COLONY SHIP 01, FEOH: RAVENDOUR ESTATE
Aki01 must have misheard. That was the only logical explanation. Surely, she thought, the old Newman wasn’t that senile. She cocked her head slightly to one side and said, “Me, surrender? I think you have that backwards.”
Deckard Ravendour raised his pale green eyebrows innocently. “Do I?”
The study fell quiet. Its two occupants stared each other down. Aki, standing near the doorway. And Deckard, seated behind his massive oak desk. There was no question who was stronger, and Deckard didn’t appear to be armed. So why was he suddenly so confident? What had changed?
That was when Aki noticed. Past Deckard, through the tall window on the far wall, a line of men was approaching the manor. Men equipped with body armor and photon rifles. A dozen at least, and that was just what Aki could see.
Suddenly she understood.
Reinforcements. Deckard had been stalling, keeping her talking long enough for his men to arrive.
And she had fallen for it.
The two of them locked eyes again. Deckard’s wolfish grin grew wider, his look of anticipation sharper. He knew that she knew. And he was enjoying every second of it.
Aki decided not to give him any more satisfaction. She crossed the room in five long strides and yanked the Newman to his feet. There was a flashing red button on the inside of his desk. A panic button. Deckard probably pressed it the moment he sat down. Three minutes prior, give or take.
Which was a problem. Three minutes wasn’t long, but it was long enough. They could have the entire manor surrounded, and Aki still had no idea how many men were out there. Somewhere between a dozen and fifty, she guessed. A dozen she might be able to handle. Fifty, probably not.
Either way, the first step was to regroup. Step two was to fortify their position. Hauling Deckard by the arm, Aki made her way back to the Ravendours’ sitting room. Évangelique was still there, watching over Verideth and Kline.
“We’ve got company,” said Aki.
“I am aware,” Éva replied with a tight-lipped smile.
Aki turned to Deckard. “How many are out there?” When the man didn’t answer, she squeezed his arm a little tighter. “How many?” she repeated.
The Newman half-grunted, half-chuckled. “Enough to bury you and your conniving girlfriend, that’s for damned sure.”
Aki considered employing tougher measures, trying to force it out of him, but in the end she decided against it. Instead she gave Deckard a light shove. Just a tap on the back, really. He stumbled forward before regaining his composure.
Now the three Newmans were standing together. Deckard, Verideth, and Kline. Unbound, but prisoners nonetheless. Not resisting, but not happy, either.
Aki turned her attention back to Éva. “I’m going to check the front door,” she said, and left.
She returned to the sitting room a minute later. “The door is locked. So are the nearby windows. The house staff is all upstairs. I told them to stay put, no matter what.”
Éva looked relieved but also worried. “Brilliant, darling. But what about the rest of the manor? Let me check the other doors and windows, make sure they are secure—”
“No,” Aki interrupted. “This place is too big. It would take at least five minutes, and I doubt we have that long. They’re going to breach soon. When they do I want you here, where we can work together.”
A playful smile spread across Éva’s face. “So you are saying you cannot bear to see us part? I am touched,
mon chéri. Truly.”
Aki said, “There are three points of access to this room. One, the doorway leading to the front foyer. Two, the doorway leading to the west hallway, which connects to the rear of the house. And three, the bay window on the far wall. It doesn’t open—I checked—but that doesn’t mean they can’t break it. Or shoot us through it.”
“Perhaps I can help with that.” Éva selected one of the many bookcases lining the room and pulled it away from the wall. It was tall, and wooden, and far too heavy for a human or Newman to handle, but Éva managed it with ease. She dragged the bookcase across the floor until it was covering the window. Afterwards she made like she was dusting off her hands, the universal symbol of a job well done, and returned to Aki.
“All done,” she said. “Now what?”
“Now we wait.”
* * * * * * * * *
All things considered, Aki figured Deckard’s men would wait three minutes. Long enough to secure the perimeter and formulate a cohesive plan, but not longer than that. They would be anxious to rescue the Ravendours, their primary source of income. Not to mention their landlords.
In the end it took them two minutes and fifty-three seconds. The first pair came in from the west hallway. Both men, both Newmans. Both packing photon rifles. Aki and Éva heard them coming, which is why they were crouched on either side of the doorway. As soon as the men stepped into the room, the pair of Caseals sprang into action. They grabbed the men from behind, disarming them before rendering them unconscious. A quick one-two maneuver, perfectly coordinated, like they had been training for it their whole lives.
With Éva’s help, Aki hauled the bodies to a corner of the room. Then she laid their rifles on the nearby coffee table. They could have kept the guns for themselves, of course, but Aki felt the sound of gunfire would give away their position. Better to sneak up on their attackers and subdue them quietly, she said. Éva agreed with a silent nod.
The next wave arrived a minute later, this time from the other doorway. Once again the two Caseals heard them coming. Three sets of footsteps this time, two heavier and one lighter. A pair of men and a woman, most likely. That theory panned out when they burst into the sitting room shortly afterward. Sure enough, the group was comprised of two males and a female. Again, all Newmans. That made it easier on Aki and Éva, who took them down using the same tactic as before. Now there were five bodies slumped in the corner. Five rifles lying on the table.
Aki saw Deckard eyeing the weapons. “Don’t try it,” she warned, “or I promise, you’ll regret it.”
The man decided not to press his luck. The fire went out of his eyes and he stepped back, beaten.
Across the room, Éva yawned. “I grow tired of dealing with these weaklings. We could keep this up all day, of course, but I think it’s time we plan our getaway. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Aki raised her eyebrows. “What did you have in mind?”
“A distraction.”
At which point Éva began fishing around in her cleavage. Her face tightened in concentration. A few seconds passed, then she dug in even deeper.
“Quit fooling around,” said Aki. “The next group could show up any second.”
Finally Éva found what she was looking for: a button-sized trigger with a single red switch. “Remote detonator,” she explained, waggling it back and forth.
That’s right, thought Aki.
For the explosive charges we planted last night.
“Will it work at this range?” she asked.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
Éva chuckled. “Whether or not Key was sober when she assembled the bombs.”
Aki just stared.
The purple-haired woman said, “Relax,
mon chéri. Key has never let me down. At least, not when it really mattered.”
“Wait,” said Aki, before Éva could flip the switch. “Once that warehouse blows, the police will be all over this place. They’ll be here in minutes. Are you sure this is the best idea? That is to say, what we’re doing here, it’s… not exactly legal.”
Éva waved away her concern. “You worry too much, darling. Learn to live on the edge! Embrace your inner criminal. Besides, I don’t plan on hanging around that long.”
And with that, she set off the charges. A moment of silence followed. Enough time for the sound to reach them. Then they heard it: a low roar from somewhere in the distance. Though she couldn’t see it, Aki imagined a massive fireball erupting out of the warehouse in the east, incinerating both the cache of weapons and the freshly-picked crops above it.
“Well,” said Éva, “hopefully that got their attention.”
“We’ll see,” Aki replied.
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a small metal cylinder came rolling in through the open doorway behind them. Aki knew right away what it was: a grenade. At first she thought it was a bluff. No way Deckard’s men would risk harming their employer with flying shrapnel. But then she had another thought. Maybe it wasn’t a frag grenade at all. Maybe it was a flash grenade, or a stun grenade, or even an EMP grenade. Something designed to incapacitate rather than kill. That was possible, and even likely.
Aki couldn’t take the chance. With lightning-fast reflexes, she punted the grenade back the way it came. The device arced into the hallway and out of sight.
Half a second later there was a sharp
pop and an intense white light.
Flash bang, thought Aki. Since it was out in the hall, it didn’t affect her or Éva. They took advantage of the situation by charging their would-be attackers head-on. Both men were stumbling around blindly with their hands covering their eyes. Easy prey. The Caseals took them down without effort, then dragged the bodies back to the sitting room, where they were added to the growing pile.
That brought the current tally to seven. It was about to get even larger, though, because the next attack came seconds later, this time from both sides. A pair of men burst in through the front entrance. A pair of women burst in through the rear. There wasn’t time for Aki and Éva to get into position ahead of time. Instead, all they could do was react. Aki made a beeline for the men, using her CAST agility to throw them off-guard. Their gun barrels tracked toward her, taking aim, but Aki was faster. She tore the rifles from their hands before they could fire a single shot. Dropping the weapons, she slammed her right palm into the closer man’s throat, then backhanded the other man in the temple. Both dropped to the floor, unconscious.
When she turned around, Éva had already finished dealing with the women. That brought the count up to eleven. They lined the bodies against the wall and dumped their weapons on the table.
“Are we planning to leave anytime soon?” asked Aki. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you, but the police could show up any minute.”
“Patience. I promise, my dear, everything will work out as it should.”
Aki eyed the trio of Newmans cowering in the corner—Deckard, Verideth, and Kline. “What about those three?”
“Not our problem. Let the cops have them for all I care. We stole their meseta and blew up their weapons. They have nothing left anymore.”
“Either way, I think we should—”
Aki froze mid-sentence. The reason was because of a certain sound—the distinctive
click of a gun safety being disengaged. Éva must have heard it, too, because both women threw themselves to the floor at the same time.
And not a moment too soon. A deafening
boom pierced the air as a large-caliber shell whizzed past overhead. If Aki hadn’t ducked, it probably would have taken her head off.
That’s not a standard rifle, she thought with a grimace. The sound when it fired was too loud. The bullet caliber was too large. A gunslash, maybe. Modified gunslash, more likely.
Aki knew someone with a weapon like that.
“You’re
dead!” roared a voice from the doorway. A familiar voice. “Get up off the floor, so I can turn you into scrap metal!”
Lucius Ornell, Deckard’s right-hand man. Field commander of all NIL forces. The war chief himself was gunning for them, and he sounded mad as hell.
Another shot rang out. Half a meter to Aki’s right, the top of a sofa cushion exploded in a puff of fabric and foam stuffing. Aki pressed herself against the back of an armchair. Not far away, Éva was crouched behind an end table.
Neither woman was armed. The pile of confiscated weapons was across the room, out of reach.
Problem.
Or maybe not. Ornell had two targets to deal with. If one of them acted as a decoy, the other might be able to take him down. They were faster than he was. Stronger. All they needed was an opening.
Aki made a gesture to get Éva’s attention.
Be ready, she mouthed. Éva nodded in reply.
A quick peek around the chair confirmed Ornell’s location. Just an important, it confirmed he was alone. Aki steadied herself in preparation. She would pretend like she was going for the pile of weapons, when actually she just wanted Ornell’s attention. That would give Éva the opportunity she needed to rush in and knock him out.
It’s now or never. Aki’s gears tensed up, ready to burst into action.
Three, two, one—
At that exact moment, as her mental countdown reached
one, the entire room started to shake. Softly at first, then harder. It was accompanied by a low, rolling rumble. Anything not bolted down began to quiver and rattle. An antique vase fell over and shattered. Several books fell off their shelves.
“What
is that?” Aki called over the racket.
“Our ride!” Éva called back.
“Oh no you don’t!” howled Ornell, letting loose a trio of shots in their direction. “You ain’t leaving here except in a pair of body bags!”
Aki heard the man drawing closer. His footsteps echoed loudly against the polished wood floor, one cautious step at a time. Closer. Closer.
Then, suddenly, a curious thing happened. The footsteps got softer instead. They sounded muffled somehow. It took Aki a split second to realize what was happening.
The rug. There was an ornate rug running the length of the room. Very plush, very colorful. And Ornell was standing on it. As it so happened, the same rug ran past the chair Aki was using for cover. She knew, then, what she had to do. Before he could react, Aki yanked on the rug. And Ornell, caught off-guard, fell flat on his back.
Éva was on top of him in a second. She wrestled the gunslash from his hands, then headbutted him square in the face. Ornell groaned, rolled his head back, and was still.
Unfortunately there wasn’t time to celebrate. Several pairs of footsteps were approaching the room at high speed, and from both directions.
Reinforcements.
“Éva, the bookcase!” shouted Aki.
“On it!”
Éva dashed to the bookcase covering the window. The one she had moved earlier. This time, however, she toppled it forward with a shove. The heavy wooden cabinet crashed down hard. Its books, so carefully arranged, spilled haphazardly across the floor.
At the same time, half a dozen armed men burst into the room. Aki and Éva didn’t stick around to engage them. They climbed over the fallen bookcase and dove straight through the bay window, finally rolling to a stop on the front lawn.
Aki picked herself up, brushing off glass shards from the broken window. That was when she saw it: the reason for the constant rumbling. Their Delta Class shuttle, the one they had piloted to
Feoh, was hovering just overhead. Both Aki and Éva leapt straight up—right into the open hatch waiting for them. Once on board, they headed forward to the cockpit. Desdemona was slumped casually in the pilot’s seat.
“Yo, Master,” waved the big Newearl. “‘Bout time you showed up. What took you?”
Éva smirked. “Oh, you know. I couldn’t leave without giving them a proper farewell.”
“Ready to get the hell out of here?”
“That would be lovely, dear.”
“Then buckle up, because we’re about to
fly.”
Desdemona pulled back on the throttle and the shuttle leapt forward, engines screaming. Through the viewport, the manor began rapidly shrinking beneath them.
“You disabled the surface-to-air launchers, I trust?”
“Obviously.”
“That’s my Dezzy,” smiled Éva. She patted the Newearl affectionately on the shoulder. “Now, take us home.”
The last they saw of Ravendour Estate, a swarm of police cruisers was converging on the place. Flashing red and blue lights, just specks really, glittering on the horizon.
* * * * * * * * *
DEEP SPACE: HEAVY FREIGHTER MIRABELLE
The shuttle arrived at the
Mirabelle later that same day, where the rest of Éva’s crew was waiting to greet them. As expected, there was plenty of congratulatory back-slapping to go around. Not only had they taken down the heads of a violent terror organization, they had also pulled off the greatest heist of all time. They were legends. More importantly, they were
rich. Filthy, stinking rich. In their war against the Darkers, the Order of the Rose now had a nearly limitless source of funds.
Hours passed. As the levels of excitement and enthusiasm began to wane, the crowd began to thin. Ein went first, claiming her lab was getting lonely without her. Shortly after that, Hikari headed off for some much-needed shut-eye. Next, Kelsey wandered off to find more booze. And finally, Desdemona left without saying a word. In the end, the only two people remaining were Aki and Éva. They stood alone in the corridor outside the docking bay. Not knowing what to say, but not wanting to say goodbye.
Then Éva said, “Stay with me. Here, aboard the
Mirabelle.”
Aki was taken aback. Stay? With Éva? Was she being serious? With someone as cheeky as Éva, sometimes it was hard to tell.
“I already have a home,” Aki replied.
“Yes, and you can visit whenever you like. But that place is your past. I want to be your future.”
“You are asking me to move in with you?”
“I mean, you would have your own quarters.” There was a twinkle in the other woman’s eye. “Though, if you want to share a room, I am certainly not opposed to the idea.”
When Aki didn’t respond right away, Éva added, “After last night, I realize I don’t want to part with you again. We belong together, you and I. Won’t you at least consider it?”
“Éva… I can’t.”
The purple-haired woman looked crestfallen. Like she’d been shot through her mechanical heart. “And why not?” she asked, a little hurt. “You feel something for me, I know you do. So what is it? Ties to your family? The ARKS? Did one of my crew say something to you? I will talk to them, make it clear—”
Aki shook her head. “It’s not like that. There is… something I have to do. Someone I need to find.”
As usual, Éva was quick to understand. She nodded solemnly. “Okada.”
Aki said nothing.
“He is the one who hurt you, isn’t he? The one who made you do terrible things?”
“He’s dead,” she replied. “I know he is. But—”
“But you need to be sure.”
“Yes.”
“Then let us find out together.”
Aki shook her head. “I can’t ask you to do that. It’s not your fight.”
“It could be, if you let me. I know you wouldn’t normally ask for help. You are too stubborn for that. And, might I add, that fierce independence is one of the many things I love about you. But regardless! Whether you would seek it or not, I am offering my assistance. So please, take it!”
“What about your people? They might not appreciate getting dragged into my business.”
“I leave that choice to them,” Éva shrugged. “Either they help or they don’t. Either way, I pledge you my full support.”
“You have an obligation to these people, as their captain. You can’t simply abandon them on a whim.”
“I have no such intention. That is a promise I make to you, and to them. But there is no rule saying I cannot serve both ends at the same time.”
“I…” Aki wanted to argue the point further, but couldn’t. There was nothing left to argue about. Once again, Éva had talked her into submission. “Alright,” she finally conceded.
The other woman’s face lit up with unbridled joy. “
Magnifique!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “In that case, I shall have Hikari prepare you a cabin.”
Aki frowned, suddenly confused. “Come again?”
“If we’re going to be searching together, we will need a base of operations. What better place than the
Mirabelle?”
“But I—”
“Yes, yes,” Éva interrupted, “I know you didn’t receive the warmest reception last time. But I promise you, my dear, my crew will learn to love you, just as you will learn to love them. Here on this ship, we are one big happy family!”
“That’s not—”
“If you are worried about your power core, fear not. I have a spare charging station you can use. Also, we can swing by
Ur to pick up your clothes and any other belongings you need.”
“This is all happening so fast—”
“And one more thing.” Éva held up a finger to denote its importance. She stepped close to Aki—real close—and grinned playfully. “Your military rank notwithstanding, aboard this ship
I am the captain. As such, I expect you to follow my orders. Is that understood?”
Aki opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind. “Yes, ma’am,” she replied sternly.
Wrapping an arm around Aki’s shoulders, Éva guided her down the corridor. “My first order: Never call me ‘ma’am’ again. It makes me feel old. My second order: Let us celebrate our big victory together! You need to learn to kick back and enjoy yourself once in a while. Luckily for you,
mon chéri, I happen to be something of an expert in that field. So, come! Let me show you a good time. We can worry about the trivial details later…”
* * * * * * * * *
On the far side of the galaxy, orbiting the dark side of a lifeless moon, a lone ship drifted through the blackness of space. It was a large ship, sleek in design. The silhouette of a three-headed wolf was painted on its hull.
Inside, the man in the black suit had just heard the news. One of his best and most lucrative customers, Deckard Ravendour, was out of business. Varying accounts said a pair of CASTs took down the entire operation. Quick and efficient, a professional job. The identities of the perpetrators remained as yet unknown.
The man in the black suit didn’t like unknowns. They were loose ends, and loose ends had a way of coming back to bite you later. Better to deal with the problem now, he thought, before things escalated.
With steepled hands and a face veiled in shadow, he turned to his aide and said, “Contact the bounty hunter.”
CHRONICLE 06: END
Author’s Notes:
