Jaclyn added, “I’m not pulling you all again—not unless we know what we’re running into.”
We didn’t. Due to limited fuel supplies, a limited number of bots, and any hints that the place existed, Hal hadn’t sent any down here.
“Everybody flies?” Haley asked.
It wasn’t a bad idea. Between camouflage and not touching anything, we’d avoid a lot of potential triggers.
A voice said, “I’m here to bring you to Magnus.” Continue reading Stage Three: Part 3
Then he started laughing. I’m pretty sure I even heard a “Mwha-ha-ha” somewhere in there. Then the communication ended, leaving me to hope that it was an ironic “Mwha-ha-ha,” because an unironic “Mwha-ha-ha” would be a cliche.
It called up mad scientist vibes at best and at the most horribly wrong end, it reminded me of how Artificer technology had been designed to destroy civilizations either through madness or temptation and runaway self-interest. Continue reading Stage Three: Part 2
Inside the room, we found the welcome committee. They were prepared for us, but there’s a difference between sending a bunch of guards to stand in the entrance in case someone gets through and executing a well-planned ambush.
This was not a well-planned ambush.
The guards here, and there were more than 20 of them, all of them with automatic weapons, weren’t in the best shape. Continue reading Stage Three: Part 1
The world around me blurred as Jaclyn began to move. I might have felt grateful that I’d already been floating, but I didn’t have time. Still, if I’d been tied behind Jaclyn without armor and pulled forward, I could have died simply from faceplanting, but more likely by being ripped in two by the rope around my waist.
Fortunately, I wore armor with an anti-gravity pack. The armor had inertial dampers and anti-collision protocols. Also, we’d staggered everyone so that nobody flew directly next to anyone.
We’d even used redundant cables for everyone because you never knew if one might break. Continue reading Stage Two: Part 10
Cassie looked down at the ground and then back down the hallway, “That’s what the muddy footprints were? That’s so gross.”
Then she said, “Who wants to get the door?”
Marcus shifted into a pile of goo that seeped in the door’s direction but stopped just in front, asking, “Is it booby trapped?”
Daniel frowned, “I can’t tell.” Continue reading Stage Two: Part 9
I checked Jaclyn’s, Tiger’s, and Izzy’s feeds. They’d been fighting the cadre of guards that appeared to be tasked with defending the teleportation systems.
Even better, they’d stepped inside Teleportation Operations. It said so on a black sign next to the door.
The first word that came to mind was “industrial.” Continue reading Stage Two: Part 6
Cassie added, “I’m ready.”
She was. According to her suit’s stats, her leg had grown back.
“Now would work,” Tara said.
Still camouflaged, I poked my head up, pointing my arm at Dr. Mind, testing his shield. My sonics ran through various frequencies at a low volume, checking which were the most resonant.
Then I passed those frequencies to everyone’s PAs and even my spare sonic on Julie’s costume. I pushed up the volume to the maximum. Continue reading Stage Two: Part 4
As we neared the end of the hall, Izzy said, “Here,” swerving to the left of the elevator and punching the wall.
Jaclyn swerved with her, their arms a blur, leaving a hole wide enough for four of us to jump through at a time—which they did the moment they were done. We followed, all of us seemingly in Syndicate L’s armor, some flying, others dropping at the safe speeds that my anti-gravity tech allowed.
Haley didn’t bother, using my goo gun tech to fire off a line and swing down to the floor. Continue reading Stage One: Part 9
I hadn’t noticed. Glancing down, I found that one of the glossy black pouches on the glossy black belt of my glossy black armor had a small glow around the edges of the top flap.
Except for a moment where I concluded that Syndicate L had been going for looks rather than functionality with the design, my attention gravitated to the pouch. As it did, I remembered what was in the pouch.
Back when we’d met with the Wizards’ Council and a few other hidden immortals, Urin, a former Cabal member who dated back to Sumer, had given me a rock. Flat and white, it hadn’t looked like much, but he’d claimed it had a connection to Lee’s device and to the Artificers. Continue reading Stage One: Part 8
My alarm rang too early, if I could call it ringing. My implant woke me by ending my sleep cycle and bringing me to consciousness the way my body would have if I’d gotten a full night’s sleep and woke as dawn’s first light entered the room.
That wasn’t going to happen here. We were in a bunker with no windows and lots of concrete. The closest the room came to color was the dark red carpet in the section of the main room where we held meetings, and Control followed our suits’ feeds. Continue reading Stage One: Part 1