Simon Cooper had been waiting patiently and passing the time by silently drifting about the confines of extensive healing faculty and watching the students and staff at work. Alert for the beacon that would herald the attack, he’d nonetheless become quite absorbed in several of the classes being conducted here, especially those concerning the manipulation of the mind; a subject very dear to his heart.
However, try as he might, he hadn’t been able to resist taking a peek at his targets. And who could blame him. His hosts were making things way too easy.
All three had been grouped together within a purpose built chamber. Only, this wasn’t like any treatment room he’d ever seen before. There were no beds, no bank of distracting monitors, and no obtrusive racks of equipment. From what he could discern, the ward’s only distinguishing feature was a special lens positioned in the exact center of the ceiling. Emitting a concentrated cone of light, it encompassed the subjects from the shoulders up in a soothing pearlescent balm that somehow suspended them horizontally in midair—with their heads almost touching in the manner of the spokes on a wheel. The atmosphere created was one of the utmost tranquility.
It was only natural that he’d wanted to take a closer look.
He stared at the familiarity of what he still thought of as his own image for what seemed like an age. Robust and finely muscled, his body’s self-rejuvenating capacity was obviously still working. His scrutiny only highlighted the benefits such a form had brought him, with all its inherent strength, vitality and durability.
A pang of loss made him reminisce. How easy it would be, to just slip back in and let the fool reap the consequences of his own mortality. Then I could . . .?
Simon was distracted by an abrupt burst of activity from out in the reception area. Scooting back into the corridor, he noticed someone had turned on a huge view screen above the main desk. Ah, I see. They’re watching the live firing exercise. Excellent! That will help me coordinate my timing.
He was about to drift toward that group, when three extremely powerful individuals walked into the lobby. He recognized the adult straightaway. It was the one they called the Lord Healer, someone he needed to treat with respect. Regardless, it was the two juveniles with her—a boy and a girl—that caused him to do a double take!
That they were human was clear. But something about their presence caused his defensive matrix to jitter uncontrollably.
Adjusting his perspective, he saw why.
They couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen years old at the most, yet they radiated with such overwhelming might that Simon was reminded of his Fallen kindred. Royal blue and golden bands of scintillating energy coiled in and around and through the silver-white core of their nimbuses. Like electric eels on acid, those bands sizzled and snapped with staggering efficacy, making it appear as if some monstrous leviathan had been restrained within them.
He had only ever seen essences like that on fully mature, transcended entities.
But they’re children . . . human children!
Simon was so taken aback, he was sure he must have misread their psi-dents. Scanning for a second time, he didn’t realize he was gravitating toward them until it was too late to correct his error.
The young boy suddenly stiffened, a spark of alarm igniting his aura in scarlet highlights.
Turning, the child’s gaze lashed back and forth several times before settling on the exact spot Simon now occupied.
*
Esther had been taking advantage of the long wait by relaxing.
In a prime location, it was her responsibility to warn of any last minute hurdles. Not that she anticipated anything untoward happening. So far, their infiltration of the Guardian Headquarters had proceeded without a hitch and she expected it to continue that way. Soon, the amber beacon that would signal the start of the fun would cut across the path of the Moon. Then people would begin to die.
Smiling within herself, she imagined the bedlam that would ensue. If only I could be there to watch.
The Guardians will be all cozy, safely ensconced within their air-conditioned control rooms. Some will be busy, maneuvering their toys like a swarm of metal-bound asteroids; others will be keeping a watchful eye out for stray energy beams; all will be alert for possible danger and confident nothing will take them by surprise. . .
. . .And then we will!
At the designated time, Yeung would activate the microchips hidden among one of the unsuspecting families on Earth, and—Hey presto! The top three ethereal mug shots on the Guardians Most Wanted list would pop up and say ‘hello.’
She had no doubt the freaks would be onto the signatures like a pair of alien face-huggers featured in a number of popular sci-fi films released around the turn of the twenty-first century. The totally bemused family would be traumatized beyond belief. After all, the sight of two of the most powerful Guardians in existence suddenly appearing in front of them—together with an armed execution squad—would be enough to provoke an urgent change of underwear in all but the strongest of constitutions.
In any event, while the Council’s most problematic opponents were out of the equation, explaining their error and trying to deflect a burgeoning media storm, Esther and co would be granted a window in which to wreak havoc.
First, Harry would detonate his grenades.
The combination of antimatter and psitronic energy would generate a colossal explosion. Shielded or not, Esther was positive most of the facility would be consumed, either in the blast itself or the cave-in that followed. Hopefully, most of their antagonists would also die in that opening declaration of war . . . or be taken out of the equation at the very least.
In any event, the margin for error was slim.
That’s why Simon had to act swiftly. They daren’t hope the base’s destruction would simply rid them of their former bodies. No! Simon had to do that in person, thereby depriving their enemies of the only source from which they might gain further intelligence in the future. And he’d better be decisive about it!
If he timed things right, it would look as if the disaster had triggered a fatal aneurism that was impossible to treat in time. A pity. She would have so loved to get her own figure back. Although it was only an avatar, she had worn it for such a long time she’d gotten used to the advantages it had over these later, inferior models and bestowed a degree of freedom she sorely missed.
Turning her attention back to the gateway and its delicious crystal shards, she ruminated over her final options. What am I going to do?
She was still in two minds. Smash and grab, or in and out without any fuss?
Then the inky backdrop ignited in a frenzied crisscross of light and afterimages as the orbiting photon cannons opened fire. One blazed a trail very near to her position.
She was just about to begin her approach when a telepathic warning triggered her defenses. Simon’s mind filled her consciousness with the image of a triangle. He screamed a single word: THREE!
Reacting, Esther responded with a single pulse of reciprocal energy, expertly aimed back along the micro-thin bandwidth of his thought beam.
Satisfied, she turned toward the gate collars and initiated her attack. Option A it is then!
*
The vibration drumming against Harry’s wrist forced his eyelids open.
Damn, I must have dropped off! Is it time already?
A typical warrior, he had continued running through a wealth of complicated strategies in his head, trying to cater for every eventuality he might run into.
Of course, the dim lighting; the steady heartbeat of the surrounding rock; and his purely intellectual efforts, created exactly the right ambience to ensure the opposite of what he’d intended: it had lulled him off to sleep.
But Harry wasn’t too bothered. The alarm had woken him the moment the test began. The catacombs were still deserted. And the only real obstacles he’d now have to overcome were those presented by the automated sentries.
He yawned. Time to unleash a world of woe on the unsuspecting idiots above.
Standing, Harry primed the disruptor to full capacity and started creeping forward. He didn’t know what security protocols the sentinels were equipped with, so he thought it best to take them out quickly. It’ll probably drain the weapon within three or four shots, but so what? It’s not like I’ll need it again.
A small cleft between two boulders provided the perfect firing solution. Edging into position, he slowed his breathing and calmly took aim.
No sooner had the target indicator flashed red than a crackling discharge burst from the crown of the nearest sentry. Arching across the intervening gap, it caught the disruptor full on, sheathing it in a network of livid lightning.
Pain overloaded Harry’s nerve receptors. Stunned, he fell heavily to the floor.
A further concussion punched through the air an instant later as the weapon blew apart.
For a moment, all went still.
*
The hairs on the back of Joshua’s neck prickled.
Hello? What’s causing that?
Spinning, he turned away from the screen and faced down the corridor toward the isolation units. Corrine and Becky seemed oblivious to the danger. But Joshua knew better. His intuitive skills were already far more sensitive than just about anyone else’s, especially when something dire was about to happen nearby.
As it was now.
“Bex! Corrine. . .” he began.
Extending his refined perceptions, Joshua conducted a thorough interrogation of the lobby. His attention was drawn to one section of the hallway just outside Iso-3. Although it appeared nothing was there, he kept registering a sense of dread every time his astral sight swept across that area.
His growing anxiety alerted others in the room to a possible threat.
Pointing, Joshua continued, “. . . there’s something or someone over there.”
People began fanning out instinctively. One or two brandished their plasma staffs. Corrine stepped forward a few paces, threw up a strong barrier and commenced a series of aggressive scans.
“I see it!” a voice called out.
“Over there! By ward three,” said another.
A security klaxon activated, its two-tone warble cutting the air like a knife.
Corrine’s mental command brought everyone together: To me!
Obeying instantly, over a dozen powerful minds moved to mesh in harmonic union, using the Lord Healer as their prime focus.
Joshua added his potential to the swelling concerto, and received a sudden hit from his precognitive ability. “The intruder’s after the doppelgangers!”
His farsight zeroed in on—and then lit up—the precise spot where the trespasser was hovering. “There! Quickly!”
Corrine adjusted, splitting the focus of her summoning in two. A glitter web of fire surged toward the space Joshua had highlighted. At the same time, a potent foreboding manifested around the sleeping patients in the isolation bay.
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The net descended, crackling as it shrink-wrapped about an invisible form.
Joshua’s hopes surged, only to shatter almost immediately as Corrine’s invocation fractured into a million tawny pieces. Everyone was treated to a glimpse of a roughly humanoid outline cocooned in frigid flames.
It’s got to be one of them! Joshua asserted.
Becky’s mind lifted above the din: Use the new program, Corrine! Use it now!
A slight fluctuation interrupted the score as Corrine adjusted the harmonics of the mind-meld. Two seconds later, she signaled her readiness to proceed.
The shield surrounding the iso-ward stiffened, reinforced by a titanic influx of energy. Then the screen right in front of them sparkled from top to bottom as the remaining latency boosted its strength. As one, the party advanced.
Yoked as he was, Joshua felt the strain as the force field protecting the casualties bucked and rippled in response to a sustained assault. The tension was colossal, and kept mounting, higher and higher and higher. . .
Corrine phased in the new defense.
. . .And then it was gone, bursting, and releasing the pressure like a lanced blister.
An undercurrent of hatred and frustration followed close behind.
Realizing the creature was too exhausted to move for the moment; Joshua updated the Lord Healer and siphoned additional vitality through into her nexus. Becky followed suit.
Corrine absorbed their gift, gratefully, and set about forging a lethal ball of plasma in the air in front of them. Addressing their unknown attacker both mentally and verbally, she said, “As you can see, we now know how to neutralize your cowardly attacks. If you don’t mind, just stay where you are for a moment and I’ll be glad to give you a taste of your own medicine.”
The air shimmered. From Joshua’s conjoined perspective, it looked as if their assailant had attempted to teleport, only to encounter the hidden countermeasures now incorporated throughout the base.
Smiling, Corrine called out, “Surprised?”
The entity recoiled, contracting and swelling in rapid succession and generating a necklace of rainbow lights in myriad places throughout its tincture. Its coronal luminance shifted, ramping up and down through the visible spectrum in ever increasing cycles. Soon, its brilliance was painful to behold.
As Corrine brought the potential of her focus to bear, their unknown visitor solidified just long enough to release a blinding eruption that blanched the lobby area white. As the flare died, the entity projected a triangular symbol into the ether, and with a deafening roar, yelled the word: THREE!
Before anyone could respond, it then collapsed in on itself and winked out of sight, evading the security measures with surprising alacrity.
A pregnant pause followed, during which, everyone stared at each other in disbelief. Recovering first, Corrine began issuing orders. “Sammie, liaise with control. Find out if this was isolated or if it’s part of a larger attack. Helen, take your team and check the wards. Make sure patients and staff are all accounted for. Christos? You Marc and Sonia are to go through every store; every nook and cranny we have. Ensure no one’s lurking where they shouldn’t be. Use this defensive program. . .” (compressed psychic data) “. . .and report back here once you’ve finished. Stay sharp people.”
Corrine caught her breath as a slight tremor ran through the structure beneath their feet and a swarm of mental updates began coming in from all around the base.
“It would appear we’ve had other uninvited guests!” she grumbled.
Looking toward Becky and Joshua, she broke the telepathic link, and sighed. “Let’s go check on our patients. It’s thanks to your efforts they’re still alive.”
*
Blazing streaks of plasma sizzled across the firmament as the test firing sequence eased into the next stage of the exercise. Esther barely acknowledged them.
Three? What in hell does he mean by . . .?
. . .Whoa!
Twin energy spikes had focused on her exact coordinates, prompting the manifestation of an almost invisible lattice of power. The weave flexed once, and swooped down toward her.
Goddamit! Unleashing a vicious counterstrike, she skipped to the far side of the gate. Was this a set-up all along?
The chaos about her intensified as several of the nearer target buoys exploded, adding their death throes to an already dazzling backdrop. Esther blocked such distractions from her mind and did her best to concentrate.
As she did so, she noticed the entanglement condensing around her former position. It solidified into a hoary cocoon, whereupon, two further beams stabbed out from the gate installation. Measuring their strength, Esther confirmed that, had she not been so sharp, her dreams of continued rebellion would now be over. It was a trap! But how did they know I was here?
She felt a tingle as the seeker node of the targeting sequencers locked onto her for a second time. Shit! They’ve definitely made us! But. . .
. . .THREE! Of course. So that’s what Simon meant!
Abandoning any pretence for stealth, Esther jumped. She jumped again—then once more, desperately trying to stay ahead of the target locators. The fuckers have worked out how spot us when we’re cloaked.
She aborted her next maneuver at the last second and banked away sharply.
A horrendous blast radiated outward from a point close to where she had intended to materialize. Had she teleported there, the concussion would have been sufficient to render her senseless.
The AI sentinels are anticipating my moves.
Thinking on her feet, Esther sought a viable solution.
It came with surprising ease. I know! I’ll incorporate Simon’s suggestion into a straightforward escape plan.
Slowing deliberately, Esther formed several jump points at once and flowed toward them, jinking from side to side as she did so. At the last possible second, she snapped back to her point of origin and phased in the opposite direction. Sure enough, the defensive guns responded by peppering the vicinity of her predicted arrival with a multitude of deadly discharges.
Ha! Missed me suckers!
Quick as a flash, Esther scooped her old EMU emitter from its place of concealment within her core and held it ready. Adopting a random flight path, she then formed another tau-field, but took her time crossing the plane of dissolution to ensure the Guardian sensors could register what she was doing. Having entered the matter stream, Esther used her telekinesis to fling the EMU ahead of her, along the chosen course. As it sailed away into the distance, she called forth her new tridentity and held it ready for activation.
Now everything was in place.
Esther waited for the instant the EMU exited the geodesic milieu and punched herself back through the lining of the hyperspace conduit at a tangent.
A superb play on tactics.
Emerging above the gateway generators, she watched as a lucent halo of light radiated outward from the maw of a massive explosion. Alas, she didn’t have time to gloat. Meshing with the familiar aura of the crystal, Esther initiated a psitronic feedback loop, which blew out the gravity containment field and melted the vacuum shields.
Within moments, the AI countermeasures were pinging her position.
They were joined by more than a dozen orbital platforms.
She held her ethereal breath. Now comes the moment of truth.
Esther scooped the shards into her embrace and used them to amplify her power.
A huge teleport nexus curled into being above her.
The surrounding batteries locked on.
And then. . .
. . .nothing!
Not daring to believe her luck, Esther completed her preparations by adding a pyramid element to her equations. It worked. They won’t fire while I’m meshed to the crystals for fear of the backwash taking out the base and gate collars.
Feeling superior, she threw herself across the event horizon and made her escape, initializing her new persona as she went.
The smug façade soon dropped from her countenance. Oh no!
What about Harry? Would he have heard Simon’s warning down there?
*
Harry came-to with an avalanche raging inside his skull. Working his jaw from side to side, he fought to establish a degree of stability. Jesus! That hurt! How am I going to . . . eh?
Three people were stood in a loose knot in front of the nearby sentinel.
Oh fuck! Too shocked to do anything else but get to his feet and stare, he gave each one the once-over, just to make sure his scrambled wits weren’t playing tricks on him. As if I’d be that lucky!
It was definitely the freaks—and a third person who was vaguely familiar—staring right back at him.
Wracking his brain, a sliver of clarity over the identity of the mystery man struggled to the fore. “I remember you! You were some kind of shaman they discovered on an eastern continent . . . ooh, several millennia ago. Don’t tell me . . . Aniless? Anilese Surinesh? Or something like that wasn’t it?”
“Close enough,” Anil replied, “though you get to call me Lord Marshal. It’s a title I was forced to inherit after the last holder—a very dear friend of mine, by the way—was murdered by a bunch of cowardly scumbags.”
Edging backward, Harry’s fingers crept toward the teleport circlet about his wrist. He tried to mask what he was doing by scrutinizing an imaginary feature against the cavern’s far wall and talking in a friendly fashion. “Well, it’s been really nice catching up. I’d love to stay, but unfortunately, I have a pressing engagement elsewhere.”
Harry slammed his palm against the activation button.
Victoria beat him to it by making the barest of gestures. A powerful frond of astral lightning played across the bracelet’s surface before working its way inside the circuitry.
It began sparking and fizzing, and the telltale hum of an imminent overload gave Harry scant opportunity to act. Wresting the band free, he flung it into the chasm.
Moments later, it exploded.
Having spotted what Victoria had just done, Harry was perplexed. “How did you do that? I thought this place subdued any form of metapsychic expression?”
“Don’t leave just yet,” Victoria ignored the question completely. Her voice cut like razor wire. “After all, we’ve got such a lot of catching up to do.”
That was all Harry could take. Turning on his heel, he sprinted for the corridor, kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake.
He’d only managed to take half a dozen steps before he was unceremoniously yanked backward by the scruff of his neck and mercilessly slammed into the dirt at Andrew’s feet.
Telekinesis could be a bitch in the wrong hands.
Head ringing, Harry tried to blink the circling fireflies from his vision.
Andrew stooped down beside him. Grabbing a fistful of clothing, he lifted Harry into the air and held him off the floor. His visage darkened. “As you’ve correctly surmised, we freaks have grown strong enough so we no longer seem to be affected by the unusual geology of this place. Good news for us. Bad news for you!”
Harry refused to cower, and sneered, “So, what are you going to—”
A brutal punch to the face broke his nose and silenced any further opportunity for defiance. Spinning through the air, he landed awkwardly. Winded and gasping for breath, he was only vaguely aware that Andrew was already upon him and dragging him back toward the robot sentry.
Depositing him in front of Anil and Victoria, Andrew growled. “You’re probably wondering if I’m going to kill you now . . .?”
Spitting blood, Harry raised himself up and looked from face to face. He found no mercy there, whatsoever.
“. . . Well, I won’t be,” Andrew continued. Nodding toward the Lord Marshal, he grinned, and exclaimed, “But I can’t speak for him.”
Anil removed a blackened plasma staff from within a fold of his robes and held it reverentially before him. As his gaze wandered up and down the scorched metal of the casing, a gentler cast accentuated his features. But only for an instant.
Intuitively, Harry guessed who that weapon once belonged to. Surprising himself, he chuckled, “Karma works both ways, eh?”
“It certainly does, my friend.” Anil’s hatred drenched every word in vitriol, “though I don’t imagine you’ll find it funny for too much longer.”
Snorting, Harry countered, “You forget what I am . . . human. That device may inflict damage on this mortal frame, but it will be unable to harm what remains of my divinity.”
Anil was clearly puzzled by that statement.
Andrew was quick to intercede. “Ah, you poor, unfortunate fool! What you are failing to take into account are the unique harmonics of this place.”
Indicating the mineral formations scattered throughout the lunar strata, he stressed, “We haven’t quite fathomed why, yet! But here, unless you possess the puissance of a Primary Echelon entity, you’re screwed! Something about the way the configuration of electrons within the atomic structure of the rocks combine with the prevalent solar winds creates a symbiotic dissonance, thereby mitigating the essences of both divine and transcended beings. Unless you’re a freak like Victoria and me of course.”
Harry felt his knees go weak. He now only had one option open to him. Oh well, who wants to live forever?
Coughing up another coppery mouthful, he rose slowly to his feet. “So I can die here, then? At least I won’t perish alone.”
Deftly, Harry activated all three of the antimatter devices on his belt.
So swiftly that Harry wasn’t quite sure he could trust his senses, Andrew stomped forward and made a clenching motion with his fingers. A sharp tug signified the moment the grenades were snatched away from Harry’s waist and into his enemy’s grasp.
Andrew clasped his hands to his chest and turned away slightly, before wreathing himself in astral flame.
A supernova blinded them, and the ground heaved in response to a colossal detonation. Harry and Anil were thrown to their backs. The subsequent pressure wave dislodged rocks and large chunks of the roof. A deluge of lethal shrapnel rained down from above, only to bounce off an invisible shield.
As the light receded, Harry caught a momentary glimpse of an angelic apparition nearly twelve feet high, hovering before them.
Then it was gone.
Andrew remained; untouched, unblemished and whole.
His psi-well had darkened to become a whirling maelstrom of abstract hunger that devoured all hope. He beckoned, and Harry flew into his outstretched hand like a magnetized lump of metal.
Harry tried desperately to breathe past the fleshy bands of iron choking the life from him. Then Andrew unleashed the heat of his anger, directly into Harry’s nervous system. The Fallen rebel screamed, writhing and kicking for all he was worth until the diabolical efflux abruptly cut off.
Rasping and hacking, Harry was jostled roughly as Andrew adjusted his grip to hoist him even higher into the air. Trying to ease the pressure on his windpipe, Harry held on tightly to his abuser’s wrists and squinted down, only to see his end pictured there.
“Father always said you were a coward,” Andrew snarled. His demeanor turned to stone. “And now we know.”
He didn’t bother turning away when he gave the order. “Anil . . . Do it!”
*
The Lord Marshal acted without hesitation.
A thrumming sound accompanied the appearance of a glaring royal blue light that cut through the air in a dazzling arc; a brief hiss announced the moment the photonic blade bit into meat and sinew; a dull thud followed as a head hit the floor—mouth still wide open in protestation against the grievance of untimely death.
Andrew maintained his hold on the twitching torso and inhaled, gorging himself on Elysian dominion until the emaciated husk crumbled to ash in his hands.
He noticed his sister watching him intently. She addressed him on his intimate mode: Andy, are you okay? You look swollen. Hell, you even feel different.
Different? Smiling, Andrew took a moment to assess himself: Hmm! It was . . . it is strangely enlightening.
What do you mean? Was the subsumption process successful?
More than you realize! Vic, we can’t, er. . . we can’t really discuss it here. It would be better if we talked about it later.
Likeminded in every way, Victoria didn’t miss his hint regarding their present company: No problems! I’ve got a sneaking suspicion I’m gonna love what you have to say anyway, so I don’t mind waiting.
They broke contact, only to discover they hadn’t been as discreet as they’d thought.
Anil stood to one side, casually tossing Earl Foster’s plasma staff up and down in one hand and studying them closely. It was apparent he knew they were up to mischief.
Things continued that way for a few minutes.
Eventually, the Lord Marshal took a deep breath, and murmured, “I don’t suppose you’d care to enlighten me, would you, on certain references that asshole alluded to before his death?”
Both siblings remained silent.
Anil pressed his point, “In particular, I’m keen to understand what he meant by the words, divinity, freak, and father. Oh, and not forgetting, Primary Echelon and the fact he referred to me as a human. As if I could be anything else. You can imagine, I’m itching to hear what you have to say . . . just to see if it matches my suspicions.”
When the twins still failed to reply, the Lord Marshal sheathed the baton, walked right up to them so that he could peer into the mirror image of their startling gray eyes, and whispered, “You should know me well enough by now to realize I won’t let this drop. My door is always open. Do drop by for a chat . . . when you’re ready.”