Chapter Fifteen – Steam in the Subway
… I'm sorry for how late this is. I've just… not been going great with motivation.
Actually, no. I've been having great motivation for unrelated projects in other fandoms. Oops.
As promised, here's something entirely different. Or at least, someone different.
You. You are mine now.
The words somehow broke through Jael's control. Orbit stopped howling as the new voice clawed at her bioelectricity.
Get these two men on board the ship.
Linh Cinder's control was even less gentle than Jael. Master Jael was a highly trained and skilful thaumaturge; the cyborg was attacking with nothing but brute strength. That wasn't to say brute strength wasn't effective.
Now.
Against her will, Orbit's feet moved forwards.
When she was a child, the broadcasts wouldn't always reach her house properly, and would instead fill the holoscreen with grating fuzz. Orbit felt like that static filled her brain as two powerful Lunar gifts assaulted her.
The rest of the pack stopped howling, staring at her.
Well, the rest of the pack that was conscious. Only Betas Tsukino, Lobo, Katona, and Wynn watched.
Orbit had seen Betas Sherazi, Rafe, and Baines be shot by what she hoped were non-fatal darts. Betas Becke and Liu had both gotten the brunt of the ship when the ramp had attacked, and they hadn't gotten up. Betas Garson, Volkov, and Omega Kesley were unaccounted for. Alpha Kesley was in the process of being kidnapped.
Fighting every movement, Orbit grabbed Alpha Kesley's wrist and tugged him towards the ship. She didn't care so much as she grabbed hold of Linh Cinder's male companion, and dragged them both into the hold.
Even through the confusion in her head, Orbit heard Jael's hum. "Impressive," he said conversationally. "I can see why my queen fears you. But taking control of one of my pets will hardly save you now."
Orbit's mind was too fragmented to feel insulted at being called a pet.
Linh Cinder – Princess Selene? – prodded Orbit forwards. Orbit dropped Alpha Kesley and the man on the ship floor, and began to slowly shuffle outside.
Jael's presence in her mind was flickering. He was distracted, coming in and out of focus. Linh Cinder's grip was desperate, as far as Orbit could tell. The cyborg had dropped to her knees, but still forced Orbit down the ramp.
Orbit had almost reached the ground when Linh Cinder's grip snapped.
The fog cleared substantially. Orbit stopped moving, with only a vague shadow of Jael's gift in her headache. She glanced behind her, rubbing her head.
Linh Cinder sat on her heels, exhausted and defeated.
The rest of the pack looked just as confused as Orbit felt. They stood, straight backed and at attention, like they'd done every day in the lava tubes. There was nothing else they knew to do when Jael's control dropped to a whisper while in the middle of battle.
Jael smiled, relieved. "Troya," he called. Orbit immediately straightened, fighting past the confusion in her head.
Linh Cinder was still faintly touching at her bioelectricity, trying to get another grip. While Orbit objectively could admire that determination, on a personal level she was furious.
"Go in and retrieve Mademoiselle Benoit," Jael told her. She saluted, mostly going by instinct. "I will have to decide was is to be done with Alpha Kes—"
BANG!
Jael stopped talking abruptly, stumbling back.
Even as badly disorientated as she was, Orbit couldn't mistake the smell of gunpowder. The entire roof was soaked in blood, but she could still pick out the taste of Jael's.
Orbit turned around to see the redhaired girl, Scarlet Benoit, storming down the ramp with a shotgun in hand.
"Mademoiselle Benoit retrieved," Benoit said icily, walking towards Orbit. She kicked her in the back and Orbit stumbled, falling off the ramp. "And don't worry. We'll take Alpha Kesley off your hands."
Orbit knelt on hands and knees on the roof, gasping. Both Jael and Linh Cinder had completely released their grip on her mind.
"Where did you get that?" Linh Cinder asked from out of Orbit's view.
"One of your storage cupboards. Come on, let's—" Benoit trailed off.
"Zāo gāo!" Linh Cinder swore. "Iko, the ramp!"
Immediately the ramp started lifting up.
Jael snarled in fury. He was barely able to stand, but still his bioelectricity clutched at his pack.
The familiar bloodlust overtook Orbit. She stood up, staring at the rapidly ascending ship with her teeth bared. But there was nothing she could do; all the operative was able to do was howl.
And even that stopped soon.
Jael collapsed on the ground as the ship vanished.
José Lobo darted over to him. He touched at his chest, checking, and then stood up. He didn't say a word.
Tristan Wynn walked over to Orbit. "Are you back?"
Orbit pulled back her lips, unsure if it was a smile or a threat. "I'm back." She shook her head, dispelling the last traces of static.
"We need to go," Emil Katona said, wringing his fingers. It was a nervous habit he hadn't done in years. "We can't stay here; the police are already calling for backup."
"Katona is right," Masaru Tsukino said. "We have to leave now."
"We can't leave the others," Tristan Wynn said sharply.
Orbit had already moved over to Sherazi, who was splayed on the roof with the dart still in his arm. "He's still breathing. I think they're tranquilisers." She pulled out the needle, hoping it would help.
"Good," Tristan Wynn said, his mind already darting ahead. "We'll have to carry them out of the city. Beta Tsukino, do you think you'd be able to carry two?"
The largest operative paused, running his eyes over the unconscious. "Yes, as long as one of them is Sherazi."
"Okay." Tristan Wynn nodded, and did a quick headcount. "Beta Tsukino, Beta Lobo, stay here and guard the others. Beta Katona, find Omega Kesley. Beta Troya, find Beta Volkov. I'll find Beta Garson."
Orbit growled. "Who made you alpha?"
"Troya, we do not have time for this," Wynn said, exasperated. "Unless you have another plan, save it."
"You're not—"
"Orbit. Please."
She had never been politely asked not to fight before.
"I'm going to break your nose once our pack is safe," Orbit warned him, and then sprinted off. She heard footsteps as Wynn and Katona both left too.
Vanya Volkov wasn't difficult to find. Orbit could pick out the scent of any pack member in Paris.
She found him sheltering in an alley. Blood was pouring down his leg.
"Beta Troya," Vanya Volkov said softly, staring at her. His face was bloody and it clearly wasn't his. "What happened to Jael?"
He must have noticed the mind-control stopped.
"He's dead. We're running." Orbit hoisted his arm around her shoulder. Vanya stood obligingly.
Even with an injured burden, it was easy to return. The streets of Paris were empty of the living, although corpses were strewn across the streets.
Orbit compartmentalised. She refused to recognise the blood, and only focused on her pack.
By the time she got back, Masaru Tsukino and José Lobo had gotten the unconscious members to the ground.
"Has anyone come by?" she asked by way of greeting, letting Vanya Volkov sit.
"Not yet," Masaru Tsukino said.
"That won't last," José Lobo said.
A familiar scent approached. Tristan Wynn returned, leading Eclipse Garson.
Garson was wearing handcuffs. To have been able to take a living operative captive, he must have surrendered. No-one said a word.
Finally, Emil Katona returned alone.
"Where's Omega Kesley?" Wynn asked sharply.
"Dead."
Orbit didn't let herself mourn. They had no time for the dead. "We have to go."
Tristan Wynn nodded. Without a word he grabbed Wane Becke, swinging the unconscious operative over his shoulder. Orbit copied him, taking hold of Rille Baines.
Tsukino picked up Alex Rafe and made to grab Aziz Sherazi, but José Lobo got their first. Emil Katona hefted up Huang Liu, and despite his handcuffs Eclipse Garson was easily able to support the injured Vanya Volkov.
Twelve operatives. That was all who were left, without even a thaumaturge. Out of them, five were unconscious and one was limping.
Tristan Wynn led the way. He headed towards the train station, jogging through the puddles of blood. They had to take a roundabout route, but the scent of the military was obvious and it wasn't too difficult to avoid them.
The trains weren't running. That didn't matter. The pack only really needed the tunnels.
At one point the pack heard sounds up ahead, a group who'd taken shelter underground. Volkov howled, causing them to flee. It was depressing how easily the pack could have caught up if they wanted to, but they ignored them.
Wane Becke had stirred before they were out of the tunnels. Tristan Wynn continued to carry him until he was certain he could stand, and then put him down to run with them. Huang Liu wasn't too far behind.
When they left the city Tristan Wynn led them off the track. They headed towards the forest for no reason other than it was there.
They ran for at least an hour, stopping only a minute when Sherazi, Baines, and Rafe woke up. Normally it would have been easy exercise, but it had been an exhausting day.
After a while, Orbit started wondering when Alpha Kesley would call them to stop, and with a jolt realised he wasn't there. Alpha Brock, Alpha Kesley, Master Jael – all their leaders were dead.
Rationalising that they were going to run forever if someone didn't say something, Orbit signalled for a stop. "Let's take a break," she said.
Most of the pack stopped gratefully, and wearily sunk to the ground.
"You're not in charge here," Tristan Wynn said, a statement that lost weight by how he leaned against the nearby tree.
"Neither are you, Beta Wynn."
"Don't start," Wane Becke interrupted. "I know we need an alpha, but this isn't the time. We can fight for status later."
"You're not alpha either—" Orbit began hotly, but Masaru Tsukino cut her off.
"Stop it. Becke's right. We need to plan our next move."
Emil Katona rubbed his wrist self-consciously. "I think we should get rid of these chips. Jael could track us with them – how long until they find the theatre and track us too?"
There was a murmur of agreement.
Orbit, Rafe, Sherazi, and Omega Kesley were the only ones who had kept their nails sharpened like Alpha Brock always did. Alex Rafe volunteered to help the others, as teeth were not practical, and soon it became a team effort.
Orbit's fingers dripped with blood, but ID chips were just against the skin. It was easy to get them out.
"What happened to Jael?" Aziz Sherazi asked, grinding his chip into the dust.
"Dead," José Lobo said. "So's Omega Kesley, and by now probably Alpha Kesley too."
Aziz Sherazi's face tightened. "Oh."
"We can fill you in later," Vanya Volkov said, rubbing his injured leg. "Honestly there's a couple of answers that I'd like too. But we need to get somewhere to hide out."
"Lunar operatives don't hide," Huang Liu growled.
"If you want to go back and surrender, go ahead," José Lobo said. "I think we should find somewhere safe."
"Like what? A wolf den?" Rille Baines asked, unimpressed.
"We'll find something," Eclipse Garson said, without real hope.
Wane Becke wiped at his mouth, trying to get rid of the blood. "If we can get new clothes and wash, we'll be able to blend in to a city."
"Yeah. We can steal magrail tickets or something and get out of France. Hide in plain sight," Tristan Wynn agreed, clearly glad to have a plan.
As much as Orbit wanted to melt into the ground and sleep, she forced herself to stand up. "Then let's keep going."
"This is a very bad idea," Eclipse Garson whispered as the pack approached the farmhouse.
"How did you think we'd get clothes?" Huang Liu growled at him.
"I was imagining stealing it from a clothesline."
"No."
Tristan Wynn walked up the porch and knocked on the door.
There was movement inside, and then a teenage girl opened the door.
She froze when she saw twelve hulking operatives, heavily scarred and covered in blood.
Her first reaction was to slam the door shut, but Tristan Wynn flung out his arm, holding it open. "Good evening, mademoiselle," he said sweetly. "Mind if we come in?"
She screamed.
Instantly there was movement from inside the house as the rest of the family came running. Tristan Wynn pushed the girl aside and entered, smiling politely as a woman entered the scene. "Evening."
The woman let out a wordless yell and charged, armed with only her bare hands. Tristan Wynn flipped her over and pinned her to the ground easily.
Orbit walked past him to the hallway as a man came out. He'd stopped long enough to grab a knife from the kitchen and came out swinging.
She ducked beneath the first blow, and jammed her fist into his stomach, which made him gag. The moment he doubled over she snatched the knife and pressed it against his throat, causing him to freeze.
The screaming had stopped. Orbit glanced around, the knife steady, to see that Alex Rafe had pressed the girl against the wall. Her eyes were wet, but she'd quietened down.
"A human couldn't hear that from next door, could they?" José Lobo asked. He was the last in the door, which he closed securely behind them.
"No," Masaru Tsukino said. He'd measured the distance from the nearest house before they'd broken in.
Huang Liu and Emil Katona were already running through the house, checking for any androids. The pack could smell that there were four occupants, one of which was an infant, but androids were scentless.
After less than a minute Huang Liu returned, holding a dismantled service bot. "That's everything."
"What do you want?" the man at the edge of Orbit's knife demanded.
Orbit smiled, showing off her teeth. "It'd be smarter for you to keep quiet," she said sweetly, putting pressure on the knife. Droplets of blood beaded.
"Beta Troya!" Eclipse Garson snapped.
Orbit looked at him flatly. "Yes?"
"There's been enough murder tonight."
Garson normally wouldn't be able to give Orbit orders without her attacking, but he had a point. She pulled the knife back, giving a centimetre worth of room.
Tristan Wynn loosened his grip on the woman, and looked at the entire family. "Alright, here's the situation. This is a robbery, not a murder. Don't do anything stupid and you'll get through this without getting hurt."
"We'll do whatever you say," the woman said, clearly terrified.
"Good," José Lobo said. "We're pleased to meet you, and not particularly pleased to eat you."
The girl let out a whimper.
"Even I'd be ashamed of that joke," Vanya Volkov told him. "Not just because it's tasteless, it's also bad."
Tristan Wynn clapped his hands together. "Put them in the living room. I'll take first watch."
The pack nodded and started to prod their hostages.
Getting into the bathroom involved a quick brawl, but no-one had the energy to have a proper fight. Masaru Tsukino won first shower, and the rest of the pack dispersed to find clothes and food.
Orbit was about two sizes bigger than the girl, but her style was apparently very loose. It wasn't hard to find something that fitted alright.
She managed to claim the second shower, and scrubbed viciously. She could still taste the blood in her mouth, and ended up stealing some of the mouthwash. Finally, she walked out, dressed in comfortable jeans and a nice shirt.
She was searching through the pantry when the baby started to scream. She yelped and covered her ears.
Eclipse Garson was already at the crib. He picked it up, holding it delicately but not knowing how to cradle, and quietly carried it to the father. The father snatched the baby, pressing it to his chest.
"Is it okay?" Eclipse Garson asked, curious.
"I… he's just sleepy," the mother explained, as her husband bounced the child in his arms. "He woke up, and-" She stopped, shivering.
"Ah." Eclipse Garson nodded at the child politely over the scream. "I'm sorry we woke you. Try to go back to sleep."
"I don't care if you have to break its neck," Orbit grumbled. "Shut it up."
She was unprepared for Eclipse Garson to come flying at her, his foot on a perfect course to collide with her head. Without thinking she ducked under him, bringing up a hand to attack.
Garson knew that was coming; he grabbed her arm mid-air and pushed it aside. Orbit was bigger than him, but everyone knew how to take on a bigger opponent.
Eclipse Garson's feet smashed into her knees and Orbit stumbled, giving an opportunity for him to grab her by the shoulder and throw her to the ground.
He knelt on her stomach, pinning her to the ground, and bared his teeth. "You will not touch this family," he spat, his fangs centimetres from her throat.
The child was still wailing, with the rest of the family watching the brawl in terror. Pack members barely noticed, more focused on finding supplies.
Orbit figured she had about a sixty-five percent chance of winning, even from this position, but she was fairly confident Alex Rafe would ally with Eclipse Garson to protect the family.
She rolled her eyes, careful to seem like she was bored rather than weak. "There's been enough bloodshed today," she said simply. It wasn't even a lie.
Eclipse Garson watched her warily for another second, and then got up again.
Orbit bounded to her feet and turned to Rille Baines. "What happened to Omega Kesley? Did he get caught?"
"No. He was still in our base," Rille Baines said. He took a deep breath. "It was Alpha Kesley who killed him."
All movement in the house paused; even the infant finally stopped bawling as its mother successfully soothed it.
"Alpha Kesley?" Vanya Volkov repeated. "Ze'ev? His own brother?"
"How?" Masaru Tsukino asked.
Rille Baines touched his neck absently. "Ripped throat. I didn't do an autopsy, but Alpha Kesley's scent was all over the room. So was that Benoit girl's." He stopped for a second, putting himself back in the room. "I could also smell the Benoit grandmother's blood."
"What makes you think it wasn't Mademoiselle Benoit who killed him?" Tristan Wynn asked.
"Humans don't rip out throats with their teeth," José Lobo said.
"Doesn't mean they can't," Huang Liu said. "She might have a sense of irony. Or a weapon."
"I can tell who a killer is," Rille Baines said defensively. "Benoit and Ran fought, but she was by the door by the time Omega Kesley was dead. That was Alpha Kesley's attack."
"What happened to that Benoit girl, anyway?" Vanya Volkov asked, sitting on the couch. Blood crusted his cheek but he didn't seem to notice.
"She kidnapped Alpha Kesley," Orbit said bluntly. She could still feel Ze'ev's body as she moved him.
"Wait — so he's still alive?"
"Depends why she kidnapped him," Tristan Wynn said quietly. "He was already unconscious when they got him to the roof. There had to have been a strong reason for her to bother carrying him." He glanced at the ceiling, staring through to where the ship floated far away. "I hope it wasn't revenge."
"Alpha Kesley was infatuated with her," Alex Rafe said. "It might have been mutual."
Orbit remembered Ze'ev slipping into the Benoit cell. She certainly hadn't seemed infatuated with him then, not unless rural France used cusses for endearment.
Then again, her pack were realists. They had to be in underground Artemisia.
Orbit doubted anyone actually believed Benoit had affection for Alpha Kesley; if they wanted to pretend otherwise, who was she to drop the façade?
Although, something had to have happened to convince Ze'ev to kill his own brother. If Scarlet Benoit had in fact been involved, there might be the slimmest possibility that she had a legitimate gratitude to Ze'ev.
Orbit filed away the thought. They could discuss it later, come up with a hundred different theories as to what happened to their pack brother and a dozen excuses as to how he could be okay. Right now, they needed to focus on moving.
She scoured the house, looking for anything useful she could find. Unfortunately, Earthens liked to chip everything expensive as an anti-theft precaution, and Orbit didn't know enough about technology to defeat them.
She managed to find a loose sack that she filled with clothes, several water-bottles, and was tempted to steal a book but decided it would only be added weight.
"We should rest," Tristan Wynn said, leaning against the wall. "We'll leave first thing in the morning, and we'll need to travel fast."
"You're still not alpha," Orbit said, more for the sake of it than anything else. She sat down on one of the armchairs anyway, too exhausted to bother fighting for one of the bedrooms, and reclined.
Eclipse Garson and Alex Rafe watched her with nearly identical expressions, and glanced at the hostage family in the same moment.
Alex Rafe wordlessly took one of the couch cushions while Eclipse Garson curled up on the thick carpet, making sure to put himself between Orbit and the family.
She wasn't going to slaughter anyone in the middle of the night, but she couldn't be bothered to feel offended. When Alex Rafe eventually moved to have his turn in the shower, Orbit made it very clear that she had no intention of moving.
It took a while for her to fall asleep, despite how badly she needed it. By the time she did, the entire pack was clean and dressed.
The familiar sound of Eclipse Garson praying before sleep filled the house. He asked for forgiveness for everyone in the pack by name.
Orbit had washed the blood out of her mouth, but was sure she could still taste it.
Forgiveness would be nice, she thought sadly as she drifted off. Wondered if it was possible.
Thanks for reading so far. Reviews would be great.