Shedding the Demon (34 page)

She ran.

She packed some bags and literally headed for the hills—her
private mountaintop retreat on a sparsely populated planet on the other side of
the Consensus. Very few people knew it was hers, and they would guard her
privacy with their lives.

She hid from the responsibility of taking sides and hoped
that she would be able to mend fences with whoever won in the end. Perhaps I
can strike the winning blow and tip the scales to one side or the other, giving
them a reason to be grateful and hopefully make them forget that I refused to
pick sides.

 

**** ****

 

Reave Nachman’s thoughts wandered as he hurtled through
space in a one-man missile. The G-forces were uncomfortable for him, but they
would have crushed a normal man into jelly.

Reave convinced himself that it was his willpower and
intelligence that allowed him to beat the control system, despite the fact that
he used the data and the software that Alexander passed to him shortly before
the procedure. Whichever was true, he only cared that he was firmly in control
of his own actions. He could see the control codes and he could fashion the
correct responses, but it was cosmetic only and did not coerce his actions.

Also simple,
he continued to himself,
to hijack
the control systems of the others and make them my slaves.

He found through the weeks of training that he could not
accurately control all of their actions, but he could influence their thoughts
and impress his own objectives into their minds.

Soon he would land at the Spire and begin the extermination
of the Trueblood dynasty. Afterward he planned to grab Joann Tashus, thank her
for getting him into the program, and then kill her . . . slowly.

 

**** ****

 

Damon felt the impacts seconds after
the warning icons lit up his HUD.
One . . . two . . . three
. . . four . . . five . . . six. It must be the
Augies, but how?
His concentration wavered as he tried to figure out what
was happening. He wanted to contact Leland, but any attempt at communication
could get them all killed.

Damon felt the sudden impact and a sharp pain in his right
side and then he smashed through the wall on the left. He shook his head to
clear it and rolled away to avoid another incoming round from the HWP.

No damage, but that HURT! I’ve got to stay sharp!
He
chastised himself,
that felt like a rail gun . . . I really hate
rail guns!

He peeked out of the hole in the wall and launched a grenade
toward where his sensors calculated the shot originated.

“See how you like that!” he said to no one.

The muffled explosion of the grenade was followed by another
larger explosion, and he believed he scored a hit. Diving through the hole and
rolling to the opposite side of the corridor, he quickly surveyed the HWP with
his sensors as he kept moving.

The HWP’s tracks were shattered, but the turret attempted to
track him, so he kept moving to avoid any more shots. He decided not to waste
ammo on finishing it off, he could just get out of range. He marked the
location on the tactical map that would be uploaded to Leland.

He decided his best bet was to keep moving up toward the
shielded area near the top of the Spire.

 

**** ****

 

Sitting deep underwater without a
breathing apparatus felt very strange to Reave. Even after weeks of time in his
new body, it still didn’t feel natural, but more like powered combat armor.

He gave a final set of instructions to his five drones
before setting them loose to carry out his desires.

“Punch through at the floor of the lake and take out any
bulkhead doors you see. I want the lower floors flooded,” he transmitted to the
others. “Once inside proceed upward, engaging and destroying ALL targets you
encounter.”

 

**** ****

 

Leland landed with the first of the
quick-strike squads and took control of one portion of the Spaceport. While
their Infiltrator software kept up a facade of normal activity, the hired
specialists shunted their ships in quicker and more efficiently than any normal
traffic control would allow.

To the casual observer outside, if they bothered to notice
at all, the ships would appear about to collide as they landed, unloaded, and
departed in minimal time.

Aircraft, personnel carriers, heavy equipment, and weapons
were unloaded with incredible speed and efficiency. The mercenaries that Ken
hired were impressive professionals, Leland had to admit, and his own guys
mostly just watched in awe.

The first squads were rolling and flying toward the Spire
within ten minutes of touchdown, and new teams would continue to debark for
another thirty minutes.

Sonic booms sounded as the drone aircraft went in search of
their Trueblood counterparts, the first targets of the day.

We have no choice but to take them down, even though it
will be misinterpreted by the Truebloods.
Leland thought back to the heated
arguments with Ken about how this could be done differently. Eventually Ken
relented, although Leland suspected that even now he was trying to circumvent
the defenders through his software.

They reached the edge of the caldera with only one run-in
with Trueblood troops. Their nano-charged rounds, similar to Damon’s loadout,
incapacitated the Trueblood soldiers without killing them. However, the reverse
was not true, and they lost three men in the one encounter.

The drones fared well against the Trueblood aircraft, but
the battle for the skies continued on. Leland worried about the troops arriving
via aircraft, but the mercenary commander assured him they’d operated in more
hostile situations.

At the shore of the lake, Leland contacted Damon, and they
filled each other in on their situations. Damon had not found any controls for
raising the bridges, and he was currently trying to avoid engagement with the
Augies.

“No problem,” Leland assured him, “we have contingency
plans.”

 Each soldier carried a small package they’d received from
one of Ken’s friends.

Each package, when activated, made a small inflatable boat,
powered by a single-use compressed air motor. Soon there were hundreds of the
craft skimming across the surface of the lake toward the Spire. Gunfire erupted
from a few spots in the tower, and some aircraft flew over, followed closely by
the pursuing combat drones. The little boats were fast, but a few of the
soldiers were killed in the crossing.

Once at the base of the Spire, they climbed up the side
using powered climbing gear, and small explosives were strategically placed to
make entryways.

Overall, Leland was impressed with the execution of the
plan. He knew, however, that the hardest part lay inside the structure where
the Augies waited along with almost a thousand Trueblood soldiers.

 

**** ****

 

“We have breaches below the waterline,” Jeffrey said
quietly.

“Did the Demon leave charges behind?” Renard asked.

“I don’t think so,” Jeffrey replied slowly, looking puzzled.
“I think the Augies cut the holes.”

Renard tried to justify this action in his mind, but he
found it irritating. “They must feel the need to hurry,” he said tentatively.

He glanced over to Avelina Baksa on the couch, but she
offered no insight into the motivations of her creations. She was tapping away
on her screen, her forehead scrunched in concentration. Renard sighed, but knew
better than to interrupt her thoughts.

“We have more explosions reported on the lower levels, and
squads report fighting down there. Along with rising water levels.”

“I thought he was higher. Did he double-back? Where is he?”
Renard said through clenched teeth.

“The WERA is still down, the techs are working on it,”
Jeffrey told him for the third time in the last ten minutes.

“I know, I know!” Renard snapped. He hated being blind.
We’re supposed to have the most sophisticated equipment in the Consensus here
at our disposal, and when we need it most, it crashes! He said nothing more,
knowing that it would be too harsh and he’d regret it later. He seethed in
silence, willing the monitors to show something about the location of the
Demon.

“Other reports coming in from other planets, you need to
know.” Jeffrey said quietly, knowing his boss was barely in control of his
anger.

“Go ahead.”

“There have been attacks at our five largest temples. Bombed
from space by an unidentified fleet.”

“Prykes, I’ll guess?”

“Almost positive. No 100% identification, but the odds
suggest it is indeed Pryke.”

“
Kyndra curse him!
” Renard yelled.

“Reverend!” Avelina nearly fell off the couch as she
scrambled to her feet.

“Further reports of more destruction on those planets. They’re
systematically destroying all of the temples of Kyndraism throughout each of
the major cities.”

Renard stumbled back onto the couch and placed his face in
his hands. For the moment, he completely forgot about his personal danger and
he wept for the innocents killed in these senseless attacks.

“What protection can we muster?” he asked, his voice muffled
by his hands.

“There are apparently no ships left in orbit around any of
the five in question. We have hundreds of Trueblood planets throughout the Consensus,
but not enough ships to protect them all simultaneously. Pryke took advantage
of this by attacking with overwhelming force. In order to destroy these fleets,
we’d have to consolidate our own.”

Renard continued the thought, “But even if we did, we’d
never be able to react quickly enough. He’d fly in, bomb the planet, and be
gone before our fleet could arrive. Why didn’t we think of this before?”

Neither one spoke for a moment.

Avelina broke the silence. “Deterrence,” she said. “We
counted on the threat of retaliation and the cooperation of the other families
to keep Pryke in check.”

Her assertion was met with silent agreement.

“So what has changed?” she asked, getting the attention of
both men. Jeffrey turned away from the screens to look at her. “What has
changed that makes him bold enough to attack us now?”

 

**** ****

 

Joann felt the shocks of the
launches more than heard them. Six shock waves reverberated through the ship,
and suddenly her adrenalin was pumping. She jumped out of her bunk and ran through
the corridors rudely pushing through anyone in her way.

She’d sent messages to Dr. Baksa to contact her, but there
had been no response. Joann wasn’t surprised, especially since she couldn’t put
any specific information into the message.

Joann also sent a message to the guard who promised to get
her into the armory, although she wasn’t sure how far he could be trusted, and
as yet he had not delivered on his promise.

She didn’t know the details, but she just knew the six shots
fired could not be a coincidence. Reave must have convinced the captain to send
them on ahead. This way he and the other Augies are in place well before we
arrive, the only ones who might be able to stop him.

She burst onto the bridge unannounced, drawing frowns from
the officers present. After all, it was a Trueblood military vessel.

“Captain!” she called, and the man in question completed
what he was saying to one of the sergeants before turning and acknowledging
her.

“Dr. . . . Tashus, is it?”

“Yes. Captain, we need to—”

The captain held up a hand and interrupted her with his
deep, commanding voice, “Doctor. We follow certain rules on
my
ship—”

“Right, but we need to—”

“Even though you and your colleagues choose to ignore them,
they are nonetheless present—”

“Yes, yes, but you don’t—”

“ESPECIALLY ON MY BRIDGE.” He yelled the last part, making
Joann flinch.

“I’m sorry.”

“Wait. I’m not finished.”

Joann decided she had better let him finish or she’d never
get to speak. She listened to him pontificate for a few moments, not paying any
attention to the actual words.

“Now, how may I help you?” he finally concluded.

Suddenly, Joann didn’t know what to say exactly. Anything
she thought of made her sound like a raving lunatic. The captain looked at her
expectantly with a small, fake smile on his lips.

“Captain,” she started, aware of the dozen people all
looking at her now, “did you just send the Augies to the surface?”

He hesitated, and his smile disappeared. “Why yes, we did,
although I’m not sure why you care?” His voice was quiet now, but with a hint
of menace that added to Joann’s anxiety.

“We have to call them back.”

The captain folded his arms and straightened his back,
glaring at her now. “What?” was all he said, but the weight of it fell on her
and almost made her knees buckle.