"This is probably the dumbest idea in the history of ideas." Yolanda grumbled. "Are you sure you were a cop?"
Clint grinned at her. "You can't tell me you've never done an emergency exfiltration. Ready?"
"No!" She scoffed.
"Good. Hit it."
Yolanda shook her head and slammed her fist through the barrier covering the alarm button. The second the klaxons started wailing, Clint heard three explosions. He nodded to her, took a breath, then burst through the door with his gun pulled. Firing twice, he clipped an orderly before ducking into Fuse's room. A large hole on the external wall showed him a view of the city below and the ocean beyond that.
"Keep eyes for the transport, I'll pull him out of the tank."
Yolanda moved to the hole. "Inbound! Fifteen seconds!" She shouted.
Clint fired the gun once more into the latch and the door of the pod sprang open, spilling fluid. He stuck his arms in and caught Fuse's body as it sank and pulled him out.
"Five!" He heard Yolanda.
Putting the body over his shoulder, he made his way to the wall and leapt out. Yolanda landed next to him as the transport made a sudden drop and leapt forward. Clint braced his foot against a seat and grabbed Yolanda's arm to keep from slipping out.
The transport spun dangerously, then slowed as they faced another hole. Eve leapt in carrying Lin over her shoulder just as the transport shot up. She dropped her load in a seat and pinned herself against it. Clint and Yolanda's eyes met and they began laughing as the transport leveled out in front of the third hole where Rebecca leapt aboard, barely keeping her balance at the transport shot forward.
The door slid shut and the occupants all breathed in relief. Eve buckled Lin into her seat while Clint and Rebecca picked Fuse up and set him into the seat next to her, strapping his limp body into it before collapsing into their own seats.
"Check it out." Clint said, nudging Rebecca with his elbow and pointing.
Fuse's hand was in Lin's lap, where it was gripped between both of hers. Yolanda and Eve shared pained looks while Rebecca grabbed onto Clint's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Part of me hopes she doesn't snap out of it." She said in his ear.
He rested his head on hers and sighed. The thrill of their exit from the hospital gone in an instant and replaced with a profound sadness that even Yolanda wasn't immune to as her lips formed a thin line and she turned to stare out the window, hands clenched into fists on her knees.
Eve, who'd formed an attachment to Lin, felt the same as Rebecca without having heard her words to Clint. She hadn't told them, but the reason she'd so brutally mutilated her eye hadn't just been to remove the bomb. It'd been a form of atonement for her part in the pursuit that led to her current condition. She looked at Fuse and wondered if she'd get the chance to apologize to him.
"Where are we going!?" Yolanda yelled over the sound of the transport's engines after several minutes of silence.
"Home, Miss Cruz!" Erik called back from the pilot's seat. "The Spire!"
Clint watched the girl turn pale and sink in her seat. Rebecca gave him a confused look, which he answered with a shrug.
"Get some rest! It's a long flight!" Erik continued. "We have to take the scenic route to avoid the nasties!"
~
Rinku watched as the women's noses, eyes, and ears bled. It was obvious they were in earth-shattering pain, but he'd commanded them to suffer in silence. And their lord's commands were absolute. The first woman collapsed, twitching on the floor as her body tried desperately to escape the agony that was being inflicted upon it. But within seconds, her heart couldn't handle the strain anymore and she fell still.
The second woman to fall simply fell forward, dead before she hit the ground. Rage roiled inside Rinku as he set his attention on the last woman in his chambers. A gasp escaped her as she sank to the floor. He waited until the light started to fade from her eyes before releasing his hold on her. In too much pain to scream or even move, she simply sat there staring blankly ahead, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
There was a knock at his door and Caspar stepped inside. The teen raised his eyebrow at the display, but continued undeterred. "Their transport is heading west. Toward the Spire. We can confirm that the team consists of the Echelon spies and two Vanguard; Evelyn Tunney and Yolanda Cruz. We think they may be heading to the Cruz family's estate to seek sanctuary."
"The Spire is beyond the bounds of our control." Rinku muttered. "That is what I was told when I studied a map of this planet. To start a conflict with them is akin to committing suicide."
The woman finally screamed and flailed on the ground. Rinku and Caspar watched for a few seconds before the human walked over to her and pressed his boot to her neck. A sickening crunch followed moments later and the woman was still.
"Yes, sir. Imagine this, but on a much larger scale." Caspar said, gesturing to his foot and the dead woman beneath it.
"Is there proof of their might?"
The teen nodded. "The colonies in the neighboring systems. We've yet to reach that level of technological innovation. There's also a satellite above us that belongs to Echelon. It's assumed that the Chase woman escaped there when their building fell. We know definitively that it's equipped with an ORG."
"'Org'?"
"Orbital Rail Gun. It's older technology, but still more than we can produce. Even with your girl's work at C-Corp." Caspar explained. "There's also a semi-automatic version for ground troops. We have one in the vault at HQ, but it's impossible to access."
"Explain."
"Genetic lock. If anyone but the person who locked it tries to get in, the vault destroys itself. There's even redundancies in place to prohibit hacking or brute forcing our way in."
Rinku closed his eyes and sighed. "What else is in the vault? A simple weapon doesn't warrant such protection."
"Records of the Program that made us. Namely one individual's records. The only one that survived Keystone." Caspar said bitterly.
"Kurokawa Fuse." Rinku murmured. "What is it about him that is so... Nevermind, who do we require for this genetic lock?"
"The man in charge. Armand Phoenicks."
"Phoenicks. That name is familiar."
Caspar nodded. "He abducted the girl from Echelon, supposedly killed Veronica Chase, and proceeded to experiment on her. His whereabouts are unknown after Fuse recovered the girl and killed his henchman."
"Fuse again. It's like fate continually puts him in my path."
Caspar nodded. "It does seem that way, sir."
"And what of the incident at the hospital? Was your assumption correct?"
"Hard to say, sir. We know the transfer was approved, but before anything could happen..."
"Yes, yes. So our assassin hasn't come up for air yet." Rinku said, waving his hand irritably.
"Correct. And since the escape was made to appear like an attack and kidnapping, things aren't looking great for us right now, especially with Fitzsimmons' murder. We're trying to talk them down, but the evidence is against us."
"A war on three fronts." Rinku muttered.
"In all honesty, sir, with command in such upheaval after Alex's actions, we can't afford any war right now."
The alien nodded. "I agree, Caspar. Which is why I've been in contact with my personal army. They will be arriving within the month to bolster our ranks. And I believe you'll find their armaments sufficient to deal with anything our technologically advanced neighbors to the west throw at us."
"I'll send word to start readying the GA, then." Caspar said, saluting and heading for the door.
"Oh, I nearly forgot, how'd your little experiment turn out?"
The teen grinned cruelly. "Better than I'd hoped, thanks to your help."
"Good. I look forward to seeing her in action."
~
"She's just... sitting. You remember a time when Halo just sat around?" Porter asked.
Lulu shook her head.
"It's creepy." He muttered. "C'mon. We've got some free time before muster."
Halo watched the two teens walk off and sighed. Things were completely different than she'd ever remembered them. Her last clear memories had been falling asleep in her bunk after class. Everything after that had been a blur until recently. Snapshots of things she knew she did, but couldn't conjure the context. She touched the rough skin on her throat and wondered if the scar that ran across her neck had been the culmination of it all.
If that were so, then why was she alive and in a body wholly unfamiliar, yet undoubtedly hers? It was too much to parse out at once, and thinking about it for too long gave her a migraine so powerful she had fallen unconscious twice from it.
"You look good, Halo." Avery's voice said from behind her. "Always thought you'd look more boyish when you got older."
Halo nodded. She'd thought so too.
"Shame Tim's gone. He would've been head over for you. You should've seen him when he saw Lulu. If she wasn't so damn strong and scary, he probably would've tried something. Not to mention, she and Porter are deep into it." Avery continued. Halo felt a cool finger on her neck and looked up at the other teen as she traced along the scar. "Shame about this, though. Kinda ruins the buxom blonde look you got going. That and the fact you can't speak or eat solid foods yet. Actually, now that I look at you, other than the tits and those big baby blues, you really aren't much at all."
Halo frowned, but didn't move. Not from lack of desire, but from lack of ability. Her body would freeze up and she'd go blind from pain if she did. Caspar had told her that she wouldn't be able to harm a single person unless given the order to. In a way, it made sense. But she was still lacking the context of why it made sense to her.
"Muster's in twenty. Get dressed and meet in the briefing room." Avery finished, circling back around her and walking through the door.
She did as she was told and headed down the sterile hall, pushing through heavy oaken doors into an office area where Caspar and an extremely tall man were conversing quietly. She inferred that this was Lord Rinku, their new supreme commander. She snapped to a crisp salute and they looked over at her.
"We don't do that anymore, Halo." Caspar said. "We're the ones in charge now, remember? Others salute to us."
She dropped her arm and stood at attention until an arm draped over her shoulder. Porter grinned at her and she could smell sweat on him. She gingerly pulled away, careful not to trip the signal that'd torture her. He laughed. "What're you so stiff for? Loosen up, Halo."
Lulu nodded in agreement as she walked over to a chair and sat down, her face still flush from obvious exertions. Porter dropped down next to her. "We gettin' this meeting started or what?"
"Waiting on Avery." Caspar said as she walked into the room. "Alright, let's begin. We know where Fuse-"
Halo's mind went blank upon hearing the name. All sound faded and the room blurred into nothing. It was only for a second from her perspective, but when she came back to, the clock had advanced by nearly two hours. Caspar sat at his desk, hands folded in front of his face, staring at her.
"Welcome back." He said coolly. "You missed the briefing. But that's alright. I only need one thing from you. One thing only. Kill our enemies."
The screen lit up behind him showing six faces. The only one she recognized was-
"Kurokawa Fuse." Caspar grinned. "You will kill every single person except the one with the purple hair and red eyes. She goes by the name 'Lin'. Last we heard, she was in a fugue state, so taking her will be a nonissue. And Fuse is PVS, likely on the verge of brain death. With any luck, he'll be fully dead before you get there, but I'm slowly coming around to the belief that he's immortal. If he's still hanging on, you'll prove me wrong. Clear?"
Halo nodded.
"Good. Transport to the Spire leaves in twenty. You'll find your weapon in the armory. Don't come back until you've completed your mission. If you can't complete your mission, kill yourself." He said, his eyes boring into her cruelly.
She swallowed and nodded once more, rising from the seat and exiting the office. Her body moved almost without her input as she made her way to the armory and opened the locker with her name on it. Inside was a large hammer. She briefly wondered how she was meant to lift something that obviously weighed nearly a hundred kilos, but it felt like nothing in her grip as she pulled it out of its container.
A manic, desperate energy began building in her chest as she stared at the hammer. The snapshots of memory grew less blurry and the pain behind her eyes grew more insistent. She pushed the memories down and made her way out of the base onto the platform where a lightweight transport was waiting for her to board.
She didn't realize it until she caught her reflection, but there was a crazed smile on her face and her body tingled in anticipation of the oncoming battle. There was no ignoring this feeling as her knees bounced anxiously once the craft lifted off the tarmac and sped away from the base.
~
Tim pulled the hood up as he passed by the Frontier soldiers. The attack on the hospital had been the final straw. Despite the diplomats from HQ trying their best, it became clear that war was inevitable. Martial Law was now in effect, but he didn't plan on being in the city past sundown as he walked calmly along the sidewalk toward the border.
When Caspar had filled him in on everything going on, he saw the expression on Porter's face. They were a squad, meant to be a single unit. But the more Caspar spoke, the more Tim couldn't help but notice the distress building on the other teen's face. He did his best to cover it up, presenting a unified front. But the constant glances at Lulu told Tim everything he needed to know.
The one in charge of it all, Lord Rinku, had much larger plans in store than just creating a unified continent. While Caspar and Avery were on board, Porter and Lulu clearly weren't. So once he'd been released on his own recognizance, he knew what he needed to do. There was only one person who could stop all of this in its tracks.
He'd been working through his pitch to the Echelon operatives and how he'd convince them that he wanted to help. However, he'd only just made it to the city when explosions rocked the hospital and it was discovered that the team had all escaped, using what had already happened to their benefit to facilitate it.
With no idea where they'd gone and the Frontier military going radio silent, he had to adjust his plan slightly. Going on the run would be a mistake. If he'd been captured, HQ could make him a scapegoat for the hospital attack and murder of Fitzsimmons. Then he'd have his squad and Lord Rinku to answer to. Porter would go to bat for him, which would likely cause more problems since he appeared to be on thin ice already.
He felt something press into his back and resisted the instinct to react as he felt hot breath against his ear. "You're escorting your mother out of the city."
He nodded and felt the pressure disappear as the woman drew beside him, interlocking their arms. She was older with a severe look about her. Streaks of white in her hair and the lines around her frowning mouth told him of a life of stress. But she had a regal bearing and a confidence that went well beyond his guess of fifty years.
"Who are you?" He asked quietly as they walked.
"Your new employer." She replied crisply. "And your first assignment is to shut up and follow my lead."
He chuckled, relaxing in her grip and walking more naturally. "Yes, ma'am."