Stall speed
"What do you mean, 'She is gone'?" Syndrome demanded of Jian who stood with a scowl worthy of Jane Kelly. The male psi wasn't happy. He hadn't been happy when he had came in to find Jian unconscious and Alley gone. He had been less happy when he managed to wake Jian and she had nearly hit him.
Now? No. Happy wasn't anywhere close.
"I am running a scan. She is not on the base." Jian replied, her face almost as expressive as Syndrome skull mask. "I don't know why she knocked me out, but I can guess." She looked to the wall where Maya's tube had been. Syndrome followed her gaze and stilled. "Yeah. Someone took Maya."
"How?" Syndrome demanded, his shock a palpable thing. "I… I was..."
"You were working with Arisha." Jian said quietly. "And helping the kids. You were busy."
"I brought you and Alley here. I left you here..." Syndrome said slowly, confusion flaring. "No, no I didn't! I brought you here to put Mina to bed. Maya was here! Someone else was!" He said sharply. "Someone tampered with my memories!"
The psi's power flared as he scanned himself. Whatever he found made him hiss.
"Yes. Someone must have." Jian was still blank, her eyes were far away. "Got her! She is..." She paused. "She is not on the planet." She said slowly. Syndrome stared at her and Jian slowly shook her head. "Does X-Com know about a base on the moon?"
"Advent has several bases on the moon." Syndrome replied, confusion flaring again as Jian shook her head. "Why?"
"That isn't an Advent base." Jian snarled, her face showing fear and pain, then slowly contorting into a rictus of rage. "My people cannot see close to her. Some kind of defense shield. If they hurt her, I will kill them! I will kill them all!"
"If not Advent, then who?" Syndrome demanded. Jian just looked at him as he jerked, connecting the dots. An unknown pilot flying a spacecraft that claimed to be X-Com. Unknown enemies who could get in and out of X-Com facilities unseen. And now? A base that no one knew about. Who else did secrets better than even aliens? X-Com. "No!"
"Protect your people, Syndrome." Jian slowly forced herself to relax. "Alley knew. I am not sure how, but she knew. She knew who we faced now."
"We don't have anything that I know of that can get to the moon." Syndrome said weakly. "I mean, the Avenger can, but..." Jian shook her head. "We cannot just leave her there!"
"We won't." Jian focused herself. "Your Avenger cannot cloak itself from scans in space. If that pilot comes back, he can blow it out of space easily. I have no information, but I bet that is where his ship is based." She started for the door, only to have Syndrome bar her way. "I do not have time for this, Syndrome." Syndrome nodded and fell in beside her as she stalked out the door.
"What can I do?" The human psi asked. She eyed him and he shook his head. "I recovered my memories. Elizabeth was here. She and Alley got into it. I saw who took Maya. I saw what Alley did. Jenni always said that there were powers far beyond Elders or human psionics. I think I saw one." He snorted as he eyed Jian right back. "Or two. I bet that means I will have to forget all of what I remember, but for now? What can I do?"
"You are far wiser than most." Jian said quietly. "I am so limited in what I can do here until or unless she is harmed. Alley was not so limited. Advent just went on full alert and they are preparing a large scale assault for that area of the moon."
"Advent?" Syndrome stiffened, but continued to follow her as she stepped out of the building and started for a runway in the distance.
"You have duties, Syndrome." Jian said mildly as she walked. "I don't. The kids need you. I will get Maya and Alley back, I promise."
"Before Jane has a conniption fit?" Syndrome all but begged with an exaggerated wince.
"I don't do miracles. I am soldier, not a goddess." Jian snickered at his sigh. Syndrome stopped short and stared as a shape simply appeared in front of them. An odd shape. It was clearly a vehicle of some kind. Gray metal surrounded a single seat and two large engines on the back proclaimed it was some kind of flying machine. The large gun slung underneath and the two small missiles on the sides showed it wasn't for recreation. But it was the symbol that was sprayed on the large bubble over the seat that had Syndrome pausing. The red snake.
"What is your rank?" Syndrome asked as Jian stepped up to the machine and the bubble rose for her to enter. She sat and started pulling belts on.
"Lieutenant Commander." Jian replied easily as she started pushing buttons and the engines growled into life, far quieter than they should have been. Then the sound muted as she pushed another button. The sound was a soft 'whoosh' now. Clearly some kind of stealth system. "I will-"
Whatever else she was going to say was cut off as a bolt of energy came out of nowhere to slam into one of the engines of the craft. Both Syndrome and Jian jerked as the odd vehicle shut down. Jian stared at her console and then she slumped.
"Do nothing." Jain's seemed resigned but… That was a command. Was it to Syndrome or someone else? Syndrome stared as Jain undid her belts, raised the canopy and stepped out of the ship to stand, looking off into the distance. She spread her arms, her hands empty and shook her head. "I am not your enemy." She said firmly.
"Where is Alley?" An angry voice heralded the hologram of a Viper appearing nearby. Syndrome stilled yet again. That was Ana, Cable companion and she was furious. Cable had gone off the help ensure the base's security and hadn't been seen since. He was a sniper and by all accounts very good at his job.
"I don't know for sure." Jian said to the hologram. "She knocked me out and there was a portal trace. I am not sure why she knocked me out, but I can guess that she was going to do something crazy." She shook her head. "Not that you would know anything about 'crazy', Ana."
"Crazy?" Ana inquired coldly. "Crazy is you flying a Cobra Trouble Bubble." Syndrome stared at the hologram and then at the very real vehicle Jian had almost flown away. "Or did you think the rest of us simply ignored Mark's favorite TV shows as a kid?" That was snide.
"No, you didn't." Jian was quiet, sad. "I am not your enemy, Ana. I want to help Alley. That is my whole reason for being here."
"Is it?" Ana demanded. "Alley was hurt and you showed up out of nowhere. You know things about us that no one does. That no one can!" Jian still did not move and Ana spat something in a language that Syndrome did not know. Jian froze.
"Ana, no." Jian all but begged. "Don't!"
"We have our own means of tracking our sisters. We know where she is. Does X-Com know where that base came from?" Ana demanded of Syndrome who stared at the holo, out of his depth.
"From what Jian has said and not said, I assume it is an X-Com base." Syndrome said very slowly. He was good, but if Cable was half the shot as some X-Com snipers, the psi had no chance as exposed a she was.
"It is not." Ana snarled. "Any more than she is."
"Ana." Jian's tone was warning now. "Alley is in danger. We can discuss things after she is freed."
"We will discuss them now, Zhong xiao." Ana snapped and Syndrome stared as Jian jerked. "Or did you think we would not figure it out?"
"I am not your enemy!" Jian snapped right back. "All I want is for Alley to be free and unhurt! That is all!"
"Really?" Ana snarled and looked at the odd vehicle. "I find it interesting that you are using a vehicle or the seeming of a vehicle that was one of Mark's favorites. No one else outside the nest knows that. Unless… They were there." That was hard and cold and Syndrome actually took a step back as Jian laid a hand on her staff. "There when we were growing. When we were being experimented on. When our nest mates were dying off."
Suddenly, the Viper's rage made perfect sense to the psi who swallowed hard. What had been done to the nest was horror on par with anything else that the Elders had done. All of the humans of the nest had been taken as children and raised with Vipers as companions. The other things that had been done…
There was a reason that the nest did not trust anyone from the outside. Not even the Lady. Alley was a notable exception, and even her trust had strict limits. No one still living was supposed to know about what had occurred in the horror filled place where Alley had grown up with her partner and nestmates.
"Jian?" Syndrome inquired slowly. He was careful not to move.
"I have my own sources of information." Jian said very slowly. "I was not there. You cannot take my word for that but I cannot speak of it."
"I can." Ana snarled. "One of our missions was to investigate this area. To see if any humans still lived after the Elder's conquest." Syndrome stared at the Viper who was still furious, but cold, so cold now. "We found a few, saved a few." For a moment her rage faded and only sorrow showed. "Saved them to be taken by Advent anyway. We did not know the full history and it didn't matter. We had our orders, our mission and we were out of the lab. Mother made sure we didn't stray too far, but we were curious about humans." Now, her anger was back. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Zhong xiao?"
"Ana, that is not my rank. I cannot answer you." Jian said sadly.
"Well, it is interesting that you are an exact duplicate of a Chinese woman named Jian who was one of the last holdout warlords in this area of Asia. Zhong xiao Jian fought to the bitter end. Or did she?" Now, Ana voice might have frozen a tide. "We found her picture on several walls. Radioactive ones." At that, Jian actually staggered. "Some kind of survival shelter? Bunker?" She demanded.
"She never said where the DNA came from." Jian said weakly. "Just that she found it." She wasn't talking to Ana or Syndrome. "Is it…? No. We have to help Alley!" She shook her head and focused on the hologram again. "Ana, whatever you think, I am not your enemy."
"Prove it!" Ana snapped.
"I will." Jian bowed to the hologram. "Don't hurt them!" That was a command and Ana gasped. Syndrome stared as a 'crump' sounded in the distance and the hologram cut out. Jian sighed deeply as Syndrome stared at her. "I didn't know about that. I never asked. It wasn't important to me. If… If I am a clone of this woman, then, maybe it was to make some good come of the bad? Maybe."
"You are not talking to me, are you?" Syndrome asked very carefully.
"No." Jian heaved a sigh and then straightened. Syndrome stilled as huge white thing appeared in the distance. It as humanoid, but clearly not human. Some kind of robot? It had no knees and its arms were weapons, one a machine gun and the other a claw. Was that a view slit on the head? Was this some kind of armor? It was ungainly, but from how it carried two still forms? Very strong. Just like the bubble, it had a red snake emblem in various places. Jain shook her head as the thing moved to stand next to her. She reached up and took a still Viper from one arm, laying Ana's body on the ground. She checked Ana's vitals and relaxed. She took Cable's limp body down as well. "We will need to recover their weapons, but that can wait. They are both alive. Well done." She nodded to the white thing. Instead of answering, it turned and walked away. In between one step and another, it vanished. She turned to Syndrome who was looking at the bubble ship. "That will vanish as soon as the portal powers again."
"No evidence." Syndrome said mildly.
"It helps, not to leave traces." Jian shook her head. "But I think the time for subtlety has passed."
Syndrome stilled as something howled nearby and then a shape was speeding towards them. It was big, angular and black. His amp was in hand but Jian held up a hand as she moved to stand between the unconscious pair and the vehicle.
"If you get dirt all over her nestmates, Alley will likely be annoyed." Jian said in a quiet tone that implied violence and the vehicle slowed its headlong rush towards them. "They have cause and more than cause to distrust. You know this, sisters."
Syndrome didn't move as the large tracked vehicle slid to a stop nearby. The tracks were triangular and the hull higher than he expected. It was far quieter than any tank that he had ever imagined. The turret on top spun to cover him with two long weapons and he slowly lowered his psi amp. He did not holster it. The figure in the turret was unclear, but the image on its helmet and the side of the tank was. A red snake!
"We need to move." A female voice came from the turret gunner who was still covering Syndrome.
"We need to make sure that Ana and Cable are taken care of." Jian retorted. "Or again, Alley is likely to be annoyed. I assume that the others are moving into place?" Whatever response she got wasn't audible and she nodded. "Good." She turned to Syndrome but he shook his head.
"This never happened and you were never here." Syndrome holstered his amp slowly.
"He is cute, can we keep him?" Came from the tank and Jian went red faced.
"Nightstalker Biyu!" Jian snapped and the turret gunner banged her helmeted head on the turret in clear exasperation! "We have already made enough of a mess! Keep your lusts in check or I will send you home."
"Yes, mother." Came a calm rejoinder. Snickers sounded and Jian shook her head as Syndrome shook his. Jian had a long suffering look on her face as she turned to look at Syndrome who shrugged.
"Go." Syndrome knelt beside Ana and checked her as well. She seemed only unconscious, but he would get medical support out here as soon as possible. He wasn't fully dialed in on Viper physiology, but when he checked Cable, the sniper was just asleep. A look at his face though, had Syndrome looking at Jian who frowned.
"We don't know." Jian admitted. "We are the same ethnic type, but no one knows where our human DNA came from. Asia, yes. But I don't know this Zhong xiao Jian that Ana was speaking of. If I was cloned from a Chinese warlord, which is possible, then the only one who would know is Alley."
"Would she?" Syndrome asked as a hatch slammed down from the back of the tank. Again, it made far less noise hitting the ground than it should have. Jian started for the hatch, her posture resigned.
"I am not Chinese, if that helps." Jian said with a sad smile. "My only concern right now is Alley."
"Can you save her?" Syndrome asked. "From whoever or whatever has her?"
"What. And… I don't know." Jian admitted. "But we are going to do what we can."
Syndrome just nodded as the woman boarded the tank. The hatch closed silently after her and then it sped off into the distance. He was not surprised when it vanished. He shook his head as he keyed to call for support. HQ would not be pleased, but he bet others would not be either.
Aboard a very odd armored transport
As always, the ride was smooth. HISS tanks hadn't been designed as actual armored fighting vehicles. The original toys had been made to look menacing and little else, but the organization that Jian belonged to had crackerjack engineers, Against all odds, they had managed to make the HIgh Speed Sentry model VIc actually work far better than anyone had dreamed. If only it wasn't so expensive.
"Sitrep." Jian asked as she finished belting herself in. She knew better than to ride without restraints. Her sister Biyu was a lot of things, patient in potentially hot combat zones was not one of them.
"Advent has lost two transports with full assault pods aboard attempting to access the moon base. Combination energy and projectile defenses make any armor moot and active sensors went live when the first transport crossed the horizon. Any stealth will be compromised in moments." Came from the sole other occupant of the troop bay. The other woman shook her crimson helmet. "They will keep throwing troops away. Even if they land out of line of sight and march, whoever built that base has to have made other defense plans possibly using the anti-spacecraft batteries in a direct fire role. There is zero cover within a kilometer of the base and its shields are strong. Any conceivable assault will be cut to pieces long before they get into effective range."
"Probably." Jian mused. "Even Advent has limits, especially now that the Elders are gone. Frontal assaults are a bad idea anyway. Are we sure she is there?"
"Yes." The other was grimacing under her mask. "One thing: We never lost a solid lock on her vitals. Alley was transported to another location before going to the moon." Jian paused in whatever she was going to say and the red armored woman nodded. "Analysts say a portal nexus. That makes sense if the defenses of the base are as strong as they seem."
"True." Jian said slowly. "Getting in and out would be quite dangerous in such a case except for a ship capable of faster than light travel. They wouldn't have to lower the defenses in such a case." She frowned. "How sure?"
"Coming in now. Analysis is clear. 95% that she is there." The other replied instantly. "93% that she was taken somewhere else prior to going there. 90% that previous location is a portal nexus or other means of instantaneous travel. Location known."
"Show me, Fenfang." Jian commanded and as a holo appeared. She hissed as she recognized the place. "Oh crap! That is..." She trailed off as she thought hard.
"It is the Advent facility Jane Kelly and her cohorts are infiltrating." Her fellow Crimson Guardswoman said soberly. "That cannot be a coincidence."
"Not with Lizbeth involved, no. Enough." Jian snapped. "We tried the gentle way and it has cost us. It will not cost Alley her life. We need to talk to the Speaker. Right now. Get me Infiltration Leader!"
A hologram appeared of a white masked being who bowed to Jian. Jian smiled grimly.
"Storm Shadow? I have a job for you that you will truly enjoy."