“Bibliopolis, Part Two: the Tome of Treasures.”
Yenae, the map shows you’ve got about five free kilometers before you hit any checkpoints. There are eight points of security separating you from the book, and as you might expect, they become progressively difficult to overcome. A former UCM Captain like yourself might be able to bypass the first few, but you’ll have to force your way through the rest. Doors three through five can be opened by a series of codes, six and seven are protected by more advanced means, and I believe the Interceptors protect number eight. All right—you’ve gotten past the first door? Yes, I know—it’s sloppy of them to keep those old codes. Stay alert—these security devices can get pretty lethal. I’m out for now.
Lyara took a deep, shuddering breath and let her body go limp. She had to sit down in order to communicate telepathically—otherwise, she would eventually crumble from the strain. Extended use of her telepathy—that is, an hour or so without rest—caused severe migraines and slight bleeding. Prolonged use put her into a brief coma; she had never pushed herself past sixty-seven minutes straight. Even these brief spurts with the six teams were beginning to take their toll; she was glad this would be the final mission.
“Are you all right? You look ill.” Aseria ended her own transmission and walked over to check on her distant cousin. The Valar is a high and ancient form of elf that most of the other races revere, and even a Sindar like Aseria, who was quite venerable in her own right, humbled herself in Lyara’s presence. Lady Tolath did not feel so proud or mighty as one might think, and smiled in gratitude as the dark-skinned elf dabbed her forehead with a cool cloth.
“It’s just mental strain. Telepathy’s like using any other muscle: too much and I wear myself out. I’m afraid I haven’t been exercising it much if I wear myself out so soon.”
“But you are the only one who can speak with them all,” Aseria sighed. She knew that carrying phones or comlinks would be useless since Bibliopolan security would jam them the instant there was a breach, and she felt gloomy that the burden had to fall on Lyara’s shoulders. She decided to get to know her remote relative in order to relieve the strain, even though by this time tomorrow, they would certainly be parted.
“If there is anything I can do to ease your burden, don’t hesitate to ask. Our kind is different, special. We must look out for one another. How did you come to join this motley crew, if I may ask? Talking might make things more bearable.”
“I just need some rest,” she breathed, “and maybe some water. If you must know, I ran away from something back home. I had to compromise my beliefs in order to survive, and now I’m trying to recapture that old dream of mine. Ah, thanks—mm. That’s better. Anyway, it seems so childish, but I wanted to see the galaxy. I’m like Mink and Shana.” Aseria looked bewildered.
“I’m not…familiar…”
“Mink is the gray-skinned girl who follows Vimmy around. I know you know who she is. Shana is the one who paints other people’s portraits. She’s bouncy and gregarious, and is a bit ticklish…”
“Oh yes, them. I still haven’t matched names with faces yet. So they share your dream too?”
“We have similar dreams,” Lyara said. “We all wanted to see the galaxy. We wanted to explore. I suppose gathering here under Miracle’s banner was the best way to do it. Oh, I may
as well warn you: don’t wander around here very much, at least not at night. There’s a…well, I don’t know how to describe it without sounding foolish.”
“Try me.” Lyara pursed her lips and stared very coldly.
“A ghost.”
“You’re serious.”
“I saw it myself. It wasn’t a dream—I was too awake and aware of things for it to be a dream. I wasn’t hallucinating either; I heard it singing.”
“It sang?”
“A noise came out of it. It glowed too, more like a light than a spirit. It looked like…oh, how can I describe it? Like a tall human without a neck or shoulders, and great long limbs like a tree. It was very large—no curves or anything—but I think it had eyes. I couldn’t bear to look at it.” Aseria stood there soaking all this in, momentarily numb, but was quickly shaken as the ship’s monitor flickered to life. Miracle’s 4D map of Bibliopolis showed where the crew was at any given moment in time, and Yenae’s team was about ready to face the fifth door.
“It’s time. I’m going to warn them about those doors. I need you to tell them exactly what I say. Can you do this?”
“I’ve recovered enough,” she grunted, rubbing her temples and eyes.
……
“Get ready for a fight,” Yenae warned her team. “According to Aseria’s readout, there are some combat droids on the other side of this door. Once I put in the codes, we’ll either have to look like authorized personnel or else blast our way through.”
“I’ve got no problem with that!” Allegra said. She had been overjoyed to hear that the majority of the guards protecting this treasure were robots; that meant she could shoot to her heart’s content and not feel morally bleak about it. Only Kyrie and Alala shared her enthusiasm; Kate was downright despondent and Fuuka was a bundle of nerves. Shepherd had hoped this voyage would go on for years and years; she had put her entire future into this dream, and now it was breaking. As for Fuuka, it’s a doctor’s curse to be in the midst of battle, and as talented as she was, she could only do so much. She would just have to have faith in her comrades, faith that they would come out all right in the end, regardless of their reckless attitudes.
“The military’s really been slacking off!” Alala observed as Yenae worked on the keypad. “I’d’ve figured they’d be smart enough to withhold their codes from people like you, or at least change them!”
“They can’t all be sexy-cute geniuses like you,” she chuckled. Alala snarled and kicked at the air.
“Just shut up and get us through! I’m gonna kick so much ass that this whole planet will go bankrupt from the destruction!”
“Please don’t start emulating that awful snake,” Fuuka moaned.
“I’m not!” Alala insisted, balling her fists. “I’m my own person and this attitude is my own design. Hurry up, hurry up! I wanna rip those robot apa—“
The door suddenly opened, leaving Alala to gawk as the three Executioner droids loomed over them.
“Ball’s in your court, Falala,” Yenae giggled.
“Don’t call me that, you beast! Otherwise I’ll do this!!” She scampered on all fours to the closest machine, swerving and skidding around the blasts with incredible speed and flexibility, and latched onto its chest with her claws. Alala screamed and slashed at the neck, but was quickly thrown off as the machine plucked her away. Yenae caught her and chirped; Alala wriggled away, kicking and screaming, and went back for a rematch. Allegra was already blasting away, sinking bullets with pinpoint accuracy, rolling and running to stay one step ahead of the hailstorm. Yenae had a gun but she preferred her knives; she threw a handful at the spot Alala had attacked, then leaped up and ripped the head off with a fierce yank.
“Catch, Tralala!”
“Shut the fuck up—whoa! Hey, don’t chuck that thing at me!! This is serious, you evil bitch!”
“Then why am I having so much fun?” she laughed. Yenae climbed down the machine as the other two fired, most of their blasts foolishly perforating their unfortunate comrade. She pressed her clawed hands on the ground and shoved with her legs and tail, throwing the ruined robot to the ground. Allegra jumped on top of it and fired point-blank into its chest, obliterating the core.
“Serves you right, ya hunk of junk! Awright, which one o’ you polecats is next?”
“Nyooh, I got em’!” Alala howled and scurried after the other two, but now Kate beat her to the punch, literally: she ripped open a hole in the chest and pulled out the core, slamming it against the machine’s head for a dramatic knockout. Alala roared in anger and frustration, and as serious as the situation and as volcanic as her temper was, she looked unbearably cute. Herut hid underneath the legs of the final Executioner, clinging for dear life, trying to recall everything Eve had taught her. She knew these machines were weak in the chest, but they also had a protective covering that rendered most direct attacks useless. She had it in her mind to unscrew the plating, somehow, and program the machine in their favor, even though she specialized in transports and would not know how to go about changing.
“Wait, I know what to do here!” The revelation came to her unexpectedly, and it only would’ve happened if somebody had wrapped themselves around the legs of those killing machines. Never one to go very far without her toolbox, Herut went to work on the single flaw the designers had apparently neglected, wrenching and wriggling until it was loose. The knee caved in and the machine knelt down; Herut sailed away; the others opened fire on the handicapped robot. She took a deep breath and smiled.
“And that, ladies, is why you should always take care of your machines. You never know when somebody’s going to take advantage of a mishap. How does the old cliché go? ‘It’s only as strong as the weakest link’.”
“Darn,” Kyrie huffed as she helped Herut stand. “I wanted to test out my latest incinerator. At least let me take some samples to melt down!” Kate dragged her away without a word; Kyrie just moaned. All that beautiful scrap going to waste!
The first four security checkpoints had been easy to get through, thanks to Yenae’s previous experience with the military and Herut’s innate knowledge of security systems. The fifth was merely foreshadowing things to come: the sixth and seventh doors were protected by fiendish obstacles that only authorized personnel could get through, and the final door, no doubt,
had an Interceptor waiting for them. As Fuuka was healing the crew, Kate reminded Kyrie of this fact, and she lit up for joy as she realized she would have one more chance to test her devices. The sixth room actually whetted her appetite and made Yenae glad she had chosen the excitable inventor: it was a “fire room” where flames shot out of large burners at irregular intervals.
“Oh goody!” Kyrie sang, her wings flapping for joy. “They’re rewarding me for my patience! Wow, lookit how high they’re going! Whoa, they’re shooting out everywhere! And they’re all burning hot! Usually you only see these weak-ass sparks in places like this, but these could melt rubber!”
“Just hurry up and do whatever needs to be done,” Alala grunted. She dusted a few stray embers from her fur and hissed; Yenae giggled and brushed her fingers against those silky white ears, which only caused the poor girl more grief. “Nyaaah! Only close personal friends can touch my ears!”
“I’m sorry, but they’re so adorable!”
“Everyone be quiet, please,” Fuuka said as she folded her hands: “Kyrie’s about to take the plunge.”
“Ten gold coins says she don’t make it without screaming,” Allegra chuckled. Bets were being made and exchanged as Kyrie braced herself; she took the first step in the inferno and sighed.
“It’s so…warm!” She walked directly through the furnace without flinching or stopping, not even when the columns of fire dashed against her skin (as a matter of fact, she squealed and almost lost several people their bets). She made it to the other side all right, but almost went back “to that wonderful paradise”, only flipping the safety lever at the behest of her agitated companions.
“You’re all no fun,” she whined as they caught up with her. Yenae chuckled and ruffled her short black hair.
“Thank you for your sacrifice, Kyrie. I misjudged you, and I want to apologize for being rude to you earlier.”
“Eh? When were you rude to me?”
“Never mind!” she grinned, skipping ahead of the pack. The others were considerably quieter and merely gave their hotheaded friend a pat on the back. Fuuka was concerned, of course, but Kyrie laughed it off and told her she was fine.
“I am a Red, after all!” she chirped. “We live, eat, breathe, and sleep around fire. Ahh, that was a fun two minutes! I wish there were even more of these!”
“If only it were that easy,” said the uneasy Kitsune.
The seventh room dampened everybody’s spirits as they stared into it. They felt they could handle anything as a team—that, by cooperating and uniting their individual talents, they could sail through practically anything this planet could throw at them. Didn’t they all bear the title of Dauntless to their names? And yet some deranged person had created a room no living creature could pass, not even a fly or an ant or a mouse: it was impenetrable and perfect. Lasers danced across the room, their movements irregular, unpredictable, sometimes overlapping, closing in, opening up to give a false impression of security, weaving and moving with hypnotic precision… Allegra thought the team could just burst through the room, that alarms would
sound and that would be it—but when she plucked one of her hairs out and held it next to the nearest laser, she jerked back in surprise as the tiny follicle was scorched.
“Yeowch,” she murmured. “Well, so much for that idea. Sorry y’all, but I don’t think we’ll be goin’ any further. Not even Kyrie could survive all this.”
“Leave it to me, everyone!!” Alala screamed, cracking her knuckles noisily. She cackled so wickedly that most of the crew stepped back, wondering what evil scheme she had in store. “They haven’t made a trap yet that I can’t spring! Just you watch! I’ll go through this whole room without a single scratch!”
“But you’re cra—“ Yenae silenced Allegra as the feisty Felinis vaulted into the room, curving her limbs and twisting her frame in positions that would have been physically impossible for anyone else.
“Don’t even think about doubting her,” she whispered, full of conviction. “Alala is the smartest person I’ve ever met—much smarter than me, actually—smart enough to know exactly what she’s getting into. What sounds like ego to you is really her supreme and perfect confidence. I have faith that she will deliver her promise.”
“But lookit this place!” Allegra gestured. “Even if she did have nine lives, she’d never—“
“Don’t speak. Just watch.” Allegra and the others stood spellbound as Alala defied all reason and logic; she was almost halfway through. The lasers slowly revolved around the room, arcing and curving and even wiggling in strange patterns, but Alala was as fluid as water: she curved and wove delicately, twisting her head or her arms, lifting her leg, flexing her tail—once she had to stand perfectly still for nearly fifteen seconds, balanced only on one hand, as the beams of white-hot light floated precariously over her fur. Her bones seemed to shift like rubber; her skin rippled and her fuzzy face twisted as she took step after step, crawling and climbing over the trap, every breath abated as this work of living, majestic art flung her brazen attitude into the face of impossibility.
When she reached the third quarter mark, Alala suddenly found herself trapped as one beam swung back and forth directly behind her, while another rose and fell, like the blade of a guillotine. The space in between the two rays was so small that she had to tuck her tail between her legs, stand perfectly straight, and give thanks that her chest was so small; an ampler woman would’ve been scorched. She couldn’t move because there were lasers crisscrossing in both directions, guarding the final destination. Another laser suddenly shot out, its beam millimeters above her scalp; Alala tensed but didn’t dare to move, not even to duck. Three more beams shot out, forcing her to raise both arms and one of her legs: she was now standing with her limbs stretched out like a crane’s, a wall in front and a wall behind, and lasers all around: she was pinned.
Pinned, yes, but not defeated. “Is this the best you got?” she whispered. Suddenly she hurled herself forward, barely avoiding the dropping light, tumbled in midair over the crisscrossing rays, jerked to the left, and slammed her hands against the lever, shutting the lasers off. The collective breaths of seven bold women were released, and tensions dropped.
“Magnificent!” Kate said. Yenae picked up the weary cat-girl and hugged her for one glorious half-second before she was pushed away.
“Mew! No victory snuggle for you! Everyone else is all right! MYU, but Kate must be gentle!” Kate laughed and settled on rubbing Alala’s shoulder; Kyrie and Allegra hugged her, while Herut settled for a pretty smile. Once everyone was free from that room, Fuuka stopped to examine her.
“I still can’t believe what I saw. What you did is physically impossible. You’re not even singed!”
“What’d I tell ya?!” she roared proudly. “I’m the pride of Mars and the darling of Tigris! I eat doom for breakfast and danger for lunch! Impossible isn’t even in my dictionary!”
“You seem to be in excellent spirits,” Fuuka said, laughing daintily. She bowed and followed the rest of the crowd; Alala stopped Yenae and took her to the side, her face slightly red. She bashfully looked down and wring her hands, not sure how to word her thanks.
“Uh…I heard what you said. I’m glad you believe in me and all, but could you please stop teasing me? It really gets on my nerves—especially since you seem to know how smart I really am.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it,” Yenae sang, reaching out to pinch Alala’s cheeks. “You’re just too adorable! Geniuses aren’t supposed to be this cute!”
“MYAAAH, I’m sorry I ever bothered to thank you! Piss off already!” Yenae laughed and skipped after her tormented friend, her eyes fixed on Alala’s bouncy rump.
“You’re even cuter when you’re angry! And what a nice tail!”
“Shuddup!!”
……
“Oh dear,” Amy sighed as she ended Lyara’s message. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to progress very far unless we make some sacrifices. There are guards protecting the second and third checkpoints—living people of flesh and bone.”
“I don’t see the problem,” Lil shrugged. “If Aseria were here, she’d tell us to waste them. They’re just guards; we don’t need to feel sympathy for them.”
“Curse the fates that brought our paths together!” Sharyn growled. “These people are merely performing their duty; they adhere to their jobs admirably. Wouldst thou be any less offended if thine own occupation was invaded?”
“I still don’t understand you, so I’ll pretend you didn’t say anything.”
“The two of you just disagree,” Riene explained. “Amy, I don’t want to fight, but if we have to…”
“No, no, that’s not why I’m so concerned. If it came down to it, I’d commit myself to any battle. It’s just…well, I’m not sure if Miss Chandra would be willing to seduce a group of men. Those guards are all males, and…well…I thought this was the most peaceful way.” She grinned sheepishly and looked at Chandra for a reaction. That sensual ochre face expressed a variety of emotions and none of them pertained to her normal trade.
“You want me…to seduce…some men?!”
“Yes,” Amy replied painfully. Despite her religion, she knew how agonizing this would be to Chandra: it would be just like asking a married woman to cheat on her husband, or a police officer to look the other way, or a teacher to lie to her students. As much as she distanced herself from homosexuality, Amy understood that Chandra could not help the way she was wired, just as Amy herself could not help being born into her particular family. Even those who insisted that homosexuality was a choice could not deny Chandra’s helplessness here. If she had been programmed “correctly”, she would have no trouble with this order (and would have been
repulsed if she had to seduce another woman), but as it stood, her world was topsy-turvy, and Amy was asking the impossible.
Chandra was a trooper, however, and agreed to Amy’s request. She was given privacy at least, and after about ten minutes, she had successfully manipulated the guards into letting them all pass. Her face was considerably darker than before, though, almost as if a cloud of guilt now hovered overhead. She had given up one of her most basic programs for the sake of others—she had sacrificed, as Amy worded it, and very selflessly at that—she had whored herself out, not for pleasure or love but for duty, and if Herut had been there, once she got over the initial shock, she might have been proud.
“Don’t make me do that again,” Chandra quivered. Amy smiled and kissed her brow.
“I won’t. You did wonderfully. Hopefully the next five trials won’t be as taxing.” Amy’s prediction did not come true, however, although from Chandra’s point of view, they couldn’t have been easier. She got the opportunity to look at six gorgeous women as they struggled and fought and showed off their skills; her body quivered with anticipation. She fully understood that desire itself was the ultimate aphrodisiac: wanting something so completely that it burned you on the inside excited you and stirred your hopes into a whirlwind, until at last the purpose of your search is within reach—but once reached, the desire is no longer potent. The song is over, the wind has calmed, the passion cools, and the pure act of wanting dies, leaving you hollow until that next thrill comes round.
The exotic Valti offered so much potential. She might’ve had a screw loose, but no doubt with four extra arms, she would be a wonderful and fulfilling lover; the possibilities in that conquest seemed as numerous as her fingers. Chandra paid very little attention to the beast Professor Brignor had to tame in the next room and focused more on how her body worked, how her voice could change under the right pressures, and how perspiration made her skin glisten. How could anyone feel disgusted with her? She had a beautiful, wild mind, a dangerous smile, and a fairly decent body. Nobody would ever call her a freak, least of all Chandra. She only feared what would happen if she actually got what she wanted.
Rebecca Hill was an entirely different person, and promised to offer an entirely different experience. She was beautiful, certainly, and slightly naïve, but also very strong and independent—but shy as well, especially around pretty women. Chandra had definitely noticed this trait in her companion and made note of it. Unless Rebecca genuinely feared women, she must’ve been going through a crisis of sexual identity, and only required the slightest nudge from a tender lover to give her the freedom she clearly wanted. Chandra’s thoughts were stolen momentarily as they came to the next room, where Rebecca was the star: there was a large chasm that could only be crossed by authorized personnel, but a bit of resourcefulness on Hill’s part saw them through.
She aimed a grappling hook at the ceiling and fired, poking a hole through the top and tugging on the line. She assured everyone the line and hook was strong enough to support them, and went across first to demonstrate. But she did this sort of thing all the time; not everyone was so accustomed to swinging across such a perilous gap. Sharyn and Lil fearlessly crossed the chasm, and Valti volunteered to carry Amy across, since she couldn’t imagine how an impact would affect her injury. Chandra wanted to “carry” Riene as well, but the soft-spoken redhead refused. It wasn’t because she was afraid of being in Chandra’s arms—she had fantasized about that ever since meeting the voluptuous goddess—she just doubted the strength of the rope and hook. The ceiling had suffered several burdens by now and looked like it was ready to break at
any moment. Rebecca only had one grappling hook, however, and could not make a fresh hole. Riene would just have to cross the gap or be left behind.
“Hold on, give me the hook.” Chandra swung alone and gave it to Rebecca, and Riene watched her swing back to join her. The hook held—but for how much longer? Rebecca looked Riene in the eye and laid a hand on her arm. Memories of wandering around in the dark together resurfaced, and Riene remembered how strong, how certain, and how assuring that touch had been. The two shared an unspoken bond now as Rebecca smiled at her. She would be there whenever Riene needed her, and asked for nothing in return except a tiny sliver of trust.
“I’m sorry,” Riene offered as she clung to her friend. “I’ve just never done anything adventurous before.” The hook held as they both swung across, and Rebecca recovered it to use another day. Chandra had observed their silent exchange and, instead of feeling jealous or insecure, she was thrilled at the prospect of seducing both of these ladies at the same time. She had never been with two women simultaneously and the very thought of it put a bounce in her step and a giddy grin on her face.
While the sixth room was certainly not an easy stroll, the seventh proved the most challenging. The walls on both sides of the room were studded with spikes, nails, razors, blades, and all matter of sharp objects that could shred anything, and in the center was a raised platform broad enough to support twelve people. On this platform was a computer monitor with a little blinking icon on the screen, and all those who made it this far, be they a burglar or Director of the Cosmic Military, had to access the computer to get any farther. Lil fancied herself a decent hacker and turned the program on, but as soon as she touched the keyboard, the walls started closing in.
“What the hell did you just do?” Valti demanded.
“I turned the friggin’ thing on, that’s what I did! I didn’t see any others doors and I thought—“
“Never mind! What does it say?” Lil squinted but couldn’t make anything out of the strange characters. She only knew a handful of languages, and nothing here looked familiar.
“I don’t know. It’s gobbledygook.”
“It’s Russian,” Riene said. She nudged herself next to Lil and quickly scanned the message. “It says we have to answer five riddles before we can continue. Anyone who made it this far would know the answers, but we’ll have to figure them out ourselves.”
“Thank goodness we’ve got a team of geniuses,” Lil grumbled. “So what’s this one say?”
“‘I am in the sky, by and by. When I am close, you cannot look, but far away, I am everywhere. Yet when I am close, things are brightest—darkness reigns far away! What am I?’”
“The hell?”
“Stars,” Amy answered. Riene keyed it in and the screen changed to a different language. The walls also pulled back and slowed down, but only by a fraction.
“Thank goodness!” Sharyn sighed. “It appears we should conquer this trial with teamwork—but thou art our savior, Lady Riene!”
“Quiet,” she murmured, her cheeks reddening. The next riddle was in Arabic, and read, “‘Net-maker I, patiently I fly, yet with no wings. Smaller than thou, yet elder, the octave of my step echoes quietly when I hunt. What am I?’”
“A spider!” Allegra shouted. The walls jerked back and slowed again, but the fraction was lessened. Soon the distance was no longer comfortable. The screen changed again, but Riene was interrupted.
“I know this language,” Lil exclaimed as she read the ancient letters of Mu: “‘I am seed, I am flesh, I am soul, yet I never live. I can take any shape, I can penetrate air, I can transform. I am life, and death, and spirit. What am I?’ It’s water.” The walls merely stopped now, only for a moment, and came closer and closer after their temporary respite. The blades were now near enough to touch. The fourth riddle was written in an obscure language that only a fanatical linguist would understand; even Riene had trouble translating it.
“‘I can weigh every world, yet I am light. I can broaden any horizon, yet I am small. I contain knowledge, yet it is never mine. What am I?’” She rubbed her eyes and blurted, “A book!” The walls did not even pause now; they kept rolling closer, forcing everyone to stand in single file. Valti hissed sharply as several of the points brushed up against her skin.
“Hurry it up there, or we’ll all be shish kabob!”
“This isn’t something you can rush!” Riene snapped as she gazed at the final riddle. This was in a language she did not understand. Her mind rushed through all the possible dialects she had studied, sprinting through the catalogue of two-hundred recognized galactic languages and a thousand minor tongues, only a portion of which she had mastered. If she had hours to spare, a computer, and a notepad, she might have been able to unlock this puzzle, but since she had none of these, she shrugged her shoulders.
“Any ideas?” The team’s morale depleted rapidly as they all suddenly felt the icy touch of death wash over them. Rebecca reached out to comfort her defeated friend, Valti and Sharyn quickly went to work trying to hold the wall back, and Chandra grabbed Lil and smothered her, desperate for one final affectionate embrace (she was shoved away and nearly punctured). Amy stayed calm and removed her glasses, glaring coldly at the screen. She whispered something that sounded inhuman and unfamiliar (this was the best description anyone could come up with at the time), then spoke a single word:
“Love. The password is love.” Lil wriggled away from Chandra and nervously typed it in; she had no choice but to trust in her. Her faith was rewarded as the walls drew back and a hidden door on the opposite side of the room opened. The women were too eager to leave the room to ask Amy how she knew what the answer was, but once they were free and safe, all eyes turned her way. As always, she smiled meekly and humbly refused any praise.
“I only know two languages, so don’t think I’m anything special. I just happened to recognize that one. It’s an ancient Earth-language that not many people know. I picked out a few words and…cobbled together the rest. I knew the riddle, in any case.”
“Sounds more like you were gambling with our lives,” Lil snorted. Sharyn smacked and rebuked her; Valti dragged them all away so they could proceed with their mission. Even though they were all cooperating and would be paid regardless of who got to the book first, more than a few women were starting to feel competitive.
……
No matter what the teams experienced or overcame before arriving at the eighth and final security checkpoint, they all had the face the same adversary before proving themselves worthy
of the treasured tome. There were three different paths to take in order to reach the book, and therefore, there were three Interceptor-class battle droids guarding the final checkpoint. Naja and her crew felt fully confident that they could overcome these machines, and Yenae’s team, in spite of their friction, was just as enthusiastic (particularly Kyrie, who was told she could “incinerate at will”). Amy’s team had also forged strong bonds through the trials and tribulations; they were all a little stronger now that they had been tested, but one last obstacle still stood in their way, and it was the most difficult by far.
The Interceptors are superior to Executioners in quality, performance, strength, and endurance, but they are so difficult to produce and even harder to maintain that they are usually reserved for the very wealthy. Even a planet like Bibliopolis, which prided itself on security, could not afford more than three—but the governors were certain that they would not need any more to protect their valuables. And their confidence was certainly well-placed: even with seven against one, all three of the teams were in for the fights of their lives.
The Interceptors wasted no time: it opened fire after verifying that none of the visitors matched any records in its system. The machine had a helicopter’s body, legs like an elephant, the wheels of a truck, two chain guns, a missile launcher with twenty shells to fire, a flame thrower on the rear, a buzz-saw for close combat, two clawed arms, and armor thick enough to survive direct fire from all but the most devastating weapons. Its weight was its only weakness, and because it couldn’t give chase even with its wheels, the Interceptors usually remained stationary and relied on their weapons to hunt intruders down. There was very little cover in the hallway, and the only other door led to the wall with spikes. Rebecca and Riene immediately returned fire but their guns were completely ineffective.
“Shit,” Lillianne hissed. “Anybody got any brilliant ideas?”
“Corrosion would be my only suggestion,” Valti said. “If I could figure out what that thing’s made out of…”
“The guns themselves wouldn’t have any protection,” Rebecca said as she reloaded. “The metal can’t be too heavy or else it would affect the aim, and any sort of protective veneer would interfere with the cooling system. I say take those out first.”
“Perhaps we should seek better refuge first!” Sharyn yelled. Everyone dove for cover as a missile blasted the wall they were hiding behind, reducing it to a smoking crater. A second missile obliterated the remains, and slowly, the Interceptor closed the gap between them. Bullets sprayed everywhere, keeping the women incapacitated; they weren’t even afforded a split second to retaliate. Even so, Rebecca tossed a bomb and prayed it would do some damage, but the Interceptor grabbed it while it was in midair and threw it harmlessly to the side.
“Is that your little game, now?” Valti snickered. Since nobody had called her suggestion a crazy idea, she fished through her pockets for a vial of corrosive acid. The weaker agents would do little more than singe away the finish, but she threw them anyway. The claws were too strong to properly grip the flying beakers, and the acid broke and burnt the metallic hands. She handed several more vials to Lil and suggested they alternate throwing and firing. Rebecca disposed another bomb just as three vials sailed through the air; the Interceptor caught two, got its hands burned, and tried shooting the third out of the air. It exploded quite messily, flinging smoke and embers everywhere.
“Petroleum!” Valti cackled. But the Interceptor was still intact and was getting nearer. The thing was incredibly slow and only seemed able to move its arms; the rest of the body was about as mobile as a stone. Valti wanted to take advantage of this sluggishness, but before she could pull anything from her six sleeves, Lil raised her hands and glared intently.
“Ssh! Lyara’s telling me something! Aseria has an idea, but it’s going to be really messy, and odds are, one of us is going to get hurt. But she guarantees it will work.”
“Allow me the risk, if this be our only choice,” Sharyn said. Lil shook her head and refused.
“No, she wants me to do it. The rest of you, just do what I tell you.”
“How do we know this isn’t just your way of slaughtering us?” Rebecca snorted.
“Do you really think I’d go through all this trouble if I wanted to kill you now? I’ve got no reason to, you jackass! Now shut up and do as you’re told! You—knight! How much impact can that armor sustain?”
“The Lesser Armor is capable of withstanding a direct blow from a B-class Void dragon and an indirect blow from an A-class. The Noble Armors are much more—“
“Wow, really? Are you serious?” Lillianne Markus wasn’t usually impressed, especially with a wide-eyed reject from the Renaissance, but there was no mistaking her surprise now. “You should’ve told me that before!” she laughed. “This’ll make things a lot easier. Get directly in front of me. Valti, I’m going to need you to hand me some of your most potent acids. You, bounty hunter! Take the librarian’s guns and cover me. The rest of you, stay out of my way!”
Even though Riene felt insulted, she trusted that their strategist knew what she was doing and slinked away. Sharyn jumped into the storm and shielded her exposed skin as Lil stood directly behind her, throwing three vials of acid at once. The bullets bounced off Sharyn’s armor, shoving her back as its amazing strength was dented, but she stood her ground. The two claws reached out to swat the acid away—the Interceptor had learned not to grab them—and as it prepared to cut the third one down, Rebecca shot it, igniting the flames. The buzz-saw melted into liquid and the guns were subsequently destroyed as the two scrapped beakers burst open suddenly, thanks to a device Valti had invented “for just such an occasion”.
“You truly frighten me,” Riene admitted as the six-armed mad scientist cackled. With the guns out of the way, it was only a matter of grappling the Interceptor. The team rushed in to fight at close range, Rebecca fixing the last of her bombs to the flame thrower and smiling as she blew it right off. Sharyn cut the missile launcher in half before it could throw any more shells, and Lil gave it a ferocious kick, sending it crashing onto its back. It sprang back to its feet and wheeled after them, its claws still swinging, hardly a dent in its armor.
“I don’t suppose that butter-knife of yours can cut through this monster,” Lil muttered. Sharyn humbly shook her head. “Lyara, how does Aseria propose we…oh, right, I guess it could work. Val, Aseria wants you to burn away its joints.”
“I don’t have any vials left,” she grunted as she sifted through her pockets.
“No bombs on my end,” Rebecca sighed. Lil was just about to give up when Sharyn ran right at the battle droid, hacking the arms and legs apart with every swing of her sword. She could not harm its armored exterior, but she could debilitate it, and after a few rough slashes, there was nothing left but a helpless body and several mutilated limbs. Lil ran her fingers through her hair and growled.
“What other secrets ya got hidden? Oh, who cares—at least the damn thing’s busted. Let’s get moving!”
Amy was the only one there who was excused from being exhausted. Not even Lillianne was cruel enough to expect the handicapped secretary to fight, so once everyone passed the
eighth door, she tended to their wounds as best as she could, even though moving around pained her. She was blessed to be in the company of so many experienced amateur physicians: Sharyn already knew the basics and could almost pass for a nurse; Rebecca had years of training from her aunt and plowed right in, ignoring her superficial burns and scratches. Chandra was only too happy to massage sore muscles, and Valti passed around several pills and tablets she had been keeping for just such an occasion (they were all refused, of course).
“I just hope everyone else made out okay,” Riene sighed.
“I’m sure they made out just fine,” Chandra chirped. More than a few people blushed as they understood the double-meaning of those words. The breather took about seven or eight minutes out of their schedule, but it couldn’t be helped. Once everyone was healthy enough to press on, Lil was given the honor of opening the final door and leading the team through the hallway to the treasure they had been seeking. The book itself was fairly anticlimactic—it was little more than a skinny bluish manuscript with fully interactive holographic pages and a lock that prevented any unwanted intruders from peeking in. Books made out of paper had been abolished centuries ago in favor of these longer-lasting devices, which could survive both time and the elements.
The group was surprised to learn that they had arrived first, but a quick message from Lyara assured them that their companions were okay. Everyone had destroyed their respective Interceptors and was taking a break; they had just arrived later and would be joining Amy’s team in a few minutes. Sharyn debated whether or not they should wait and capture the prize together, and in the end, her decision won out and the seven women took an extended rest.
“So just what’s inside that book that’s so damned important?” Lil wondered.
“I’m not sure myself,” Amy admitted. “Most people don’t even know it exists, let alone what’s inside it. When I asked, my master just told me it was called The Tome of Treasures. I’ll let you decide what that means.”
“Probably some lame-ass self-help book about how ‘life is a treasure,’ or some shit like that. Hey, how bout’ another question? How’d you and that freak Miracle get together?” This one took Amy a moment to consider. She removed her glasses and cleaned them; her eyes had a far-off look in them, something akin to nostalgia, when a distant and distinct memory is drawn up and looked at again. These sorts of memories are not always good, but they definitely stay with you forever.
“It was…a chance occurrence,” she murmured. “It’s very hard to describe. I sort of…found them. We accepted each other. That’s the best way I can explain it. You could say that the Dauntless and Dr. Miracle came together in the same package.”
“Is that a fact?” She stared at Amy suspiciously but the petite woman revealed nothing else that could incriminate her story—in fact, she resumed smiling and even stood up with some assistance. Naja and Yenae were bringing their teams down the hallway, and though they all still looked weary, the glow of victory was on their faces. Amy grabbed the book, Herut cracked the lock, and the Acheron twins rigged a transport to deliver them out of the city: mission accomplished.
……
By the time the Dauntless flew out of orbit and penetrated the endless veil of the heavens, it was so late that everyone decided to go to bed and worry about their payment in the morning. Some people were more restless than others, however, particularly those that feared this would be their last chance to take advantage of a good opportunity. Eve Kasberry was among their number; the realization that this was “the end” overwhelmed her with loneliness and desperation. She didn’t like being around people, and yet more than anything else, she wanted to be part of a group, to belong and to be loved regardless of who she was or what she did. This aggravating dichotomy was not really the root of her suffering but it did result in her strife. Desperation oozed out of this frightening sensation and she went to see Chandra, the only person she believed capable of fulfilling her needs. She whispered a remorseful apology to Herut before knocking on the door and numbly stepping in.
Preview of next chapter
Sharyn: What a pitiable fate! To begin this quest with such zeal, only to lose all in haste! Wherefore hast the journey ended so soon?
Lil: Beats me, but at least now, Aseria and I can get back to shamelessly flirting with each other.
Valti: We still have to get paid, though. I can’t believe this job is over already. I thought it’d go on a lot longer.
Sharyn: I suppose t’was folly to doubt impermanence. Prithee, attend to the chapter where the crew is compensated for their work, and perhaps a story may yet be scratched out from the aftermath.
Lil: Huh? Amy’s got something to tell us? What kinda secrets are behind this charade, anyway?
Valti: You’ll have to stay tuned for “The Real Journey Begins at Last: Huh?”
Sharyn: With every question cometh deeper inquiries to make…
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