Chapter Fourteen

  Red Segment

  Nellie looked over the team, who would be entering the next iris, with more than a little trepidation. She had expected more of the original team to sit this one out, Cheape especially. It had barely been thirty hours since they defeated the Singularity, and very little of that had been spent resting.

  Both Cheape and Gas Tank had insisted on their original Rigs being rebuilt and upgraded for the next iris. The teams from Haven had done wonders, incorporating new parts and technologies in record time, but the paint was still tacky, and Nellie didn’t love the lack of testing.

  Which was responsible for the awkward little conversation she was having right now.

  “What do you mean, Ma’am?” Cheape frowned.

  “I mean, I want at least half of your team in Boost Suits,” Nellie said firmly. “You included.”

  “The rigs offer more chances for repairs and upgrades as we move through the segment,” Cheape argued, but very politely, “At least, in my opinion, Ma’am.”

  “They are remarkable technology,” Nellie allowed. “But that doesn’t change the orders.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Cheape nodded but flushed a little.

  “What?” Nellie asked her. She liked her people to speak their minds.

  “With the greatest respect, Ma’am,” Cheape said nervously, “Boost Suits are not Haven technology. I feel my people—our people, sorry—would do better using their own gear.”

  “And they can,” Nellie nodded. “But I want at least three Boost Suits in the party. Their armor is more complete, they self-repair to an extent, and they are sealed units. I don’t want anyone taking risks they don’t have to.”

  “I don’t have three people with experience in the suits,” Cheape shrugged. “Gas Tank and I are fine, but without Sparks…”

  “I’m coming,” Sparks said, trotting over in full gear. “I got checked out by the docs, and they say I’m ready to go.”

  “No,” Nellie and Cheape both shut that down quickly.

  “But—”

  “You nearly died,” Cheape said curtly. “Take a minute, will you?”

  “Yeah, but if I do… will I ever get back in a Rig?” Sparks shrugged. “I think I need to do this.”

  That was only one of several arguments before the team finally assembled fully. The three Boost-Suits at the front, with five rigs following along behind. By far, the most significant additions were the oversized packs on the back of each Rig. Built onto a framework of steel sheets were hardened cases containing vacuum-sealed foods and shaped barrels of water. The rest of the space was taken up by the secondary power cores for the new plasma weaponry.

  Lucy and Gas Tank had worked together with TRV-4 to design the systems, and they were not to be sneezed at.

  Nellie pulled up a wireframe of the newly improved Rigs, currently going by the name of Experimental Model Six. The railguns were still there because it was challenging to come up with anything more potent than a railgun. The other arm was now home to the chainguns taken from the Yellow Segment but with the important addition of some extra cooling. The shield and laser arrays were more powerful now, and each arm now featured a wrist-mounted plasma thrower. Built on the frame of a Model Five, but with various changes learned the hard way in the first segment, the Experimental Model Six was closer to a Boost-Suit than ever.

  Gas Tank and his engineers were starting to see the advantages of a modular approach as they had to make so many changes on the fly.

  Nellie could see a time in the future when the Rigs would ultimately surpass the Boost Suits, but for now, she preferred to have at least a few of them on the team.

  They were proven technology in the way the Rigs just weren’t yet.

  Leaving the team to their planning, Nellie walked over to the Red Iris, seeing TRV-4 standing there, frowning at the closed and locked door.

  “Irritating, isn’t it?” Nellie asked as she came to stand next to him. “Not being able to go in with them?”

  “It is, your Highness,” TRV-4 nodded. “But more disturbing is that I can’t tell how it is doing it.”

  “You’re not alone there,” Nellie admitted. “Lucy hasn’t been able to figure it out either.”

  “Yes, but her information is less complete than mine,” TRV-4 crossed his arms and glared at the iris, “There is no reason this will not open. Watch.”

  Nellie almost gasped as the silicate man’s signature appeared to shift in her sensors, becoming completely indistinguishable—at least to her—from a typical, unaugmented organic lifeform.

  “See,” TRV-4 slapped the closed metal with his hand in irritation. “Nothing, yet I know my readings are perfect.”

  “How did you—” Nellie stopped as her mind processed what he had said. “Wait, how can it tell you aren’t organic if everything about you says you are?”

  “Precisely what I am wondering,” TRV-4 nodded. “There is technology behind this that I have never even heard of.” He turned to look at her, “And we have seen just about everything. All of our society’s technical knowledge is implanted into Transfer Units. Yet, I do not even have an idea how this may be done.”

  “Hopefully, we find out along the way,” Nellie shrugged off the mystery for now. There were more pressing matters for her to deal with right now.

  “Might I be allowed to invite a pair of Silicate Science Units to attend this place?” TRV-4 asked. “They might have more insight.”

  Nellie hesitated. This place was a gold mine, and the less that fact was spread about, the better. Her instincts were screaming at her to keep what was hers, not to share it with outsiders who might try and take it from her. For a long moment, she hesitated before finally nodding.

  “Thank you. I will ensure they know nothing of this place until they arrive,” TRV-4 bowed. “I will go and collect them myself. Please excuse me while I wish Emissary Cheape a good start to her mission.”

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  Nellie watched the man stride purposely away and wondered where this decision would lead. She really was inclined to keep this moon to herself, but following that inclination would lead to nothing good.

  She needed the best minds they could get to ensure her people survived. That meant asking for help sometimes. It meant taking the risk to trust others.

  Nellie didn’t have to like it, but she did have to do it.

  /====<<<>>>====\

  Cheape had to force herself to step through the Red Iris and into another segment of the hateful moon. The horrors of the Yellow Segment were still very fresh in her mind. More than once, as she took those first difficult steps, Cheape wondered if she was insane to take this risk twice.

  Then she looked back at the EX-6 models coming in through the iris behind her. They were twice the machine the fives were. Maybe more. Even as they filed in, people hurried past with loaded grav carts full of materials and tech pulled from Yellow.

  Ultimately, that was why she was here. If they could get the same permission to recover tech and materials from here, Haven would get yet another leap forward.

  The fact that it was not so dissimilar from the path the First Interstellar Empire had taken was not lost on her, but that was not something she could change.

  Well, she admitted in the privacy of her suit, she could. All it would take would be to restrict the technology being imported into Haven until she felt they were ‘ready for it.’

  That wasn’t something Cheape was willing to do.

  Haven’s people were fighting for everything they got, so they deserved to have the rewards they had won. She would just have to trust them and hope that things worked out well.

  Queen Nellie seemed completely at ease with her position of command. Her word was law, and she was fine with that. Cheape didn’t think she would ever really understand that.

  Nor did she have to; Cheape just had to do her job and guide her people.

  Much like the first segment they had explored, this one began with a corridor, albeit a wider one. The roof above them was transparent, allowing the light of the false star to shine down on them. It was now, as they walked forward, that she realized the change that had happened.

  “Cheape here. Has anyone noticed a sliver is missing from the star?” She flicked the comm line to both queens. “It seems to line up with Yellow.”

  “We can’t see that from here, Cheape,” Lucy replied. “Describe what you are seeing, please.”

  “There is a small segment of the star no longer emitting light,” Cheape adjusted the filters on her suit's visor, allowing her to see past the bright light. “There seems to be a set of shifting bands beneath, but I can’t make out the material.” Pain stabbed into her eyes, and Cheape looked away as a headache spiked in her temples. “Something about it doesn’t seem to agree with me, Your Highnesses. I’m experiencing sharp eye and temple pain.”

  “Very well, Cheape. Ignore it from here on,” Queen Nellie replied. “It should be hidden again as you enter the segment proper.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Cheape nodded, more than happy not to look at the strange sight again.

  Stepping out from the corridor, Cheape saw a familiar mist cloaking the surroundings. Even as she reported it, the first change became visible. The buildings she was glimpsing, more shapes than anything definite, looked so much more refined than those at the start of Yellow. There was still a definite industrial bent to the buildings, but they were certainly not the kind found in the low-rent industrial neighborhoods of cities anymore. These were the stylized, modernized types you found in the richer parts of large stations. Their forms were as much an advertisement of wealth and importance as they were of actual function.

  Metal was still in evidence, but there was no rust or peeling paint to be seen. There wasn’t even any paint. That would be too low-rent. Instead, the metal portions were artistically displayed between enamel panels and smooth stone polished to a shine.

  Crossing the street to the nearest building, Cheape got a closer look, seeing crystal panels that reminded her of the displays in the museum. Looking up the side of the multistory building, she saw a pair of tracks set into the side, running parallel to the road.

  “Keep an eye on those tracks,” she called back to the others. “Something runs on them, and I don’t intend to get jumped again.”

  “Yes, Boss,” Andy J replied quickly, ever ready to volunteer.

  They moved on, traveling between two of the buildings. A couple of stories up, a walkway between them came into view. Supported on a wide arch of stone and sided with some kind of glass, it also featured a track, but underneath this time. The track branched off from one building before joining onto another.

  Those things were making her more and more nervous.

  A massive cogwheel turned slowly, half hidden inside the factory, as they approached the sliding doors.

  Cheape waited a moment for everyone to spread out before stepping forward. A crystal above the door lit, and her sensors pinged as she was scanned.

  “Oh, fuck,” Sparks called a moment before a whirring approached from both sides.

  Cheape didn’t even have to look to know it was coming from the tracks.

  “Taking left,” Gas Tank called.

  “I have right,” Sparks replied a moment before two squat, stepped pyramids of metal appeared on the side of the building. As soon as they cleared the mist, the tops split open, and what could only be a weapon appeared, turning to aim down at the squad.

  “Fire,” Cheape ordered, and railgun rounds shattered both turrets. “Hold for reinforcements.”

  They waited a full five minutes with no other arrivals and no sign of further issues.

  “Let’s try that again, shall we?” Cheape aimed her suit's gauntlet at the crystal, firing a modified mining laser. The crystal shattered.

  Striding forward, she grabbed the sliding doors, slamming them apart. Nothing moved within.

  “Sparks, take two Rigs and sweep left. Gas Tank, same on the right.” Cheape kept her eye on her sensors, waiting for any reaction as the team moved in. “Andy, with me.”

  The entranceway led into a space closer to a showroom than anything else. A squat, stocky mannequin held a set of familiar-looking pistols by the door.

  Lights bloomed as they entered, revealing a spartan but artistic layout that highlighted several manikins, each holding a different weapon.

  “They literally put weapons right by the iris?” Gas Tank sounded stunned. “Why do I think that is a bad sign?”

  “Because you have good instincts,” Cheape replied, looking at the far wall, where a selection of rifles, axes, and pistols were all waiting on small, glowing crystal shelves. “There is simply no way this is a good sign.”

  “I mean, it’s free stuff, right?” Andy asked, her Rig stomping over to the nearest alcove. “What does this do?”

  “Touch a single thing, and I will personally remove the finger you used!” Sparks snapped. “Andy, I fucking swear!”

  “Jeez, I was just thinking aloud, Sparks,” Andy held up her hands defensively. “I wasn’t going to touch things.”

  “Enough. Focus, people.” Cheape knew they were just bitching and arguing to blow off tension, but it was grating against her nerves. “Let’s clear the rest of the facility.”

  A door to the left led them to a series of storerooms, but the real surprise was found on the other side of the showroom.

  A series of complicated machines and conveyors waited patiently for orders, and they all led straight to the alcoves Andy had been looking at. Returning to them, Cheape found a menu system in the F.I.E. language. With her Boost Suit and some assistance from Lucy, she was able to get a real-time translation going. It was only then that she realized the genius of this place.

  “This is a custom weapons shop,” Cheape reported. “The machines make everything to order.” She chuckled as Gas Tank made a beeline for the nearest alcove, fingers flying.

  “Don’t get caught up in that right now, Tank,” Cheape warned. “If any of this would help us, they wouldn’t have put it here.”

  “You think?” Gas Tank asked, not turning from the alcove. “Then why put it here at all?”

  The comm line for the queens lit, and Nellie answered before Cheape could even start to think of the possible reasons.

  “It’s a fucking honey trap! Everyone get ready for a fight!”

  “Buy me five minutes!” Gas Tank yelled. “Maybe ten!”

  “Fuck!” Cheape rarely swore, but knowing they were about to be ambushed was playing on her own fears. “Make it count, Gas Tank.”

  “I will,” Gas Tank promised. “Oh, I will.”

  Cheape looked over to the engineer as she walked back toward the front doors. He had slid back the panel on the wrist of his Boost Suit and jammed the connectors into the crystal panel.

  She really hoped he had a plan.

  Hey all,

  First of all, thank you to every one of my readers for your patience and understanding as I move through the process of grieving the loss of my amazing wife.

  That said, I will be returning to running things here and on Patreon full-time from later this week.

  Additionally, I am completely revamping my Patreon this week with new rewards and advantages. The full details are up to read for free over there, but these are the highlights.

  $1 - Will be moving ahead even further after book six, get a short story each month, and will be getting a free copy of the spin-off ‘Level One and Loving It.’

  $2 - Everything else, plus a chance to vote on the subject of the monthly short story.

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  Additionally, look forward to blog posts to keep you updated on the latest news, including exciting news about new stories.

  So, if you want to support me and can spare at least $1 a month, this will be well worth it, and much appreciated.

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  P.S. > I will be returning to answering comments and such here as well. Also, expect a big revamp here a little later in the week as well!