A few hours later, Wraith is two trillion clicks away on the planet Solace, at the edge of Solace city, renting a hov bike. Solace is strange, because it's largely dry, rocky red-tinged landscape, but it's all shot through with rivers and lush green foliage surrounding them. This side of the city is sandy, the wind blowing it around Wraith's boots. She's wearing her combat gear, wind scarf wrapped around her neck and goggles on her forehead for the ride.
After finishing the transaction on her hand display, there's a rumble and vibration as the rented hov bike automatically rolls out of the rollup doors of the storage facility next to her. It glides to a stop in front of her at the edge of the street. The facility is across a few kilometers of open desert. It's warm, but not yet scorching Summer on this hemisphere.
She's just starting to wrap her head with the scarf for protection from the dust when she hears a familiar whirring sound. She turns suddenly and indeed, she sees Pathfinder swing from his iconic grappling hook and land in front of her.
"Greetings again, friend! Fancy running into each other in two solar systems in the same day!"
"Yeah," Wraith replies, "it wouldn't happen. Pathfinder, did you follow me here?"
"Frankly, yes! Mirage was uneasy about the way you left."
"Oh god, tell me he's not here."
"No, he said he wasn't up for it. He just asked me to keep an eye on you."
"Did it strike either of you that this might be something private?"
"It did, but the word 'dangerous' also came to mind! You're equipped for combat."
Wraith scowls.
"We are friends, right?"
Wraith frowns. Pathfinder was a distinct oddity to her, at first, but she quickly came to see how reliable and honest he was. Rare and valuable traits, for a person. Some people talk about him like he's not one. A person. But to her, in some ways, he's more.
"Yeah, PF. We are."
"Do friends keep secrets from each other?"
Wraith frowns again. That doesn't feel very good. She starts pacing. "Not ideally." She glances at him. "They're not supposed to."
"Then why do you want this to be a secret?"
She glances at him, her cheek pinched.
"I'm being obtuse again, aren't I?"
"Yeah, well, sometimes obtuse and earnest are two sides of the same coin."
"I don't really follow!"
"Look, PF," Wraith closes the distance between them. "There are different reasons someone might keep a secret from a friend… but one of them is they're afraid of what their friend would think, if they knew."
"What I'd think? Oh, you mean judgment, don't you! I don't judge. To be honest with you, I don't really understand the concept!"
Wraith's eyes soften. "You don't, do you?"
"Nope! Do you want to tell me?"
"I might, but I don't know it yet myself." He cocks his head in confusion. "I got a tip that could help me learn about my past."
"That's right! Your past is a mystery, like mine! Do you want to find out together?"
"PF, you were right. It could be dangerous."
"What are you saying?"
"This is my mission. You don't have to come."
"I don't have to come? I don't understand, why would I want my friend to walk into danger by herself?"
Wraith feels that, right in her chest. It's not the first time with Pathfinder, either.
Let him come.
"Okay," says Wraith. "Okay, big guy. But this is Ops stuff. You need to be on alert, like in the games."
"Absolutely!" In a second, Pathfinder detaches an assault rifle from its mounting on his back and grips it securely in his hands. "Let's merc some bitches!"
Wraith laughs. She'd taught him that phrase in their first match together. "Alright, PF. Let's."
If she didn't know better, Wraith would be staring up at a shattered mountain, the red rocks of the cliff face the facility had been nestled against collapsed in a long, sloping heap.
Pathfinder stands next to her, waiting for her lead. She parked the hov bike nearby, in the shadow of an outcropping. King's Canyon, the Apex arena, is within sight behind them, but this area doesn't see much in the way of Syndicate patrols. Shouldn't have any reason to be.
Wraith makes her focus sign and shifts her vision into the Void. The rocks are dense… it's difficult to see through them, but she can indeed see the outline of the facility's main entrance.
"What's the plan, Wraith? Should we have brought some high explosives?"
"Hoping to keep this more low profile."
"Can you make one of your portals leading inside?"
"I have a rule not to do that when I don't know what's on the other side. I can't close a portal once opened. Not easily, anyway…"
"Then what will it be?"
"Let me get in and take a look. If the systems are as intact as Crypto said, I might be able to use them to get you in, too."
"I'm nervous about letting you go alone."
"Well, for now, it's our only option."
"I don't know if I—"
Wraith applies more will to the Void link, and her entire body slips through.
"Wraith? Wraith?"
Pathfinder is not wrong to be nervous, but this is the same as the game. Hesitation will get you nowhere. Or killed.
The echoing Void, a realm of colorless shadow rolls out in every direction around her, the rocks in front of her ghostly, and wavering. Incorporeal, Wraith pushes her way through the normally solid rock. It takes effort, and the denser the material, the more effort. She always runs out of juice eventually, and if she can't make it to the other side of the obstacle before that happens, her best and only option is to let herself be ripped back to where she started the jump.
Which is, at best, not fun.
Kind of like wading through chest deep water, Wraith pushes on, gritting her teeth. Her focus is diamond sharp, but her energy is limited. The metal autodoor of the facility is just a few feet away, but there's no space for her to reenter. She has to pass through it. There's tension in her chest and guts, she doesn't have much time left. She raises a hand to the steel frame, and for a second, she thinks she can't do it. Then she remembers the last time she walked through these doors.
The Void swallows her cry as she forces herself through the thick metal doors, finally collapsing to her knees on the other side, panting.
Good thing the air is breathable in here.
A good point Wraith hadn't considered. She looks up, but it's pitch black. She flicks on her flashlight, revealing the wide lobby she remembers.
"Wraith? Wraith?" Pathfinder's voice comes over the comms heavily garbled.
"I'm here."
"You scared… second…"
"Can't make you out very well, let me try something."
Recovering, she climbs to her feet and looks around. There's a reception desk, but it's not what she's looking for. She glances to the sign and sees enclosed offices labeled 'Security Main.'
She approaches the door. She could jump through it, like the front door, but that had taken a lot of juice, and she might need all she can get later. She brought a salvage kit, which includes a Berger cell, useful for powering up systems temporarily when their primary power source is missing or long dead. But it's possible this particular door will be easier to open before powering it up. So she goes for a lower tech piece of her kit, a Vinson Dynamics tungsten crowbar.
She rams it into the gap at the edge of the door. It gives little, but it's no longer held fast by the powered hydraulic system. She slams her hammer into the end a few times, grips it, and starts to pry.
At first it doesn't seem like it will budge at all, but then there's a loud grinding sound, and rust and dust begin to fall from the jamb. She jerks a little harder, and it loosens up enough for her to remove the crowbar, grab the door with her hands and yank it a few inches farther. It makes a narrow opening, but it's wide enough. She sidles through.
It's easy enough to identify the main terminal. She locates the auxiliary power line, removes the built in jack, and attaches her Berger cell. After some humming and clicking, the terminal begins to boot. Once it's up, she links her comms to its relay and boosts her signal.
"How's that?" she asks. "Better?"
"Much! Are you safe?"
"For now, yeah. Let me fiddle with some stuff."
She starts issuing commands, opening doors and flipping switches. When the main doors open, there's a rush of dirt and rocks falling, but not enough to clear a path.
"Nothing yet?" Wraith asks.
"Nope!"
She sees an entrance labeled 'Aerial Issue Bravo.' She commands it to open. There's some noise somewhere above her.
"Oh ho!" says Pathfinder. "That will do! Up, up, and away!"
She can't hear anything at first, then there is some distant rattling. She again hears the whir of Pathfinder's grapple, and then a boom accompanied by a large issue of dust from the lobby area. She walks to see Pathfinder climbing out the bottom of a vertical tube.
"Whew! Messy! And cramped. I think that was meant for drones."
"Well, we're in." Wraith raises her hand.
Surprised for a second, Pathfinder's chest display turns to a smiley face and he high fives her. He then balls his hands and starts hopping on alternating feet with excitement.
"Remember," says Wraith, "stealth."
"Right." He stops hopping. "Stealth mode."
"This place definitely seems abandoned, but we don't know what might trigger an automated defense system. Crypto is right, they chose not to destroy this place for a reason."
They set out deeper into the facility. The endless tunnels and vaulted corridors are just as she remembered. It occurs to her for the first time that she had taken comfort in that, in leaving this place in the dim and distant past. Most of the facility that they pass through she only saw one time, during her escape in the company of… other her.
Wraith feels a tinge of sadness. What had happened to that other one? She had saved her life. Wraith remembers the fear and confusion. She told herself she was powerless, and so she was. She let them poke her with needles, run tests. The whispers told her to fight back, but she refused. Especially Amer Singh, the head doctor. Something about him got under her skin, made her feel gross. And he seemed to show special contempt for her, when he bothered to acknowledge her at all. He once called her his 'greatest disappointment.'
She feels a surge of heat, and clenches her fist. She doesn't want to care about him at all. But he has some kind of part in this story. The thought has been weighing on her since she heard it. The other Wraith, the one that had saved her. She seemed to want him especially. She seemed to want him dead.
So is he?
She had even given Wraith tech that could be used to control and enhance her link with the Void. Its origin is still a mystery to her, though she's been able to make incremental improvements to it.
She feels another pulse of regret. She's given it a lot of thought, in her hours spent alone. She can see it, too, when Voidwalking. Reflections of herself, if she made a different decision. Most are close by, just a fraction of a second's difference, but sometimes she can see things farther off, more curious things.
The Wraith that had saved her must have come from a radically different reality. She had done nothing to deserve being saved by her. And if she hadn't come, would she have been saved at all? How many Wraiths in other realities never made it out of the facility? How many died there?
And did she herself deserve a better fate?
Maybe not.
Wraith stops, only for a second, then continues walking. Pathfinder notices, but doesn't say anything.
But what's the point in thinking about it?
You're free now. Don't waste it.
'I won't,' she says in her head.
She was stupid, you know.
Wraith's brow furrows. The Whispers, as she calls them, are not usually conversational. Sometimes they won't shut up, but they rarely answer her questions directly. Especially regarding themselves. 'What?'
The one that saved you. You're right, she came from another dimension. That's stupid.
'Why?' Wraith asks. The Whispers have told her most of what she knows about the Void. But they've also kept much of what they know secret, for reasons unknown to her.
What you see in the Void is highly localized. It's bigger than you can ever imagine. If you stray far enough, you can reach a boundary. Across that boundary is where you can find another dimension.
Wraith's lips part. Another dimension. Her mind begins to ponder the potential of this information.
Yes, the possibilities are enticing. Many before you have wondered the same thing. One day, the temptation to find out for yourself may be great. But you must resist.
'Why?'
Crossing a boundary is not easily done.
'She did it.'
That's not the point! It is risky, there are no guarantees. If you try, and fail, you become trapped.
You fall for all time, away from all realities.
You lose the light forever.
You become no one.
You become nothing.
Just a whisper.
Wraith stops walking altogether, a chill running all the way down her spine. She waits for them to continue, but there's nothing, for once. Just silence.
"Renee?" says Pathfinder. "What's wrong?"
Wraith flexes her fingers, glancing about nervously. She grits her teeth and shakes her head. "Nothing. Nothing! I just… my head's not in the game. I got distracted. I'm good now. Let's go, we're almost to the ward."
A couple minutes later, they arrive. Large hydraulic double doors loom in front of them, headed by the words 'Ward 9b.' There's a sinking feeling in her gut.
Welcome home.
'Enough of that.'
You're not going to be able to do this without the feelings, you know.
Bad memories here.
'You don't have to tell me.'
She connects her cell to the panel by the door, juicing it. She commands it to open and it obeys.
Wraith walks in. The ward is eight sided, two stories of loveless, open rooms centered by a large control hub. Memories of hours of quiet fear and distant, urgent whispered conversations comes drift back to her. It had been a dark time. A hopeless time. She was afraid of everyone, and had not made anything like a friend.
As she looks, she can see bodies scattered around the room. She looks. They're all wearing the plain white shifts of the subjects, numbers printed over the left breast.
The IMC must have had them killed all at once while closing the facility. An old, cold rage flows into her limbs.
Monsters.
"This is terrible," says Pathfinder. "None of them were armed."
"Wasn't meant to be a fight."
"Wraith, what is this place for?"
She thinks twice. Maybe she shouldn't have brought him. He doesn't need to see this stuff. On the other hand, being here by herself would have been far more difficult.
Wraith walks around the room. "My memories basically begin in this room. I woke up here after some experiment gone wrong. I couldn't remember anything. I was scared, back then. Weak.
"What I do know is that all the 'patients' here were once test subjects of the IMC. Whatever had been done to them, their minds or bodies were no longer fit to function in society. Or the truth of the experiments themselves needed to be buried. Some people had powers. I was one of them, but I had no idea how to control them. Even they scared me. Now…"
She flexes her fist, purple energy encasing it for a second. "Now I know to depend on them."
Pathfinder is kneeling over one of the bodies. "Humans can be so cruel. I've never understood why. But other humans can be so kind. It doesn't make sense. One person can't be both, can they? What is it that makes the difference?"
Wraith considers him. "That's an age old question, PF. Maybe we'll never know."
She approaches the door to the center chamber. The outside denies her. She scowls, and Voidwalks through the wall. The door opens from the inside easily enough. She powers on the main console.
"What are you looking for?" Pathfinder asks her.
"Not 100% sure, but I'll know it when I see it."
She begins rooting through the computer's files. It has profiles for all the members of the ward, and a lot more. She opens her own.
Subject 61137. Renee Blasey. Once a Senior Science Pilot partnered with
Wraith's heart jumps. There's a ringing in her ear.
Once a Senior Science Pilot partnered with Dr. Amer Singh, her mind was irrevocably damaged during a Project Wraith experiment that she volunteered for. She has been diagnosed incompetent by Dr. Singh, and if there is any enhancement endowed her by the experiment, she is not capable of generating it to useful or replicable effect. Nevertheless, she is not to be terminated until Dr. Singh issues the command. No threat level.
Wraith looks over her shoulder. Pathfinder is reading it, too.
"Do you remember him?" he asks.
"Yes, but… he always treated me like I was nothing. I didn't know we worked together."
"Maybe he didn't want you to know."
She brings up Singh's entry.
Files locked remotely.
"Damn it! PF, are you any good at hacking?"
"Not really! Unless you're talking about a recon beacon, then I'm a trick!"
Wraith chews her lip. She'd wanted to get access to Singh, and based on what she just read, it's more important than ever. She needs to find his location.
"If I could just take the files, I bet Crypto would decrypt them."
But that means trusting Crypto.
"Shit…"
"You just want to download the file?" Pathfinder asks her. "That's easy!"
"You can do that?"
"Sure!" He raises his arm and his hand rotates away, revealing his data interface. He engages with the console.
"Careful," says Wraith, "this is the part where we're likely to run into security."
"Oh, don't worry, I'm in stealth mode!" He turns this way and that slightly as he works. "Got it!" He retracts his hand and hands her a small flat drive.
"PF! You're the best!"
"Yay! Endorphins! Well, simulated endorphins."
"This is what we need, just one more thing, hold on…"
Wraith searches the database for all entries with her name. Several lab reports come up, but there's little of interest. The incident of her escape jumps to her attention, but she's disappointed to find only a redacted image file. It doesn't tell her anything she doesn't remember and it can't be recovered. Then she notices something else. It's an inventory entry. She frowns.
Affects, Renee Blasey.
Her eyes go wide. She doesn't remember leaving anything of importance, which means it's something she can't recall. She examines it. It's in this area, in rear storage, bin 11.
"Okay, one more thing—" She stops, because a notification appears at the top right of the screen. Some kind of subroutine.
Unauthorized access detected appears on the screen in angry red letters.
"Shit!" she rips her cell from the console and it instantly powers down.
"Wow, that was close!"
"Okay, I need to get in that bin quick, before we—"
They both freeze as a wave of red light rolls over them. After a second, it happens again. Wraith looks up. A strobe light is slowly turning. She's not powering it.
There are muted sounds of generators spinning up through the walls. With a series of clicks, the overhead lights all flicker on. There's a crackling in the intercom, then a woman's voice.
"Unauthorized access detected in this sector. This facility is decommissioned by order of Dr. Amer Singh. Interfacing with facility systems is strictly prohibited."
"Well, a voice can hardly hurt us," Pathfinder points out.
"A flight of spectres is being dispatched to your location for escort. Do not resist."
"Fuck!" says Wraith. She moves to the door, assault rifle in her hand.
"Should we resist?" Pathfinder asks.
She gives him an incredulous look.
"Just kidding!" he says, pulling out his shotgun and pumping a round into the chamber.
In less than a minute the rhythmic sound of metallic feet marching down the hallway can be heard. It pauses outside the door.
They're going to rush you.
"They're going to try and stun," she says quickly.
The doors open suddenly, and two of the sub-sentient humanoid combat machines lob grenades into the room. Wraith ducks and covers her ears, still buffeted by the booms of the flashbang grenades.
The explosions are followed by the clamor of the unit charging into the room.
"Divide and conquer," Wraith growls. Pathfinder knows what she means.
She makes her focus sign and enters Void state, she pushes through the door they are surrounding. She pushes past them.
"Exotic energy signature detected," one of them says.
She positions herself in one of the bunk areas, just around a corner. She slips out of the Void, shouldering her rifle. There are three in direct line of sight with their backs to her. Sucks for them.
She squeezes the trigger and her gun dances over them until she's ripped the three apart enough to disable them.
"Third assailant, vector X91!"
She pulls out a grenade. Too soon for a full jump, but this is one of her oldest tricks.
"Go for smother," one of them says. She hears feet running her way, sounds like three. She hopes it's at least three.
She pulls the pin and starts the timer. She backs further into the corner. She makes her focus sign preemptively.
They rush around the corner in front of her, shouldering their guns. She winks at them, drops the grenade and slips into the Void.
The sound of the explosion is muted, but it makes a brilliant grayscale spectacle in front of her as it rips the spectres to pieces. She returns to reality.
"Yeehaw!" she hears as she sees Pathfinder swinging through the open air. He lets go of the hook and lands on the upper balcony. Wraith gives him a look.
"Uh oh," he says, "I'm having too much fun again." He stows his shotgun and pulls out his G7 Scout. Using his strong cover, he shoulders it and punches out a few rounds.
"Retreat to cover," one of the spectres says.
Having been able to reload, Wraith walks around the corner confidently and reams the first spectre she sees with heavy Flatline rounds.
"Retreat further!"
She sees one of them running for the doors to the ward. Having only a split second, she pulls an explosive kunai from her belt and whips it at the robot. The spectre's armor is steel but the incredibly sharp weighted blade is able to pierce it, sticking. It disappears out of sight.
"Unit compromised!" she hears one of them yell, right before another explosion.
She walks into the main area, now clear, but she can hear movement in the hall. Pathfinder drops down, joining her. "How do you want to handle?" she asks.
"The old rip and flip?"
"Sounds good to me."
Pathfinder puts his arm around her waist and shoots a grapple through the ward doors into the wall across the hallway. He reels them in, lifting Wraith off the ground. Turning slightly, he lets her go right before they cross the threshold. Sliding on her heels, she drifts to the right side, him to the left.
There are two spectres left, one on either side of the door. Surprised, they turn, reacquiring them, but the Legends' weapons are already shouldered. There's another burst of gunfire, and the last of the spectres go down.
"Righteous work, friend!" Pathfinder exclaims, holding up his hand for a high five.
"PF, stay frosty," says Wraith, "this is for keeps, remember. We're not in the games. And I'm sure they'll send more. I need to get into that bin."
The face on his chest screen turns to an exaggerated serious. "Of course."
Without warning, he grabs her around the waist again and shoots off another grappling hook. Wraith's eyes go wide as she again finds herself flying through the air, wind whipping her hair. When they land, she almost loses her feet, but Pathfinder is holding onto her.
She looks up, and they're in front of a single door labeled 'Ward 9b Storage.' She accesses the panel and the door opens, revealing a short hallway lined by large storage bins from floor to ceiling. She rushes in.
"You were instructed not to resist," the voice continues over the intercom. "Further flights are being dispatched, and will engage with prejudice."
Wraith searches the bin labels. "27… 18… 9… 10…" Her eyes go wide and she crouches in front of bin 11. She tries the access but it rejects her. "Damn it!"
"Stand back, Renee." Pathfinder attaches a thermite grenade to the lock mechanism and activates it.
Wraith curses and indeed backs up. The grenade starts flaring. She turns away from the blinding light.
The grenade burns out and Pathfinder yanks mightily, opening the bin door fully. Wraith goes to her knees in front of it, the acrid smell of the expended thermite burning her nostrils. She rifles through the bin. It's mostly clothes. She tosses it to the side, looking for something of substance. Then she sees the case.
There's a teal travel case, medium size, tucked into the back. She grabs it, opening the zipper.
"Running out of time, Renee." He only uses her first name when he's serious.
Wraith grabs the case and throws it over her back. "Let's go."
They run back into the hallway. The lights are on, but red strobes continue to turn around them.
"This is not an attrition situation," says Wraith.
"You said it. Run, then?"
They start tearing down the hallway the way they came. There's sound behind them. Wraith turns to see another unit of spectres turning the corner a long ways back.
"Targets acquired," one of them says.
"Turn here!" Wraith shouts.
They turn a corner to break their line of sight, then there are more sounds behind them. Another unit is about to turn the corner and make them. They stop, guns in hand. They have no cover.
"Spot me?" Pathfinder says, holding out his hand.
Not thinking, Wraith grabs two arc stars and hands them to him.
Pathfinder poses and with robotic might hurls the two arc stars the long distance.
The unit of spectres turns the corner just as the arc stars plant in the wall and floor nearby the corner.
"Lethal payload!" one of them says.
"Evade!"
They dive for clearance as the arc stars emit their intense electric fields throughout the area. Pathfinder and Wraith keep running.
"We can't get pinned!" Wraith says.
"Best hurry, then."
They're approaching another intersection, and a third unit of spectres turns the corner past it.
"Shit!" says Wraith. That's the way they need to go.
"This way!" Pathfinder cuts a right at the intersection, and Wraith follows.
"PF, we can't risk getting lost in here!"
"They call me Pathfinder, remember?"
She didn't come this far with him to lose faith in him now. They keep running, her heavy breaths echoing in the hallways. They take a few more turns. She feels a growing sense of fear. She doesn't know where they are.
Trust him.
Wraith clenches her teeth and pushes down the fear. The next turn, she sees the opening to the yawning corridor that leads back to the main arcade and entrance. When they emerge into it, Pathfinder holds out his hand, stopping her.
"What is it?" she asks, panting.
"A long, straight shot." Pathfinder removes his zipline device from his back and sets it on the floor in front of them. It's tripod legs extend and automatically drill themselves into the concrete floor, securing it. Pathfinder aims carefully and deftly. He cranks back the lever on the side to its limit. The etched marking on the side reads '800m.' "Might be loud."
He activates the device and the bang stuns Wraith for a second, leaving her ears ringing. It mixes with the high pitched sound of the cord issuing from the device. There's a distant crack, then the device draws the line taut as piano wire.
Pathfinder holds out his hand. "One last ride?"
Wraith can hear the spectres approaching behind them. Wordless, she takes his hand.
He grabs her and activates his ascender, sending them hurling along the line at 65 kilometers per hour. Wraith feels the familiar butterflies in her stomach, much like when she uses a zip in the games. They ride the line for what seems like forever, then Wraith can see where it embedded in a marble wall. Pathfinder drags the ascender and slows them down enough that when he lets go, Wraith stumbles, but manages to keep her feet. She's dizzy.
"Clear now," says Pathfinder, "but we have to keep moving."
Wraith looks. The spectres pursuing are in sight, but they're ants. The entry arcade is nearby. They run for it.
The lights in this are still down, but the red strobes are turning. As they're running past the benches and planter boxes, the voice again sounds from the intercom.
"Your defiance will not avail you. Your entry point has been sealed. Surrender yourselves to security if you wish to live."
"Shit," says Wraith.
They're at the entrance. Pathfinder runs to the tube he had used to gain entry. He looks up, but whatever he sees isn't good. He shakes his head.
"Lay down your weapons," says the voice.
"Over my dead body," says Wraith.
"Apt."
The red strobes around them change to alternating blue and orange. A different, automated voice comes over the comms.
"This sector has been activated for local self-destruction. Evacuate immediately to preserve your life."
"Um, Wraith?" says Pathfinder.
"Showtime," says Wraith.
She walks up to mess of rubble that is the main entrance, activating her Void tech. She taps all the energy she's got available. It's now or never.
The Void tech routine activates, ripping open a portal and she pushes through it, driving the line. She pushes into the rubble at full strength. It's like sprinting underwater, with the added weight of the portal line. She snarls out a cry into the echoing Void. Some of the shadows she sees are watching her.
She breaks through the resistance, sensing open air. She releases her grip on the Void, and a twin portal opens, spilling her down into the sunlit dust.
She pants there, spitting out dirt that got into her mouth. That was close. She hears the ripple as Pathfinder emerges from the portal behind her.
"Not safe yet! Not safe yet!" He grabs her armor around the collar and drags her away from the portal laterally.
"What are you—"
Wraith is interrupted by a roar and a huge gout of red and blue flame emerging from the portal behind them, torching the spot she was lying in a second ago. The heat stings her face. "Fuck!"
After a couple seconds, it's over. Wraith takes her arm away from her eyes. She hits a few buttons on her Void tech vambrace and the portal collapses on itself.
The only sound then is her breathing. A hawk cries out from high above.
"Shit," she says, "do I still have eyebrows?"
"What?" says Pathfinder. "Oh yes, human hair singes! Yours are fine, though."
Sighing with relief, Wraith collapses on her back in the dust. "They really blew that whole area just to kill us."
"The IMC is protective of its intel," says Pathfinder, helping her up. "How dangerous is that intel, Renee?"
Wraith looks up at the direct question. She looks over her shoulder at the teal case she'd extracted. "Honestly? I'm not sure yet."
Wraith tears into the roasted Klurma leg as they walk down the dirt street near her apartment. It's Solace afternoon now, the palms swaying over head in a pleasant breeze. She feels good.
"How's that Klurma leg treating you?" Pathfinder asks.
"Well, I got it from Kamal's stall, so it's awesome."
"Yes, I'm told the smell of good food alone can cause human mouths to salivate."
Wraith rolls her eyes. Pathfinder can be strange company.
"Food's great," she acknowledges, but she doesn't want him to feel bad for his inhuman condition. "On the downside, though, you're a slave to it. Gotta eat, everyday, two or three times, usually. Costs a lot of credits. Makes for a lot of waste, too."
"Ah, but there are so many beneficial uses for human waste!"
Wraith almost chokes.
"Broadly used in cultivation, and I've read scientific articles—"
"PF," says Wraith, giving him a look.
He pauses. "Oh, I'm being obtuse again…"
Wraith chuckles. She stops walking. They're outside her apartment, second story of a two story sandstone structure, simple wooden stairs and shutters. Early frontier stuff. Sometimes people ask her why she doesn't upgrade, but she likes it.
"Well," says Pathfinder, "shall we?"
"Actually, PF," says Wraith, turning to him, "I kind of want to do this part on my own."
He cocks his head.
"I have a feeling it could get… personal."
"Oh," he replies, his emote screen changing to a sad face. "I understand."
She feels bad, especially after everything they've just been through. "Hey, I'll tell you what." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the flat drive with Singh's encrypted data on it. "I couldn't have done that without you. If you want, you can take this to Crypto. I'm pretty sure he'll be willing to decode it."
"To Crypto? Do you think he'll trust me?"
Renee snorts. "Who wouldn't trust you?"
"What do you mean?"
"PF, have you ever told a lie?"
"Not on purpose!"
"Then the answer is no. I can't imagine someone not trusting you, considering how you are."
"I'm… not sure what to say. And you must trust me, too, if you'll give me this." He takes the flat drive. "Thank you."
"No," says Wraith quietly. "Thank you. I don't know how I could have done that without you. I'm glad you followed me."
"I am, too, now. I don't like to imagine a world without Wraith."
Touched, again, Wraith smiles sadly. Thinking of what she might say, she decides to say nothing at all. She reaches up and pulls Pathfinder into a hug.
"Oh…" he says, hugging her back.
When she pulls away, his emote screen is a teary smiley face.
"You know," he says, "the first time I saw two people hugging, I thought they were trying to kill each other, but that they were very bad at it."
She laughs. "One other thing, before I forget. I owe you for this. Big time."
"Oh! I'll be sure to cash that in!"
"Take care, PF," says Wraith as she starts climbing the stairs, "I have a feeling we'll see each other soon."