Unknown ship, Andromedan Rim
Although they wore environment suits, and in his head Blaze knew the minimal life support on the transport ship was not far off the same condition his own ship outside the pressurised areas was in, the underlying chill as he made his way to the bridge was far more than physical. A peculiar blue light flickered around both his own body and Ishikura's as they walked, that was similar to the same eerie glow which danced around the interior of the Lady Miranda when her main drive was in operation, but somehow this light was profoundly unsettling. Once or twice he had to check his comms, because it sounded as though he could hear screaming, coming from a great distance. Each time the diagnostics registered nothing. But still…
Frost covered the walls of the corridor - a sure sign there had been some level of life support operating on board. The icy fronds made the walls look as though a kind of organic circuitry had grown there. Their heavy booted feed left tracks in the same fern-like tendrils on the floor, destroying their delicate asymmetry. The air was thin, but enough to carry the sound of their boots clanging on the metal floor. …and enough to carry the sound of thousands of voices crying out in pain and terror…? He stamped hard on that thought. Probably just something in the ventilation system, he told himself. Get a bloody grip… You're the son of The People's Heroine, for Lar's sake - trained by the Old Man himself. You. Do. Not. Get. The. Willies.
A couple of times they had to duck down a side passage as one of the sentry robots rolled past - if robot was the right term. Because joy of joys, they were using the very thing he'd hoped not to see. Blaze hesitated to think of them as cyborgs - these Aladdin-class egg-shaped shells were widely used on Lar Metal for worker robots, but the glass domes enclosing the exposed brain tissue of their controllers to his mind put them in a totally different category to the Machinners… these weren't obviously armed, but he'd learned several years ago to be wary of Doppler tech. Weaponising machinery meant for heavy industry was one of their favourite selling points. On both occasions he had to put a steadying hand on Ishikura's gloved hand as the younger man reached for his gun.
'No,' he said firmly, after the second time. 'If you start anything, we've no way of knowing how much of a response it'll get.'
'We didn't get any life readings,' Ishikura pointed out, 'so how did we overlook these things? There can't be that many of them?'
'Depends on your definition of "life" Blaze replied grimly. 'Those brains are re-animated and lobotomised…'
'They're using Lar Metallian robot shells… are they really supplying Doppler corp with the means to do this?'
Blaze snorted. 'Lar Metal and Doppler Corp have been in cahoots for centuries. Who the hell do you think supplies our cloning facilities?'
Ishikura shuddered. 'Just when I thought things couldn't get creepier…'
Creepy? If the lad had seen the inside of the Queens' clone chamber, with the rows and rows of sleeping beauties of various ages… now that was creepy. Especially since they all looked so much like his mother…
The door to the bridge wasn't closed, when they rounded the last corner, and Blaze ducked back quickly, pushing his subordinate behind him. 'Wait,' he advised. Then peered out cautiously. No sentries. No obvious signs of activity. It was probably safe to proceed, but he hefted his pistol and double checked the charge cap anyway before stepping out from cover. Warp Vids be damned, he'd had the "talk" from Hannibal about keeping his damn fool head on his shoulders and not just charging headfirst into a potential killing zone. "My idiot brother once almost lost a kidney after being shot because he was standing in front of a sliding door when he knew there were hostiles behind it. Always be aware of your cover, kiddo…" Inside his helmet he grinned. I just bet you gave said idiot brother hell, old man… But lesson learned: Grandstanding heroics = not cool. Something he was still having to drill into Ishikura's thick head… ''Hug the wall,' he told the younger man. 'Stay behind me, and watch our six. Let me worry about what's in that room. And wait for my say-so to enter.'
He didn't wait for the acknowledgement, but eased himself along the wall so he could get a better look. Should have bought a drone… But no… that might have given them away… some days there were no good plans… The bridge was empty, devoid even of consoles, and he let out a sigh of relief. 'Ishikura - watch the door. I'm going in for a look.'
The main power supply for the ship had run into this area, and looking at the interior of the room he now understood why. Surrounded by massive banks of servers along the walls of a space easily twice the area of the Blackstar's bridge was a large, angular column that must have been over ten feet in diameter, and well over thirty tall. A single console was visible at its base, and a large whirling circular light glowed blue at about head height. It was also very, very familiar…
'What the…' There were no guardians that he could see, so he stepped into the room for a closer look. 'Huh.' Over the comms he called up the Blackstar. 'Aniki - are you getting this?' He moved slowly and let his helmet cam do a steady sweep around the room. Above his head was a circular gantry, allowing for access to the upper reaches of the central computer, which he now knew this to be.
'I'm seeing it… but I'm not quite believing it. It's larger, but isn't this…?'
'Yup. A full size model of the Central computer on board the Miranda…'
'So much for a prototype…' Marin muttered.
'The Miranda dates back to before the homecoming War,' Blaze pointed out. 'Hannibal said it was experimental… maybe Doppler's Hench-hunchback-in-chief did a bit of industrial espionage?'
'The Old Man will go ballistic,' Marin said. 'Oh boy… you know how he feels about some of that Olde Time Tech in the wrong hands…'
'Doesn't get much wronger than Doppler and Hechi,' Blaze agreed. 'Explains a lot about this ship though - didn't the Old Man say those computers are based on some weird alien tech? I remember once he said something about them being one of the few things that could hold a human mind…'
'Back before the soul rings,' Marin filled in for him. 'But surely she wouldn't…?'
'With the sort of news that was coming out of Lar Metal's system when we set off? I'm starting to think Auntie might have gone totally off the rails. I only hope mum and dad are able to talk some sense into her.' He moved towards the console at the computer's base and took a long look at it. 'Someone didn't want any interference - look - the output devices are crippled - that's the same circuitry that the Miranda has for the holo and audio suite. It's been surgically removed.' He laid a hand on the trunk of the cold, metal column. 'If they did download some poor bastard into this it'd be like solitary confinement. You don't even do that to an AI, let alone a human-born mind…' He patted the column and briefly, could have sworn the swirling light turned green. Or maybe it was just the flickering emergency lighting. 'They've only got a limited keyboard input into the mainframe, and I can only see a screen for output. Why even do this if you go to this trouble to put a human mind in charge of a starship?'
'Control,' Marin replied darkly, his voice tinny in his brother's ear pieces. 'But then that's always been Aunt Yayoi's biggest issue…'
'Yeah… it's also her biggest weakness,' Blaze replied tartly. He stared down at the keyboard and started typing, ignoring his brother's what-the-hell yelps. 'Come on… can you give me a hand here, whoever you are…?' He looked up at the small screen that was the computer's only means of communicating. His initial "password failure" error messages were quickly replaced by a confused jumble of words he took a few seconds to make out, as though someone was trying to talk too fast and tripping over their words. 'Yeah, I know…' He started typing.
'Commander? ' Ishikura sounded nervous, but then that was pretty standard for the rookie. 'Whatever you're doing, you might want to work a bit faster?'
'I'm on it,' I'm on it,' Blaze muttered through clenched teeth. 'Oh hell… they really did a number on you, didn't they?'
'Blaze…' Marin's voice was also starting to sound worried, but then, he was seeing the conversation.
Blaze looked up at the screen one last time and smiled sadly at the words there. 'I promise…' he murmured. He typed the same words into the machine, and the screen went dark.
'Commander..!' Ishikura's voice slid up the octaves. 'Company!'
Blaze picked up his pistol from next to the keyboard. 'How many?'
'I'm not sure - what comes after "lots"?' Ishikura's voice had risen to a falsetto. Blaze reached his side in a handful of strides and risked a look. 'On a sliding scale from "oh dear" to "we're so screwed…" I think we're closer to "oh shit…"' he deadpanned. There were probably a dozen gangly mechanised soldiers heading their way, weapons at the ready. 'But let's not escalate unless we have to.'
He stepped out from behind the partly closed doorway and raised his hands as every weapon was moved to point directly at him. 'Is this the way you treat a member of the royal family?' he called out. 'Check my voice print and then stand down.'
It was difficult, on the "faces" of the assembled mechanised men to recognise confusion. Simple mouth slits and dials for eyes gave little away, but those who had once been human still attempted to express themselves in their new bodies, and he'd certainly given them something to discuss. One stepped forward. 'Identify yourself,' it snapped at him.
'Lar Alcaeus Karyu, son of Lar Andromeda Selenium, nephew to Lar Andromeda Promethium. I think you'll find I have more than sufficient authority…' he glanced at the markings on the one doing the talking 'sergeant.' In his ear his brother murmured "ballsy…" before rattling off instructions to the rest of Blaze's team to get clear.
One of the spindle-legged troopers scuttled away from the small huddle who'd presumably been discussing his sudden appearance.
'You identity is not in doubt, Prince Karyu,' the mechanoid sergeant said sniffily. 'What is in doubt is your authority.'
'I wasn't aware I was required to explain myself to underlings,' Blaze replied coldly, in a passable imitation of Hannibal's patented "you're in so much trouble I don't know where to start" tone. When in doubt, steal from the best… 'My ship was en route to Andromeda and found this ship and a small battleship apparently drifting and lifeless. Now it's obvious this vessel is Lar Metallian, sergeant - so would you care to start explaining - and quickly - why it's necessary for a transport ship to be better armed than some battle ships, and just why your IDD isn't in our inventory?' After the briefest of pauses he snapped 'I'm waiting.'
There was nothing like a little unwarranted pressure from some entitled twat to wind up an equally entitled little jobsworth. So pissed off - and how, without an endocrine system that worked - that it forgot to press him on his credentials, the dial-faced mech assumed the puffed-chest posture beloved of stuffed shirts from time immemorial and began to recite its orders. Blaze immediately waved it off dismissively. 'Yes, yes… whatever. I don't need your entire life story. Let's just settle for your planet of departure and destination.' Hannibal's rules of interrogation #3: change the questions on the bastards and don't give them time to answer…
'We left the deep space processing facility seven days ago in a convoy that was attacked by pirates…'
'Pirates? Howdya like that! And they attacked us…' Marin muttered into his brother's ear-comm. 'We were just watching until that lead escort opened fire…' Blaze resisted the temptation to switch to mute.
'...en route to Planet Shadow for disposal.'
'Disposal.' Blaze said flatly, thinking about the hold he'd seen filled with bodies. Hopefully the metal-heads would mistake his disgust for disdain.
'Yes, Your Highness. Once disposing of the discards we're to proceed to Lar Metal to deliver the parts...'
'So that was the hold-up, was it?' Blaze asked. He glared at the sergeant, although trying to maintain eye contact with a glowing dial was disconcerting. He sneered. 'Because you couldn't deal with a handful of pirates, I get sent out here to find out why we can't proceed with the work on schedule?'
Marin was making choking noises in his ear. 'Really? It's like listening to the Old Man when he's on form…' Blaze continued over the peanut gallery, 'and we're already behind schedule - just how long does it take you to fill an order?'
'It's the scientific teams who held us up,' the mechanical soldier whined. 'It takes time to download the minds into even the simplest machine components. The last order was several orders of magnitude more complicated - if Her Imperial Majesty wants more elaborate control systems, she has to understand this takes time…'
'Something his highness here won't be passing on to her anytime soon,' said a voice from behind the small knot of soldiers. 'Because he's actually the pirate who attacked you.'
The metal-heads made way, parting in front of the woman who strode through them like corn in a field as she walked through them. Tall - easily over six feet. Her body was armoured at first glance, but looking closely Blaze noticed that it moved and flexed as she did, suggesting it was either extraordinarily form fitting or it was her body. Long golden hair fell from a ponytail high on her head to her knees. Her face was beautiful - in an artificial way - symmetrical and oddly doll-like, the hairline much further back than a human's and receding from a dramatic widow's peak. And something ancient and terribly inhuman stared out of her deep set golden eyes.
'Nice try,' she told him coldly as she stood in front of him. The expression on her face was a ghastly imitation of humanity.
'You're no kikaikajin…' Blaze said softly. 'And our sensors registered no lifesigns…'
'They aren't calibrated to our lifesigns,' she told him. 'So you're one of the minions of that ancient fossil who calls himself "Hannibal" these days? I told my compatriots we should have dealt with that meddling old fool years ago…'
Blaze gave her his best shit-eating smirk. 'You know… you really shouldn't have said that. I happen to like that "ancient fossil"...'
Inhuman she might be, but despite her expressionless façade she radiated a universally recognisable disdain. 'His interference in the Lar Metal Project set us back years,' she hissed. 'I will take a great deal of pleasure in sending him back pieces of his minions…'
'Now that's just plain rude,' Blaze shuffled slightly as he spoke, as though trying to make himself comfortable. In fact he was doing his best to angle himself just enough to put his right hip out of direct line of sight. He ignored the twitchy trigger fingers of the metal-heads. The woman - or whatever she was - was the dangerous one. 'Would you describe me as a minion, Ishikura?'
He was tempted to tell the young man to close his mouth to avoid catching flies, but befuddled or not, the youth played along after a brief hesitation. 'I wouldn't dream of it, commander.'
Marin would have come back with something pithier, but you work with what you have… 'That wasn't a "no"...'
Page one from the Hannibal playbook: how to annoy and befuddle an enemy into making a mistake. And it helped if you were a fast draw who could shoot from the hip…
…but nowhere in that playbook had it said anything about an opponent who could shrug off blaster fire as though it was a simple spark from plastic carpet…
'Shit.'
The smile that spread across the creature's face was like that of a hungry shark that just smelled blood in the water. 'Humans. You always need to learn the hard way.' It raised its own weapon, ignoring his own shots like so many mosquito bites, as did the armour of the dial-faces with her. Pushing Ishikura behind him he backed into the control room, and managed to send the both diving - Ishikura with help from a hard shove in the small of his back - behind the computer terminal.
'You think that will help you?' he could practically hear the sneer in its screechy voice.
'No.' There was the sound of a familiar sszzapp from a heavy blast pistol. 'But this will.' More blasts from the same gun followed in quick succession followed by the sounds of several pieces of metal hitting the corridor at all angles. 'Blaze!'
'Here chief!' He pulled Ishikura to his feet and pushed him ahead of him towards the doorway, now filled with the familiar and welcome sight of the Old Man in person, the right hand of the baroque armour he wore curled around the butt of a large-barrelled pistol. 'I'm not refusing the Deus ex Hannibal, but how did you…'
'Later! No time for explanations. Move!.' He didn't wait for a response, but turned and ran, a long grey cloak flapping heavily as he headed down the corridor. Blaze didn't hang around either, and despite the older man's age, had to push himself to keep up with the taller man, occasionally dragging Ishikura by the arm to make him keep up..
They'd barely taken the turn in the corridor when the explosion behind them rocked the entire ship. Blaze was very glad of his suit's helmet at that point, the pressure drop was extraordinarily fast. 'What. Was. That Thing?' he gasped as they pelted down the corridor.
'Ni idea. Just try to keep up, kid.'
Kid? Blaze pulled a face at his mentor's back. If he thought he had a cat in hell's chance of paying the wily old bastard back for that on the mats, he'd be thinking of dumping the Old Man a few times for that… But Hannibal was leading them into the open end of a boarding tube.
The boarding tube irised closed behind them and all three leaned against the wall to get their breath, hardly noticing the shudder as it was retracted at battle-speed towards its ship.
'My people…' Blaze gasped out as he braced against the sides of the tube as it snapped back into the hull.
'Safely away. Don't worry, I'll get you back to the Blackstar - just as soon as we've dealt with this ship.'
'I promised her…' Blaze began. The older man was already striding towards the bridge of his ship, his helmet retracting as he walked to reveal shoulder length, silvering hair. 'I heard. We were monitoring your comms as we came in.'
'Alina.' Blaze said softly. 'Her name was Alina. They promised her a free body, but she didn't know she'd be stuffed into a bloody computer matrix…'
'Apart from a few narcissistic twats, I doubt anyone thinks it through,' Hannibal replied pithily. Doors opened ahead of him as they walked - or perhaps "trotted" was more accurate, until they reached one last bulkhead. 'Ishikura - stay here, I'll send someone to take you to a spare room until I rendezvous with the Blackstar. Blaze - please remember my rule still stands - anyone outside the high command gets the "I know nothing" reply if they ask about this ship.'
'No problem.' It wasn't even something he needed to think about. Rumours abounded about the true nature of Hannibal's ship amongst the rank and file of the organisation, and only the people he trusted most ever served on her. One reason on the rare occasions he took her out, she ran with a skeleton crew, and most of those tended to be the Old Man's incredibly extended family.
…kind of nice to be included, he mused, with a half-smile. Then the door opened, and he followed Hannibal onto the bridge.
