On Galaxy's Edge: Ascendance (16 page)

“This one won’t talk, Nate. Any ideas on what to do with it?” Nero asked, playing up to the role of captor.

“Oh, I have a few ideas,” Nate replied, with a particularly nasty grin.

Nero smirked, though with no mirth in his eyes. “But first, I have a message I’ll want you to deliver,” he said, turning his attention back to the Nostra agent. “The city is mine, it has been for years. Yet you think you can just come in here and what - muscle me out? That’s not going to happen. I run the city now. If you try anything like this again, I will retaliate, you will die, and I will prevail. Got that?”

The alien blinked in response. Nero sighed. “But you’re not going to deliver that message, are you?” Again, no response came from the alien. “No, of course you won’t. Well then, I’ll need you to deliver it in another way. A more personal way. Nate?” Nero said, turning towards the muscular man beside him.

He raised his eyebrows in a questioning response. Nero nodded, and turned his back. He heard a muffled, high-pitched alien scream as he walked away, to find Zea.

“You doing okay?” Nero asked, placing a hand on the older man’s shoulder.

“Yes, I’m fine. We’ve been lucky, Nero. Relatively speaking, I mean. These three are dead,” he said, gesturing to the broken bodies Nero had already dismissed as gone, “and the four hit by lasers haven’t made it, but the rest should be fine. They’ll have a few headaches, bruises, that sort of thing. But they’ll be okay.”

“That’s good to know, Zea,” Nero replied, looking on the seven dead bodies. He felt a small sense of relief that Jerad wasn’t amongst them, as guilty as that made him feel, but he still knew them well. One of them was only fifteen, and had only joined them a year ago. He turned away, not wanting to look on them any longer.

“I’ll be outside if you need me,” he said to Zea, picking up a rifle, and walking towards the tunnel. The outer cave was almost unrecognisable. The two shuttles were just skeletons now, metal skeletons that were still on fire. Blue flames licked up from where the fuel cells were mounted, lending the cave a strangely surreal air. Nero carried on through, and climbed the gentle slope towards the mouth of the cave, and the daylight that was streaming down.

Ready to duck back in if anyone was still out there, he looked out of the cave’s entrance. Empty desert and rocks stretched to the right, and to the left, a ship sat. A run-down, battered ship, that looked like it had served many decades of service, but a ship nonetheless. And no other Nostra around, thankfully. Nero slung the rifle back over his shoulder.

He made his way over to the abandoned shuttle. It was surprisingly large, about twice the size of his own ships, but it didn’t look anywhere near as fast. It was a weirdly bulbous shape, with protrusions coming out of odd places on it, and stubby wings that looked like an afterthought. Still, Nero reflected, it was better than nothing, until he found some new ships.

Standing in the shade under the vehicle’s bulk, Nero called Talyah’s communicator. She answered almost immediately, her voice coming over clearly in Nero’s head.

“Nero?”

“Yeah, Tal. We’ve had a problem back at the base. I’m gonna need you to come back here, as soon as you can.”

“What happened?”

“Well,” Nero started, thinking he’d rather talk in person, but aware that Talyah wouldn’t wait. “We had a problem with the Nostra. Turns out they knew where our base was, and they came here.”

“What did they do, Nero?”

“Destroyed our shuttles for a start. And we lost seven guys, Tal. Remember that kid you found last year? I’m sorry, Tal, but he was one of the first hit. Laser bolt in the chest. He would have been gone almost instantly.”

There was silence from the other end for a time. Nero knew that Talyah had been close to the kid. He’d always had a smile on his face.

“You killed all the Nostra, then?” Talyah asked, her voice as steady as ever. She had an inner strength that Nero often forgot she possessed.

“We did Tal. There was one left, but he wouldn’t talk, so... Nate’s dealing with him.”

“Good,” Talyah said, saying nothing more.

“Don’t worry, Tal. We’ll retaliate. You know I won’t let this go. We’ll hit them hard, and we’ll hit them soon. But I need your shuttle, and I need you Tal. Are you heading back here?”

“Of course, Nero. I will be there shortly.”

She clicked off her communicator, a faint beep filling Nero’s head when she did. Sighing, he emerged from the shade of the hulking metal ship, and headed back towards the cave.

****

“That’s it?” Nate asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

Nero glanced sideways at Nate, watching the man watch their destination approach. “Expecting big flashing lights? A sign saying ‘we are here’?”

“Well obviously. But this, this is just an abandoned building in the outskirts.”

“It’s a means to an end. This isn’t HQ. That location is a well-known ‘secret’, but this... this is our entry to the tunnels, since they blocked off the old entrances.”

Nate watched Nero now, as he was bringing Talyah’s shuttle down to land. “And you know these tunnels?”

“I know them pretty well. I was using them before they were taken over. Before the Nostra requisitioned them. But now they never really use the tunnels. I guess they were already set up above ground, so the tunnels are pretty much abandoned now. The occasional patrol, I’m told, but that’s it. Good for us, but it’s a lost opportunity for them. One among many, really.”

The shuttle settled down on an empty area of concrete, engines causing the ship to vibrate slightly at a low frequency. Next to them, the other ship, the old one formerly owned by the Nostra, settled down too. Its landing was less smooth, the legs compressing dramatically as the weight was rapidly applied.

“I hope you find a new one soon,” Nate said, also watching the other ship land. “That one is hideous.”

They and ten others descended the boarding ramp to emerge in the late afternoon haze. The sun was low on the horizon, casting a slightly purple tinge in the air, and as ever in the city, it was raining. Nero turned at the grinding sound that accompanied the lowering of the other ship’s boarding ramp. He cringed inwardly. Nate was right; he needed to find a new one.

Descending first from the other ship was Talyah, her slightly wild hair billowing behind her in the wind as she strode forward. Combined with her large, golden eyes, she was quite a presence. Fifteen others followed her down, and together with Nero’s group, they made up almost the entirety of his gang. A small group, but a precision instrument, Nero thought as he surveyed them.

“Alright,” he said, when they were gathered in front of him. “You know why we’re here. We all knew the guys we lost well. Some of us knew them very well. But that didn’t stop the Nostra. That didn’t stop them breaking into our base, and butchering our friends. I guess they thought we weren’t strong enough to retaliate, or that they’d be able to wipe us all out.” He paused, to look at the men and women in front of him. “Well, they were wrong. We’re a small group, but I know I can trust each and every one of you, and that is why we’ll beat these guys. And we will beat them. It’s obvious that it’s us or them now. And I say it’s going to be us. So. Are we ready to have a little fun?”

Some smiled, some grinned, and some just had resolved expressions on their faces. None made much noise, however, being too professional to draw undue attention to themselves. Satisfied that they were in as good a state of mind as they could be, Nero turned his back, and headed to the alley opposite. Talyah and Nate came close behind, followed by the rest of the group.

The building was the next street over, and was entirely unremarkable. It was just a rundown concrete and metal structure, only three floors tall, and with no obvious signs of habitation. However, if you looked closely, there were hints. The door was clean, an obvious tell that it repeatedly slid open and closed. And the ground outside the door and building were cleaner than would be expected, as if repeated sets of feet kept too much dirt from settling.

Nero halted, holding up his augmented arm to stop the others. Turning to Nate and Talyah, he looked them in the eyes, seeing their determination. “You know what to do, guys.” They nodded, and gestured to their assigned teams. Talyah took her ten guys around to the left of the building, down the small adjacent alley, and Nate took his down the right. Nero was left with five, to go in the main entrance.

He looked them over. Jerad was with him, as dependable as ever, and the other four were also good people. Onon, a small woman, deadly with her hands, was with him, as were Koegan, Cauld and Abia. Those three looked intimidating, and were very good in a fight, but they were actually rather soft guys most of the time. Today, though, they looked ready for violence.

“Ready?” Nero asked, knowing the answer before they responded. They nodded, and moved forward with Nero. He was constantly checking the windows of the building, but didn’t see any signs of movement as he approached. He wasn’t expecting to see any, either. If anyone was in there, they wouldn’t want to risk being spotted in the windows.

The main door was metal, but wasn’t designed to withstand any force. Nero gestured for Koegan to come forward, and he did so, bringing out the small laser cutter. It was only a matter of a few seconds before the powerful laser cut through the locking mechanism, and the door could be slid open manually.

Koegan did so, once Nero and the others were in position, with their laser rifles aimed at the door. Nothing happened; no shots were fired at them, no one rushed out, and indeed, there was no light on in the building. Nero carefully crept forward, entering the building, his holodisplay highlighting any possible dangers once inside.

The room they entered was empty, and obviously hadn’t been used in a long time. There was no furniture, and no signs of it having been lived in. “Next room,” Nero said, gesturing for the others to move forward with him. He opened a channel on the communicator. “Tal. How you doing?”

“We’re in Nero,” came her reply. “No sign of anyone yet.”

“Nate?” Nero asked.

“Same,” came his answer. “I’ve just got darkness over here.”

“Okay, converge on the centre. We’ll head upstairs as one.”

Nero’s team made their way through to the next room, a central hall in the building. In the centre of this space was a circular staircase, made of transparent plexlon, spiralling upwards to the top of the building. Talyah and Nate appeared from opposite directions.

It was at times like these, Nero reflected, that he wished miniature drones could still be found. But they had disappeared from the black market years ago now. He hated going in blind.

Taking point, Nero was first to climb the stairs. He climbed slowly, his rifle pointed upwards, checking for signs of movement, augmented legs making no noise at all on the steps. Again, there was no light on this floor, and all the doors were open to the rooms. It looked deserted, just like the first floor.

“Tal,” he whispered into the mic, “check this floor out. Nate, with me.”

He carried on up the stairs, up to the top floor, still with no signs of life. Then he heard a faint metallic noise, and possibly the sound of a voice. It came from behind a closed door leading off of the landing, and a glance at Nate suggested he’d heard the same thing. They fanned out, with five guys going into the room to the right, which had an open door, and another five moving to the closed door of the room to the left.

Nero whispered into the communicator. “Everyone move in on go. Three... two... one... go.” Koegan again slid the door open for them, and Nero, Nate, Onon and Abia burst into the room. Nero took everything in in a moment, noticing the bright portable work light set up, the game spread out on a table, and the five men sat around it. They looked up as Nero burst in, surprised expressions coming to their faces, and looked again as the team from the room on the right also burst in, from another door.

The fastest among the game-players began to reach for their weapons, but they weren’t quick enough. Nero and his team opened fire, punching the men full of laser holes before any of them even got their weapons up. It was over in a second, and with no casualties to Nero’s team.

“Clear,” Nero said into his communicator. By the looks of things, these five men were just guards of some sort. A skeleton crew to man the building. Some job they were doing, Nero thought. “But why were they on the top floor...?” he muttered to himself.

“What was that?” Talyah asked, coming into the room from behind him.

“What? Oh, nothing Tal. Find anything on your floor?”

“No, Nero. It was deserted, just like the ground floor.”

“Hmm,” Nero replied. “Well, let’s have a look around here. See if there’s anything of interest.”

They separated, Talyah going to look in the other rooms, and Nero going to check the room the men were playing their game in. It looked just like the other rooms to him. A few overturned chairs, some old tools on the floor, dust covering most surfaces. Except the table they’d been playing their game on. Nero went over for a closer look.

“Looking for something?” Nate asked, watching Nero examine the room.

“Just having a look.”

“Well, look all you want. But I’ve got a hankering for those tunnels.”

Standing over one of the tables by the wall, Nero spotted a small carbon cube. It was placed in the centre of the table, on a miniature plinth. He picked it up, and turned it over in his hand. It was completely featureless and smooth on all sides, except for a small marking on one side. That marking looked like a slightly rounded triangle.

“Hey, you ever seen something like this before?” he asked Nate, handing him the small object.

Nate looked the piece of carbon over. “Do you know what this is, Nero?”

“No. Hence the question.”

“This, this is incredible. You know, many years ago, when I was doing jobs for myself, I found a similar object. I didn’t know what it was then, and I traded it to someone for some food. It was only later, after that explosion in Section 24, that I got curious. See, this trader, he disappeared shortly after I gave him the object.”