got ten minutes.”
“It won't take that long.” Keinam replied.
He walked through the ship, flattening himself to the wall as people
ran to their battle stations, combat-pods, and the hangar bay. After
they rushed past, he headed straight to his chambers, keying in the
code and slipping himself through the sliding door. He reached under
his slim mattress and pulled out a wooden case. He stroked the top of
it, brushing the dust off of it. Pulling out a key from a pocket on
his robes under the exoskeleton, he unlocked the padlock holding it
shut, and opened it.
Inside was a katana in a black sheath, covered in ancient Adjetian
writing. A dead language now, this blade was handed down from
Warchief to Warchief throughout the centuries of Oblivion. A
leather-wrapped handle led onto a diamond-steel weave blade, where
the two materials intertwined with each other, creating a beautiful –
and deadly – effect. He fastened the sword to his robes, before
covering it with his exoskeleton, leaving only the handle showing, so
it was easy to unsheathe, whilst he could remain protected. Placing
the box back under his mattress, he left the room and made his way to
the combat-pods.
Getting inside the first one he saw, he felt the impact gel flow
around him, ensuring that he'd be cushioned adequately on impact.
With a pop, the pod shot out of the ship. Keinam smiled; he loved the
free-fall, which he didn't get to experience often. The pod slammed
into the ground, but all Keinam felt was a slight jolt into the
impact gel, but there was no pain; he wasn't sure if that was the
painkillers still, or if there was genuinely no pain.
The hatch opened and he climbed out.
He'd landed in what he assumed was the industrial district of Munau.
He heard Cinradahs say that the AI's signal was coming from there.
“Tarib,” he spoke into his com, “Where's the signal coming
from?”
“A warehouse about fifty standards
east of your location.” Tarib replied, the signal crackling. “But
wait for your team, Keinam, it could be dangerous.”
Keinam ignored him, running in the
direction Tarib had told him. Two Xaosians were guarding the door to
the warehouse, and they raised their guns when they saw Keinam.
Keinam twisted his hand into a barrel, firing blood-bullets at the
two Xaosians. One of the Xaosians' guns were knocked out of his hand,
while the other got a shot off, but the bullet didn't penetrate
Keinam's armour. As he got closer, he drew his sword with a
satisfying-sounding shing
of metal sliding on metal. Leaping, he brought the sword down on the
still-armed Xaosian, the blade finding a crack in the armour plates
on the Xaosian's shoulder, taking its arm off, before Keinam ripped
his helmet off and beheaded him; it was the best way to make sure the
Xaosian would rise from the dead. He brought the sword round to the
unarmed Xaosian, cracked the helmet's visor, before plunging it into
his forehead.
As the body fell to the floor, Keinam opened the double-doors to the
warehouse. Looking around, he noticed that the conveyor-belts and
mechanical arms were still working. He approached the nearest one,
and picked up one of the ovoid objects: an Inducer.
“Cinradahs,” Keinam spoke into his com again, “the warehouse
Tarib sent me too makes the Inducers that the AI uses. I'll try and
shut the machines down, and I'll get back to you.”
“No. You won't.” came a voice from further inside the factory.
Keinam looked around to see a hooded figure approaching him. “You're
an Assassin, aren't you?”
“The Blind Assassin, leader of the order.” He replied.
Keinam pointed at him with his blade as the Assassin drew his own.
The assassin leapt over a conveyor-belt, and slashed at Keinam with
his blade, which Keinam parried with his own. Keinam grunted; the
assassin was strong for a human, almost matching his strength. He
pushed away, knocking the assassin back.
He took a good look at the Blind
Assassin as his hood fell back. Scars covered his face, and bloodless
tears had opened up. His eyes were glazed over;Keinam had assumed
that Blind Assassin was a meaningless title, but it was fact. “How
do you fight?” Keinam asked. “You're blind.”
The assassin smiled, more cracks opening around the edges. “I use
an AI to see. Using an Inducer, it uses CCTV images and beams them
into my brain, showing me you from different angles. It also acted as
a threat detector, tapping into the Empire Network so we could
eliminate criminals and murderers to protect people across the
Empire. Then, it decided that it was best for the Empire, what with
the impending destruction of Narcsia and the over-pollution and
possible destruction of Prauw and K'hrak, to unite the Empire and
expand it – forcefully.” He swung the blade again, which Keinam
ducked out the way of.
“Well, it was a good idea until it went rogue.” Keinam conceded.
*
Strom loved flying, and it was about time he flew again. He wasn't
sure that the Orbans approved, but he didn't care. He wanted to help
the Empire – no, he needed to help the Empire. To give something
back to the Empire that had saved him. Granted, it was the Orbans
that had saved his life, but they were part of the Empire too.
Strom, what are you doing?
Sa'tui broadcast to him.
I need to do this, Sa'tui.
Strom sent back.
Well, we'll keep an eye on you here.
Thanks buddy. Strom smiled;
it was nice having someone watching over him, caring about him. He
wished Ilisa was here beside him.
Strom flew over a town, he didn't which one, he'd never bothered to
learn Prauw's geography. As he passed over, he fired on the
anti-aircraft batteries, disabling a few, but also damaging some of
the skyscrapers; he never was amazingly accurate.
Well, let's hope there was no-one in there.
Shut it, Sa'tui, it couldn't be helped!
Strom smiled; he knew that Sa'tui was only messing. If there was
anyone in there, Sa'tui probably would've picked up their minds with
his telepathy.
Two Warspheres behind you.
“Ah, shit...” Strom muttered as they began to fire on him.
Language...
Kinda busy Sa'tui.
Point taken.
Strom sped up as the Warspheres drew closer. One stayed behind him,
while one went over the top of the ship.
Remember, the Warspheres are made of Corlens, they can detach
anytime.
“Ah, shit...”
The Warsphere above him fell apart into four jaguar-like molten-steel
being, all landing on his ship. One tore the tail fin off, while two
others bent his wings. The final one hammered on his cockpit and
Strom screamed as it made him jump. He began to lose control, before
he was able to spin it back into a barrel-roll, throwing the Corlens
off the ship and down to the ground.
One Warsphere left.
*
Carnat slammed a fist into the back of the Foton's head, the
exoskeleton denting the helmet. Foton turned around, grabbed the fist
and swung him over his head, plunging his hidden-blade into Carnat's
back, who screamed in pain. While it only pierced the exoskeleton, it
hurt him like hell and he fell flat on his stomach.
“No!” Ash yelled, running at Foton, who turned to face him.
“Ah, Ash...” Foton said. “Finally trying to help Carnat instead
of the other way around. How novel. How cute.”
Sagar shot Foton again, this time sending him sprawling forwards with
a gasp; after two shots, the armour had pierced.
“Don't kill him!” Beldun yelled. “He's not himself, we can help
him!”
“Just knock him out then.” Carnat groaned as he tried to get up.
Foton got back up, faster than
Carnat, and threw a knife at Sagar, hitting him in the throat. He
fell to the floor, clutching his throat. “Sagar!” Beldun
screamed, running over to him.
“Don't worry about me,” he said, “survive.” His eyes glazed
over as more blood pumped out.
Ash grabbed a brick from the crumbled wall and smashed it into the
back of Foton's helmet. He turned and grabbed Ash by the throat. The
pressure cut off Ash's breath, and he gasped. Carnat tried to get up,
but he was too weak and he fell down again. “Ash!” he called.
Ash slammed the brick into Foton's visor, and it cracked. His grip
loosened, and Ash took a deep breath, before smashing the brick into
the helmet again, shattering the glass and revealing Foton's face. To
Ash, it looked tortured and, when he looked into Foton's eyes, he
could see the despair there. Foton's grip tightened again, and Ash
slammed the brick into Foton's face, breaking his nose and knocking
him down. Ash regained his breath and slammed it down again. “This
is for Sagar!” He did it again, blood covering the brick. “And
this is for Carnat!” Foton let out a breath, before his eyes closed
as he fell unconscious. Ash rolled over onto his back and closed his
eyes, trying to steady his breathing.
“You did it.” Carnat groaned. “Nice one buddy.”
Ash smiled at him. “Thanks man.”
*
Ilisa crawled out of the wreckage of her Liberator and stood up
again, cocking her pistol. Walking towards her was a pack of Corlens,
led by a Hak'i which, judging by its size and tusk-length, was the
Dominort. Her heart raced as she back away. She couldn't fight
Corlens. Hell, she could barely fight a Hak'i.
She remembered something Cinradahs had said about the Corlens in a
briefing; the Corlens follow the strongest, and now they follow the
Dominort. If she beat the Dominort...
The Corlen growled at her. “Dominort.” She said in her most
dominant voice. “Call off your Corlens and fight me yourself.
Unless you're a coward.”
The Hak'i grunted indignantly. “You think I'm a coward? My ship
crashed earlier, and I could still crush your bones in my bare
hands.”
“Then call off the Corlens and
face me. Alone.” Ilisa noticed a spark erupt from his ear. The
Inducer's damaged, must have been broken in his crash. He's not
thinking rationally or clerical like the AI. Not completely anyway.
Might be a bit easier now.
He raised his hand to stall the Corlens. “Fine.”
He charged at Ilisa, who dived out of the way and drove the
vibro-blade into his chest. He roared in pain, before Ilisa shot him
in the chest again. He stumbled back, but his animalistic nature
drove him to anger rather than submission. He thrust a tusk at Ilisa,
who was faster than him, but it still cut into her forearm. She
gasped in pain; the cut wasn't too deep, but the pain was nauseating.
She shot him again, this time in the head, but he just roared and
lunged at her. She stabbed the vibro-blade into his lunging hand and
shot him again in the forehead. This time, the Hak'i stumbled back
and fell to the ground. Ilisa leapt on him, before driving the
vibro-blade into his forehead and digging out the Inducer, before
slashing his throat.
Se stood up again, dropping the
vibro-blade. Her legs and arms felt weak and they ached like hell.
She looked at the Corlens, who grew closer to her. “Oh, shit...”
I think I miscalculated.
Ilisa stepped back again, tripping over the Dominort's corpse.
The Corlens grew closer, silent. Then they stopped, less than a
standard away from her. “Why aren't you attacking?” She muttered.
And the Corlens bent down, forelegs bending and their heads touching
the ground. Kneeling before her. “You're mine now. So stop
attacking and regroup here.”
*
Strom tried to out-manoeuvre the Warsphere behind him as it continued
to fire on him. And then, it just stopped firing. Strom looked around
to see that the Warsphere had veered off in another direction.
Intrigued, Strom followed the Warsphere closely.
It didn't go too far; Strom hadn't
realised how close he was to Munau; he knew Munau because Ilisa was
obsessed with the place. He watched as it detached into four Corlens;
an elegant transformation, as it split into quarter, before each one
changed shape to become the Corlen shape that Strom knew. They
dropped to the ground and moved through the city. Other Warspheres
were convening on the location, and copying the actions of the one
Strom followed. Curious, Strom dived down to the ground and climbed
out of his ship, following the Corlens. While he was glad that they
didn't attack him, he was mildly surprised.
They formed a circle around something and, as he drew closer, he
could see who it was. “Ilisa!”
She turned to see him, and a smile lit up her face. “Strom!”
He ran towards her, and they hugged. “What's going on?”
Ilisa gestured to the dead Dominort. “I killed the Dominort, and
now they follow me. Pretty cool, right?”
Strom nodded. “Amazing...”
*
Keinam swung the sword at the assassin's legs, but he leapt over it,
and plunged his hidden-blade into Keinam's shoulder, piercing the
exoskeleton and Keinam's shoulder. “You bastard!” Keinam yelled,
before slamming his fist into the assassin's face. He stumbled back,
not seeming to care about the pain.
Keinam slashed at the assassin's wrist, severing his sword hand,
before back-handing Blind Assassin in the face, knocking him to the
ground. Keinam punched his face again and again, letting out
centuries of rage and betrayal, his hatred of the Pyrkagia, his
dislike of the humans who betrayed him with them, the years of
desperation and rationing to survive, the loneliness, the loss of his
Warchief brothers, and his Empire.
He stopped, horrified over what he was doing. So much hatred, all
taken out on one man. And now his face was torn, and his hands were
covered in blood and brain fluid. He took a deep breath and went to
investigate the warehouse further. He found more Inducers, thousands,
maybe millions of them. He shook his head; he knew the AI wanted
control of the entire Empire, but he hadn't realised it had the
resources until now.
He moved into a back-room and found a large computer system. A screen
sat in the centre, surrounded by hundreds of holo-cards and
hard-drives, with an aerial on the top. On the screen, words
appeared. Keinam looked closer to see the screen.
So, it seems you beat me.
“You're the AI, aren't you? The rogue one the assassins used.”
Keinam asked.
Yes. You've found me. Stored on these hard-drives. All I wanted
was what was best for the Empire.
“I get where you were coming from.” Keinam admitted. “But
taking free will and hostile takeovers of other planets isn't an
option. We strive to be an Empire of peace, not war.”
Then your Empire is doomed. You haven't seen what I've seen. I've
seen a ship rom beyond the Empire, with a warning for us. Darkness is
coming, Keinam, and you can't stop it.
“We stopped you. We can stop whatever that threat is. United, but
with our free will.”
Keinam stabbed his blade into the computer, slicing the hard-drives
and screen. Looking at his handiwork, he left the warehouse.
He got his com out and radioed Cinradahs. “Level the warehouse I
was just in; the AI's central hub was based there.”
“Got it, sending Liberators your way.”
Three ships flew overhead, firing on the warehouse, annihilating the
building entirely.
Keinam looked around to see a Xaosian clutching his head, before
falling to his knees, taking his helmet off and weeping; they
remembered what they'd done while under the AI's control.
“Cinradahs.” Keinam smiled. “It's over. We won.”
