27. Twenty Seven

Twenty Seven

The ground sped toward Kira in a dizzying rush. Artillery fired from the planet’s surface. The rapid barrage aimed at Jace’s fleet.

The world felt like it had gone a little mad. Chaotic and insane as stimuli battered Kira’s senses.

She concentrated, not letting the madness overwhelm her. All that mattered now was reaching the surface of the planet without dying. To that end, she let her muscle memory take over, grateful that she’d had practice relatively recently.

She’d have to thank the Haldeel royals later. Without the quorum to serve as a training round, this might not have gone the way she wanted it to.

Up ahead, she caught a glimpse of Raider. He was the only one close enough to get eyes on. The rest nothing more than tiny dots in the far distance.

Their landing zones were going to be pretty spread out, Kira realized. Their jumps timed too far apart.

That was going to make Finn a tad unhappy when he got down there and couldn’t find her immediately.

A problem for future Kira.

For now, Kira kept her gaze trained on her head’s up display and the dot representing Jin. That was where she had to go.

Her suit’s hydraulics hissed as they worked to support her legs, taking some of the extreme pressure off her body. Her soul’s breath helped, strengthening the muscles and joints until they were strong enough to withstand the G’s she was pulling.

It always amazed her that humans managed to endure this without the benefit of ki. Raider and the rest of the Curs were either stubborn or out of their minds.

The ground approached fast, getting closer and closer. Her stomach clenched as she waited until the absolute last second before stomping on the waveboard’s throttle, bringing it to life. It roared, resisting the harsh pull of gravity.

Kira landed hard.

The impact resonated up her legs into her knees and hips, rattling her teeth despite the way she had them clenched in preparation.

"Got to love human ingenuity," Kira muttered.

Without the suit, a landing like that would have broken nearly every bone in her body.

She stepped off the board, getting her first glimpse of the Tsavitee’s home world. "Nicer than I imagined."

It certainly didn’t look like the environment she’d associate with a species that had lain waste to countless Consortium planets. The Tsavitee had never given any evidence of caring how much destruction they caused to an ecosystem.

Maybe that only applied to planets that weren’t theirs.

The plant life around her was lush and plentiful. Though admittedly some plants looked decidedly odd.

Kira kept her distance from those, not putting it past the Tsavitee to have engineered them to be lethal. It would certainly be in keeping with what she knew of them.

"J1N, report," Kira ordered.

"The atmosphere is within acceptable limits for supporting human life. Although, my sensors are detecting a dangerous toxin in the plants in our immediate vicinity. I recommend avoiding physical contact."

"Looks like I’m right again," Kira muttered, giving the twisted fronds of the alien ferns a wide berth. "What do we want to bet that most things we encounter today will try to kill us?"

The J1N floated above her as she crouched beside her board. "I am unsure of those odds. Please rephrase."

Kira shook her head and rolled her eyes as she fiddled with the board. "Never mind."

A few moments later, she straightened. "All done."

The next person who touched the board would set off an explosion that would rip apart anyone in the immediate vicinity.

Booby trapping the waveboard wasn’t Kira’s preferred choice, but there was little reason to take it with her. It would just slow her down.

At least this way, it had a chance of throwing any pursuers off her trail.

"Let’s get moving. They’ll have noticed my landing," Kira said, walking into the forest.

They’d probably already sent a squad to investigate. She needed to be as far away as possible before they got here.

"Any sign of the others?"

"Negative. My sensors aren’t picking up any of their life signs."

Kira hoped that meant the others were too far out of range and not that they were already dead. Until she had evidence to the contrary, she was choosing to believe it was the former rather than the latter.

Her best bet was continuing the mission and hoping she stumbled across them at some point.

Kira turned to the north east where she thought she’d spotted tall, needle-like structures that pointed to signs of life. Coincidentally, they were also in the vicinity of Jin’s signal.

"That’s where I need to go," Kira whispered.

Graydon

Blood soaked the dull, gray stone of the avenue Graydon had landed on. Tsavitee bodies were strewn over a wide area. Either dead or dying.

Graydon shielded his eyes, taking in the towering structures he found himself amongst. "Does this place feel strange to you?"

Solal yanked his en-blade out of the chest of a Tsavitee. "It does."

Craters littered the area where Graydon and his oshota had taken out a few of the cannons targeting the upper atmosphere.

"I do not like it," Solal informed him.

Graydon crouched, setting one hand on the ground. There was a sucking sensation. Discrete. Almost unnoticeable unless you had experience with something like it before.

"Their streets are covered in a material similar to seiki stone," Graydon said.

Solal frowned at the ground. "Why would they do that?"

Graydon took in the strange city in front of him with new eyes. "Because of us."

This entire place was built to obstruct his kind. The very ground meant to drain them of energy and ki, making battle more difficult.

A Tuann, unable to access their soul’s breath, was vulnerable.

Solal curled a lip. "Disgusting."

"Yes," Graydon agreed, rising.

There was something more though. Something in the plants and air that left Graydon feeling like a layer of filth was coating his body. It made his skin crawl, leaving him on edge.

"We shouldn’t linger," Graydon said.

He had a feeling bad things would happen to them if they did. He wasn’t talking about just death either.

Amila stalked toward them, her synth armor stained with blood that hadn’t been there before he’d sent her out on recon.

"Did you find them?" Graydon asked.

Amila shook her head regretfully. "There was no trace of their presence in our immediate vicinity."

"Enemies are approaching," Solal announced as a swarm of Tsavitee rounded the corner, marching in their direction. "How would you like to handle this?"

The Tsavitee spotted Graydon and his oshota. A bugle sounded, followed by a loud roar as the front ranks charged.

"As we always have," Graydon announced, starting toward the Tsavitee. "Slaughter them all. Leave none standing."

Kira

Kira darted into the tree tops as movement came from up ahead. Using a branch as a perch, she concealed her presence just as a Tsavitee advance team passed under her.

Their numbers were made up of half a dozen demons and several class two war drones. It was the wraith among them that sent Kira’s pulse into overdrive.

It stopped under her branch, lifting its head to sniff the air.

The movement exposed its face under the cowl and cloak it wore as protection against the sun. Without it, the wraith’s skin would burn even under the weakest of light. It was that sensitivity that had earned it the name of wraith.

A thin layer of flesh stretched over the bones of its skull. It lacked the elasticity and extra tissue a human or Tuann face would have. As a result, it more closely resembled a skull. Its eyes and nose sunken in. Little more than hollowed out holes.

Moving carefully, Kira pointed her pulse rifle at the wraith.

"What do you sense?" Lothos asked from out of sight.

Kira’s lungs froze at the appearance of the general. She didn’t dare move so much as a muscle for fear of causing the branch to shake.

A wraith she could take. Even a squad of demons wasn’t a problem. A general, though. That would be difficult.

Of all the rotten luck.

The wraith inhaled, air whistling through its nasal passages. "Death. A lot of it."

An explosion shook the forest.

"That has to be her," Lothos declared, looking in the direction of the blast. "Find her. I want her alive."

The demons and war drones set off, crashing through the underbrush. The wraith held back, studying the forest around it carefully.

"You too," Lothos ordered.

The wraith padded forward, gliding silently through the trees after the rest.

Kira didn’t let herself relax, remaining tense as Lothos lingered under her tree. He remained there long enough for Kira to get antsy.

An ambush might not be so bad. Definitely preferable to the alternative.

She had just decided to drop on him from above when he left his spot, following the rest.

Kira released the breath she’d been holding. Lucky.

She waited until she judged him sufficiently far away before dropping to the ground. Only at that point did she realize that she’d forgotten to order the J1N to take cover.

"J1N," Kira hissed, scanning the area. "J1N, report."

The drone appeared under a nearby fern’s large fronds. The dull gray of his casing doing a good job of blending in with his surroundings.

"J1N, really? Is that how you’ve been addressing my body all this time?"

Kira stopped. "Jin?"

"Do you really need to ask that?"

With a glad cry, Kira threw herself at her friend, grateful when he let her snag him for a hug.

"How?" she managed to ask through the tears that wanted to fall.

"Proximity."

Kira nodded, forcing herself to recover a modicum of control. With Elena still in danger, they didn’t have time for an emotional reunion. "Makes sense."

This close he’d be able to connect with the J1N in the same way he did his spawn.

The drone jerked back and forth. "What did you do in here? Everything feels wrong."

"I had to improvise."

"On my body?"

"I judged it necessary. Yes."

"Son of a—we’re going to have a long talk later about boundaries," Jin griped, leading her toward the needle like structures.

"What’s Elena’s status?" Kira asked, ducking under a low lying branch.

"You’re not going to like it."

Kira was certain of that. There wasn’t much she liked right about now.

"They have her."

Kira ground to a halt. "How did that happen?"

"A very unfortunate series of events," Jin answered, sounding grim. "I don’t know whether to call that child brave or stupid."

"What did she do?" Kira asked as she started walking again.

This time her pace was a little faster than before.

"She decided to play spy and landed in a situation over her head."

Jin came to an abrupt stop, bobbing in place as he rotated one way then another.

Kira stepped into the shadow of a tree, suddenly alert as she scanned the forest around them for signs of enemies.

"There you are, asshole," Jin declared, shooting off without an explanation to Kira.

She sprinted after him.

"I did not miss this part of our relationship," she grumbled to herself.

Would it kill him to give her a little warning?

A few minutes later, they left the forest behind and entered the outskirts of the city.

Kira slowed, taking in the cliff to her left, the curved building jutting out of its side, darkened windows making it difficult to know if someone was standing on the other side, watching them. To her right was an immense valley, the city she’d spotted from the air with its black streets and tall towers that seemed to devour the light nestled in it.

The sound of fighting came from up ahead, Jin arrowing straight toward it.

"Slow down," Kira hissed.

Reunited for five seconds and he was already testing her patience.

Kira jogged after him, rounding a corner to find a pulse rifle aimed at her face.

Jin headed straight toward the person holding it. "It’s about fucking time, meat sack."

Raider lowered the rifle with a frown. "Jin?"

"The one and only. Were you expecting someone else?"

Raider pointed at the drone as he raised his eyebrows at Kira.

She nodded wearily. "Yeah."

Fierce satisfaction filled Raider’s features. "Well done, Tin Man."

Kira regarded the bodies around him. It looked like someone had a little fun while she was busy trying to locate his position. "Taking your anger out on the enemy, I see."

Raider kicked away the Tsavitee reaching for his leg, drawing a knife from the sheath at his spine and embedding it in the Tsavitee’s heart. "Just giving them a taste. Why? How many did you kill?"

"Zero. I killed zero."

Because she was more focused on stealth in order not to draw undue attention. Unlike a certain someone.

"To each their own, I guess." Raider wiped the blade on his leg before sticking it back in its sheath. "What about the others? Did you see where they landed?"

"No. You?"

Raider jutted his chin toward the south west. "Finn and Talon landed somewhere around there." He pointed to the north. "Graydon and the rest were in that direction."

She’d suspected they’d wind up pretty far apart, but Raider’s words confirmed it.

Getting separated wasn’t rare for the Curs. It had happened on many other missions. Although never ideal, she and Raider were trained to operate alone when things like this happened.

"What’s the plan?" Raider checked the status of his weapons. "Are we rendezvousing with the others?"

"We don’t have the luxury of time. Jin says Elena’s situation is critical."

"How critical?"

"The kind where every second counts,” Jin answered, heading toward the cliff and away from the heart of the city.

"What does that mean?" Raider demanded, following. "Isn’t your spawn with her?"

Kira brought up the rear, sending one last uneasy glance at the curved structure with its reflective windows.

"No," Jin answered, his voice grim.

Raider sucked in a breath, increasing his pace until he was beside the drone. "You were supposed to stay with her!"

He shoved Jin. Surprisingly, Jin let him.

"Raider," Kira warned.

His eyes were wild as he swung toward her. "He was supposed to protect her!"

"He did his best," Kira said.

Whatever else happened, she was sure of that much. Jin would never have willingly placed that little girl in danger.

At her rebuke, Raider turned away from them, scrubbing his hands over his face.

Kira relaxed a little, satisfied that he wasn’t going to vent any further emotions on Jin.

"What happened?" Raider asked when he’d gotten control of himself. "Why weren’t you with her?"

They started walking again as Jin led the way through some trees and around strange looking plants to the base of the cliff.

"I was with her. At least part of me was."

Kira held her silence, for once not upset at Jin’s tendency of replicating his spawn. He could have created an army and she would have been okay with that.

"Was?" Raider asked, latching onto the important part of that statement.

"There’s something about the room she’s in. I don’t know what it was, but it severed my connection. Every spawn I’ve attempted to send in has met with a similar fate."

They arrived at a section of the cliff covered in a mass of vines.

"I think you need to tell us exactly what happened," Kira said.

"I will. But first—" The drone pulsed, using its anti gravs. Slowly, the carpet of vines parted to reveal the entrance to a dark, dank cave. "We should go save our troublemaker."

Raider regarded the entrance doubtfully. "The Tsavitee are hiding my daughter in a cave?"

"Don’t be ridiculous, meat sack. Elena’s not in the cave. The cave leads to Elena."

This time, Raider wasn’t the only one to look at Jin in confusion.

"You’re going to have to do a better job of explaining," Kira said.

Jin made an irritated sound. "I will, but can I do it while we’re moving?"

Kira gave him a doubtful look before ducking into the cave, moving to the side to let Raider and Jin join her.

"Start talking," she ordered as Jin arranged the vines so they hung over the entrance again.

A whistle echoed against the walls as a metal bird flew out of a nearby passageway. It landed on Jin’s casing, twisting its head back and forth to look at them out of first one eye and then the other.

"Elise used her contacts among the generals to have Elena inserted into a crèche with their young."

Oh, thank God. Of all the places Elena could have ended up, that wasn’t the worst. Kira had spent several sleepless nights over the last few weeks, envisioning her niece being hurt. Tortured and ripped apart at the Tsavitee’s whims.

To learn she was instead sent to a crèche was a relief she barely dared let herself feel.

"Although the training methods in a crèche are brutal, they’re not as bad as what we went through as children. Actually, they’re pretty similar to Roake’s."

The metal bird took flight from Jin’s sphere, arrowing back into the passage it had just come from. Jin started after it, Kira and Raider following.

"What happened to change things?" Kira asked.

"A few days back Elena drew the attention of a Sye."

"How did she manage that?"

"She tried to break into an Osiri’s lab."

Kira’s horrified gaze swung to Jin. "Please tell me you’re joking."

"I’m not," he said in a grim tone. "I don’t think she knew what she was doing. Elise covered for her. Unfortunately, the Sye saw the two of them meeting afterward. It aroused the Sye’s suspicions. Enough for them to go poking into Elena’s background."

"Sye," Raider said, looking at Kira. "That’s what Odin is, isn’t it?"

At her expression, he swore.

"How long have you known Odin was a Tsavitee?" Raider asked.

"Odin’s not the enemy."

The very fact they were standing here proved that.

"Are you sure about that? Don’t forget how we met that Sye.”

There was a sneer on the last word.

Kira regarded him calmly. "I think I’m more familiar with Odin’s motivations than you."

Raider shook his head, not bothering to argue with her. "Finish the story, Tin Can."

"Today, Elena decided to play spy. I think that’s what the Sye was waiting for. Because somehow we ended up back in the Osiri’s lab. That’s when I lost contact with her."

Jin’s worry permeated every word. Her friend was antsy, his desire to head straight to Elena clear.

"How does the cave fit?" Raider asked, struggling for patience.

"Oh, that. Somehow, this cave is connected to all the towers. Though I’m not quite sure how." Jin flew under a particularly low hanging section of the ceiling. "I think it’s similar to the passageways we used during the adva ka. Remember them?"

Kira nodded slowly. "I do."

They’d been weird, warping time and space in unexpected ways. Sometimes looping in on themselves. Other times sending you to unexpected destinations that shouldn’t have been possible given the length of time you’d been traveling.

The chamber where the lenacht had been born was like that too. So easy to stumble upon when it wanted to be found. But later, no amount of searching had enabled her or anyone else to find their way back. Like it had never existed in the first place.

"Elena dropped off my scanners for a time right before she entered the lab. I think that’s because she wasn’t actually here but rather somewhere in between."

Raider scowled at the drone. "Can you at least try to make sense?"

"Think of it as a pocket dimension. One that acts like a maze. She’s here—but not."

Raider stared, irritation growing on his face.

"And this cave connects to the same place," Kira said uncertainly.

"That’s correct."

Raider stopped, forcing the other two to as well. "Let me see if I understand the current plan. We’re going to venture further into the deep, dark cave system, hoping to stumble upon what you’re calling a pocket dimension—I can’t believe I just called it that—in hopes it will lead us to my daughter." Raider gave them a look. "With no backup or any real idea of what we’re going to do when we reach her."

"Sounds about right." Kira and Jin glanced at each other. "Problem?"

"Nope." Raider shook his head and strode toward where Jin’s spawn was circling. "Just wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page."

Jin snorted. "You mean the one dripping in our enemies’ blood?"

"That’s the one," Raider muttered.

Jin shot forward. "Oh good. Glad that’s settled."

They didn’t talk much after that as they moved through the tunnels. The ecosystem changed the further inside they got, giving credence to Jin’s theory that there was something unexplainable about this place.

It felt alive. And not just because of the creatures she could sense infesting the cavern around her.

There was something in the atmosphere. As if it was trying to feed off her fears.

It was subtle. Constantly lapping at her psyche, draining her just a little more the longer she lingered.

"I don’t like this place," she said softly.

Raider walked across the stone bridge to the other side of a luminescent pool. "What’s there to like?"

"Not that way," Jin shouted, zooming toward Raider.

Looking startled, Raider froze. "What is it?"

"Look." Jin used his anti-gravs to toss a stone at the ground in front of Raider. It sank, breaking the illusion of rock. Ripples spread out, causing a faint luminescence in the water. When it settled again, it looked exactly like the rest of the cave floor. "That stuff is toxic. It destroyed a dozen of my spawn before I figured out what was going on."

"And you’re just now telling me this?" Raider asked in disbelief.

"There wasn’t reason to before. There is now." The drone sailed across the room, disappearing into an alcove after his bird. "This way."

Raider joined Kira. "Is it just me or is he flightier than normal?"

"He’s just got a lot on his mind."

"I hope you’re right," Raider muttered softly to her back as she followed Jin. "I really do."

"Which way?" Raider asked a short time later, staring at the pair of identical tunnels in front of them.

"I don’t know," Jin admitted.

Kira sent him a startled look. "I thought you said you knew the way."

"I did." Jin corrected himself. "I do."

"Then—" she prodded.

"I can tell Elena is in that direction, but I don’t know which tunnel will lead us there."

Raider cursed, kicking the wall as he paced away from them.

"How is that possible?" Kira asked, ignoring her friend’s outburst.

Jin’s bird landed on his casing as he hesitated. "It’s this place. It’s affecting me."

"Your spawn?" Kira guessed.

"I’ve lost track of several of them. Everything keeps getting turned around."

That wasn’t a good sign. Kira and Jin had never spoken of it directly, but she knew his connection with his spawn was similar to what a biological might have with their limbs. They were an extension of him. His hands and feet.

It shouldn’t have been possible to lose track of them. Just like you wouldn’t with your own limbs. Unless you had a spinal or neurological condition preventing those signals from getting through.

Kira nodded at the tunnels. "But you’re sure she’s that way."

"Yes."

Raider turned back to them. "We split up."

"No." Kira didn’t even have to think about her answer. "Absolutely not."

"Jin said it himself. She doesn’t have time for us to do this slow. You take one. I take the other. We get in. We investigate. Then we rendezvous back here."

"That is a stupid plan," Kira told him.

"Yeah, but it’s the only one we’ve got." Raider considered the tunnels, indicating the one to the right. "This one is mine."

"Fifteen minutes. Then we meet back here."

Despite his distracted nod, Kira could tell he wasn’t really listening, his focus on the tunnel and what waited on the other side.

"Raider." Kira waited until she had his attention. "If you find her, you wait for backup. You don’t go in alone."

"Sure thing, Nixxy. Just like you would if the situation was reversed."

Kira watched him disappear into the tunnel with a feeling of resignation. "Why do I get the feeling he’s not going to wait?"

"Probably because you wouldn’t be able to either," Jin quipped.

With a growl, Kira headed into the tunnel on the left. "Come on, Jin. You’re with me."

"Who else would I be with in a situation like this?"