ã€ŠDemon Baneã€‹


 Chapter 1: A Single Ember

    A guard shoved Mira down into a metal chair. He had cuffed her wrists with magnetic braces. Her crimson hair was messier than she would¡¯ve preferred. She looked to the security guards as they made their way out of the room. The lettering ¡®FDB Security¡¯ was prominent on the back of their uniforms. She sighed and looked to the gray metal table before her. Hopefully they wouldn¡¯t leave her to rot down here in the basement of First District Bank.

    Time passed slowly as she was made to wait.

    The door creaked open. A man in a fine suit walked into the room. He appeared to be human, as far as Mira could tell. Finally some company.

    Despite the chair on the other side of the table, the suited man remained standing. He looked over to Mira and her blue eyes peered back at him.

    ¡°Why were you trying to hack into the upper floors?¡± the man asked.

    ¡°Well, I like to give myself private tours and I heard it¡¯s a fantastic view at the top,¡± she replied.

    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed. He placed his hands on his hips. ¡°There¡¯s no records of you on Malstyx. No gate records, nothing, Miss Lydia Dawson.¡±

    Mira shrugged. ¡°Well, that¡¯s my name. Even says so on my data-band. Doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Data-band identities can be forged,¡± he said. ¡°Probably by the same person who developed that little hacking tool you tried to use to break into the upper floors. What do you think this is, some second-rate bank? Now, I¡¯ll ask you again. What were you hoping to achieve? Who sent you? Are you working for another company?¡±

    Mira looked around the room. She didn¡¯t spot any cameras. Perhaps the man¡¯s data-band was video and audio recording. Perhaps there were hidden cameras she couldn¡¯t see.

    ¡°All I wanted to do, was have a tiny little chat with Vanessa Yor,¡± said Mira. ¡°You know who she is, right? I only wanted a minute of her time, but no one would make me an appointment.¡±

    ¡°Miss Yor?¡± the man asked. ¡°Why do you need to speak to one of the directors? Are you here to assassinate her? Doesn¡¯t seem like a very worthwhile target. Even if she is one of the bosses.¡±

    ¡°Like I said, I just wanted to have a chat with Vanessa. Tell her I¡¯m here and have her come down to speak with me. I¡¯ll be able to clear this all up. You already checked me head to toe for weapons, right? Not like I can do any harm,¡± said Mira.

    The man kept an eye on her as he tapped his data-band and pulled up a display that only he could see. ¡°It¡¯s not my choice whether Miss Yor wants to see you or not, but if she doesn¡¯t...well, too bad for you. If you won¡¯t talk, you¡¯re of no use to us. But I promise we have methods...verean methods, of making you talk.¡±

    Mira looked around the room again. She brushed her black boots against the floor as she checked her dark blue denim jeans for tears or scratches. Those guards had been pretty rough with her. She didn¡¯t really have the credits for new clothes.

    ¡°Message for Miss Yor. This is head of security Josh Burns. I have a Lydia Dawson here in custody in the basement. She tried to break into the upper floors with a hacking program. She didn¡¯t have any weapons on her, but says she only wanted to speak to you.¡±

    Several seconds passed before a voice spoke over Josh¡¯s data-band. ¡°What did this woman wish to speak to me about?¡±

    Josh looked back to Mira.

    ¡°Her financial future here on Malstyx,¡± Mira spoke up.

    Josh¡¯s eyebrows lowered as he gave Mira a strange look. He looked back down to his data-band and waited Miss Yor¡¯s response.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be down shortly to speak to this woman. Return to your duties. I¡¯ll speak to her alone.¡±

    Josh¡¯s perplexed look returned as Miss Yor said this. He rolled his eyes. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am,¡± he said before shaking his head and walking to the door. He looked to Mira one last time before opening the door and walking out. The door made a solid click as it latched.

    Mira sat in silence as half an hour passed. She would¡¯ve checked the time, but her data-band had been confiscated. She lifted her hands and set them on the table. She lifted her confined wrists up and down. The mag-cuffs didn¡¯t magnetize against the desk. Was the desk not magnetic? Were the mag-cuffs only able to connect to each other? In her boredom, she tried to pull the cuffs apart. They didn¡¯t so much as budge. All she got for her effort was a pair of sore wrists.

    The door opened. Mira looked up as a woman walked in. She wore a long red skirt as well as a black button-up blouse. Her dark brown hair was styled in a short fashion and came no further than the base of her ears.

    ¡°Lydia, is it?¡± asked the woman.

    ¡°Am I speaking to Vanessa?¡± Mira countered.

    ¡°You are. I¡¯d like to know why I had to come all the way down to the dingy basement. Which is something I¡¯ve never done, mind you. Just to speak to some dreg like yourself¡ªwho happened to ask for me by name.¡± Vanessa¡¯s arms crossed as she stood beside the table.

    Those brown eyes watched Mira carefully.

    ¡°Oh, this won¡¯t take long, I promise. I just wanted to ask you a single question,¡± said Mira.

    ¡°And that question would be?¡± Vanessa prompted.

    Mira¡¯s lips curled into a smirk. ¡°Are you a demon?¡±

    In an instant, Mira¡¯s eyes became like burning embers in a smoldering fire. A phoenix ability which would force a demon into revealing what they truly were. Not even a demon could hold their masquerade under the burning gaze of a phoenix.

    Mira got her answer when Vanessa¡¯s eyes changed in response. Vanessa¡¯s once brown eyes became pure black orbs. Vanessa¡¯s eyes widened as Mira revealed what her identity was as well.

    ¡°A phoenix?¡± Vanessa gasped. The demoness back-stepped to the stone wall behind her.

    Mira rose from the chair. Her arms burned with intense heat for several seconds. She pulled her wrists apart as her heated flesh melted straight through the mag-cuffs. The heavy odor of vaporizing metal filled the air. The heat dissipated from Mira¡¯s arms as she stepped around the table and confronted the demon directly.

    ¡°Dumora,¡± Mira spoke the demon¡¯s true name. ¡°After you are ash on the floor, I will tear apart each and every demon in your clan, you¡¯ll have nothing left to retain a foothold in this realm.¡±

    ¡°But...I don¡¯t lead a clan!¡± Vanessa gasped. ¡°I¡¯m Dumora, but I¡¯m not ¡®Dumora The Thresher!¡¯¡±

    Mira¡¯s breath caught in her chest. Of all things, she hadn¡¯t expected a response like that. This wasn¡¯t the demon she¡¯d been searching for? The same demon that was growing more powerful each day she hunted it? According to her investigation, Dumora was responsible for much of the secretive rituals and cultist activity she¡¯d found in Malstyx. But this wasn''t the tone of a demon trying to trick her. It was the hopeful admittance that yearned to stay her hand. Mira stared her down with a burning gaze.

    ¡°The Thresher is your master? You¡¯re not the head of the clan?¡± Mira asked. She needed more information. Her entire investigation had led her to this demoness. If the demon before her was not the one she was after, then she needed to find her true target. Perhaps the demon¡¯s fear would garner the information she needed.

    ¡°My name is Dumora...though I¡¯ve never once dealt with Dumora The Thresher¡ªif that¡¯s who you¡¯re after. I don¡¯t know anything about The Thresher. I¡¯m an iso.¡±

    With those words, Mira¡¯s hands clenched into tight fists and the heat returned to her skin. This demon was an iso, or otherwise known as ¡®The Isolated.¡¯ Isos worked alone towards their own personal gain. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for a demon of greed to become an iso.

    Mira had lost so much precious time keeping her cover and choosing to spare certain demons

    to retain her secrecy. Everything had led to this moment and she had the wrong demon. Her cover was blown and she had lost her masquerade to this infernal woman. Mira could rectify the loss of her secret by destroying Vanessa.

    Mira headed straight for the demon. Vanessa stood there with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Mira stopped a foot away from the demon. She relaxed and regained her composure. No, destroying this demon wasn¡¯t the end-result she needed. Mira needed much more from her.

    ¡°As a director of a bank, I¡¯m going to venture a guess and say that you have to be aligned with greed,¡± said Mira. ¡°Especially with how easily I lured you down here. You¡¯re almost worthless to me, since you¡¯re an iso. But your sin could prove useful to my endeavors here. How much money do you have control over?¡±

    Mira existed only to destroy creatures like her. Now she was going to see if Vanessa would accept an ultimatum. The demon¡¯s eyes narrowed as she looked at Mira.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to kill me?¡± the demon asked.

    ¡°How. Much,¡± Mira repeated herself. Her tone betrayed how annoyed she really was.

    Vanessa looked away. Greed was a powerful force by itself. A demon of greed wouldn¡¯t willingly lose what they didn¡¯t have to. They were exceptionally defensive and protective of their assets and wealth.

    ¡°Through the underlings assigned to me, I oversee twenty percent of the bank¡¯s assets and where our investments go,¡± she replied.

    Mira¡¯s lips curled into a grin. She closed the distance on the demon and stepped up to her. She lifted a hand to Vanessa¡¯s cheek in a gentle caress as to let the demon feel the heat radiating off her fingers.

    ¡°Well then, Vanessa, seeing as you¡¯re not affiliated with any other demons that might be pissed off by this, you¡¯re going to fund my future endeavors on Malstyx,¡± said Mira.

    Vanessa¡¯s looked as if she wanted to object, but she said nothing.

    ¡°A small price for your continued existence,¡± said Mira. ¡°I can only imagine what it would be like to be sent back to hell as an iso...surely it would be less than desirable?¡±

    Those words must¡¯ve struck deep at the demon¡¯s core as Vanessa¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°I can move credits into your account, if it will keep me unnoticed,¡± said Vanessa. ¡°It won¡¯t happen overnight. I need to appropriate the funding and investments needed, but you¡¯ll get your credits. Comm my office with the details of your account. I¡¯m assuming everything on the data-band we confiscated was fake anyway. I never want to see you here again. If you blow my cover, your funding stops.¡±

    Mira supposed that the situation would have to do for now. She gave the demon¡¯s cheek a little pat. She smirked at Vanessa before stepping away.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you be, as long as you keep the credits flowing,¡± Mira advised before turning around and heading towards the door.

    Vanessa was a demon masquerading as a human. If anyone in the company suspected she was a demon, they were obligated to inform the appropriate authorities to deal with her. There were special response teams designed for such a task when a phoenix wasn¡¯t readily on hand. As for Mira, she was in a rough situation now that a demon knew her identity. Vanessa knew her face and could sell that information to other demons, which would prove rather troublesome for Mira. On the other hand, Mira knew that demons of greed always had their best financial interests in mind. Vanessa might suspect the bank would be Mira¡¯s first stop if she was attacked. An appearance by an infuriated phoenix would hurt Vanessa¡¯s stability at the bank. Based on this assumption, Mira wasn¡¯t worried about Vanessa revealing her

    identity to others.

    Vanessa didn¡¯t speak a word as Mira left. There was no reason for the two of them to discuss the amount of money that would flow into the phoenix¡¯s account. The demoness would see to it that she was given enough money to keep her from stepping foot in First District Bank ever again.

    No one stopped Mira as she headed to the nearest elevator and went to the ground floor. Less than a minute later, she was back on the streets of First City. The clouds were heavy and dark in the sky. It was the usual overcast she¡¯d come to expect on Malstyx. It was a dark and dingy world. Not to mention cold.

    A large imposing male approached her rapidly. Mira¡¯s footsteps came to a halt as the man came towards her. His arms extended and wrapped tightly around her, lifting her into the air as if she was weightless.

    ¡°Mira!¡± came his jaunty and masculine voice.

    ¡°Luca,¡± she replied in a less-than-thrilled tone.

    After greeting Mira in his usual manner, he set her down. Mira gave him an annoyed look as her hands ran over her clothes to straighten out any wrinkles his tight embrace might¡¯ve caused.

    ¡°Must you always do that?¡± she huffed, but knew she could never be mad at him. She owed him far too much for that.

    ¡°You had a smug look about you when you came out of the bank, I felt you needed a little pick-me-up,¡± he grinned from ear to ear with his pun.

    Mira rolled her eyes and walked past him.

    ¡°Did you get her?¡± He asked as he fell into pace with Mira.

    ¡°Sort of. Things didn¡¯t go as expected. My quarry is less known to me than before,¡± she said.

    ¡°Investigations were easier when I had a team at my command. I¡¯m not used to field work.¡±

    Mira had been so pleased with appropriating funds through the demoness that she had yet to truly conceptualize the fact that she was now back at square one. Mira was losing the advantage of surprise. The likelihood that The Thresher knew she was after him would grow each day.

    ¡°I was able to acquire a credit-flow, making my future endeavors much easier,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll finally be able to pay you back all that debt I¡¯ve been accruing.¡±

    Luca chuckled in response. She looked up to him, wondering what was so amusing about her comment.

    ¡°Fret not, little bird. I¡¯m not so hurt for credits that you should feel a rush,¡± he said.

    ¡°Thank you Luca. You¡¯ve been indispensable to me,¡± she said.

    A few seconds later he let out a mock huff. ¡°For a moment it sounded like we were almost friends,¡± he said.

    Mira looked up to him, giving him a quirky smile.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°If I were to lead you to believe such things all the time, what more would you want to aspire towards in life?¡± she answered in a playful tone which only made him laugh. In truth, even if she didn¡¯t always say it aloud; Luca was her dearest friend on Malstyx. He came to her aid when she first arrived on the planet. He saw to it that she had a place to live and the other necessities of life on Malstyx. Without him, her work would have been detrimentally hampered from being creditless in such an unknown and mysterious place.

    ¡°What¡¯s your next plan, little bird?¡± he asked, pulling Mira from her thoughts.

    Mira considered his question. What was her plan? She kept silent as she walked down the street. The hum of transport craft was a constant ambiance.

    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure. I have nothing to go on. I have to start from square one in finding The Thresher. Using Dumora¡¯s name alone was a mistake I don¡¯t want to repeat,¡± said Mira.

    ¡°Dumora...well, I¡¯ll just call her Vanessa. The demon at the bank was an iso of greed. She had no information for me at all. Isos tend to keep their distance from the clans.¡±

    Mira looked over to him as he lifted his hand and tapped the data-band on his wrist.

    ¡°Then let me offer you some info,¡± he said.

    A holographic display materialized before Luca¡¯s eyes. He tapped at the display, which changed the visuals before him.

    Mira heard a chime come from another data-band and looked down to Luca¡¯s pants.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Forgot I was keeping yours safe while you were using that dummy band,¡± he chuckled as he reached into his pocket and pulled Mira¡¯s data-band out. He handed it over to her and she promptly attached it to her wrist.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± she said as she tapped it to view the information he sent. It was some scientific report about a strange creature that¡¯d been found in the city.

    ¡°So the local enforcers are having trouble with mutants?¡± She asked. She skimmed the article further. ¡°How does this concern me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so impatient,¡± he chided. ¡°A friend of mine found the mutant¡ªor whatever it might be, outside her lab in district thirteen. Some enforcer¡¯s had killed it. She was able to examine it before a cleanup crew disposed of it. There¡¯s no public reports about the incident and I don¡¯t have access to the enforcer¡¯s database.¡±

    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t appear demonic from what I¡¯ve seen in the past. But a change like that warrants my attention. I¡¯ll have to pay your friend a vist.¡±

    ¡°Here¡¯s her lab info. I¡¯ve known her for years. I think you¡¯ll like her,¡± said Luca as he sent the nav coordinates to Mira¡¯s data-band.

    ¡°Coming with me?¡± she asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind having a big strong ursari with me.¡± Her lips curled into a grin with the obvious teasing in her voice. But despite her playful demeanor, the ursari were indeed a strong people. Their forms were larger than that of humans on average. Their bodies were heavily muscled and often very hairy. If Mira had to compare them to an animal, they¡¯d be something between a wolf and a bear. The ursari had short and pointed furry ears on their heads, which was their most animalistic feature.

    ¡°Not this time,¡± he said. ¡°I waited outside the bank like you requested, but now that your banker is a bust, I have things I need to attend to elsewhere. Let me know what you find and I might be able to assist you later.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Mira. ¡°I¡¯ll comm you later regardless of what I find. The report said that there might be more of them out there, so be careful?¡±

    ¡°Will do, little bird. Take care,¡± he said. Then he was off, heading down another street and towards the closest gate to another district. Mira watched him turn a corner and go out of sight. She wondered why he never used the transports to move around the city. Ursari originated from a largely forested world. He probably enjoyed the walk, as opposed to being cooped up in a small confined space like the transports.

    Using her data-band, Mira signaled such a vehicle for herself. She waited several minutes before a navy-blue vehicle descended nearby. The craft was little more than a metal box. Displays decorated the sides of the transport. The screens flashed and changed as an advertisement popped up for a local bar that had just opened. The ad was only visible for five seconds before a longer-duration promo took its place. The screen depicted various shots of First City. There were fires and groups of people standing around waving their fists and makeshift signs. Upon closer inspection, Mira noticed that the people in the crowd were part of the sphinx subspecie. Ever since her arrival, there had been escalating reports of violence and unrest where the sphinxes were being targeted by hate-crimes or being denied services around the city. It was something Mira had only looked into at a glance. Local politics weren¡¯t her specialty or concern.

    The vessel remained dormant, save for the advertisements and notifications on its sides. Mira rolled her eyes, waiting for the full gambit of promotions to run their course before the passenger hatch finally ascended to accept Mira inside. Once she was situated on a minimally cushioned seat, the craft lifted off and sped towards her destination.

    The walls seemed to constrict her movements. Her legs couldn¡¯t extend more than a foot from her body. She could¡¯ve requested a larger and more spacious transport, but it would¡¯ve increased the cost of the fair. She had queued the cheapest and quickest route to move through the city¡¯s skylines. Which also meant that she received a vessel that displayed advertisements constantly. There were no windows inside the transport. Just more screens showing services and other consumer goods. They were all things she¡¯d seen a hundred times, at least.

    When Mira arrived at the lab she swiped her data-band over the transport¡¯s scanner. Once she accepted the fair, the hatch lifted. She stepped out of the transport and approached a large facility clad in pristine white-stone walls. She was thankful to be back outside, even though she¡¯d only been cooped up with the advertisements for the span of minutes.

    Her footsteps were the only noticeable sounds as she headed down the short walkway towards a pair of black metal doors. District thirteen was the northernmost sector of First City. It was where much of the research and development occurred within the city¡¯s walls. The drone of transports was almost absent here, as compared to the bustle of being further within the metropolis.

    Mira stopped in front of the doors and watched as little green lights around the door flicked on and scanned her. Her eyes narrowed as she lowered her temperature. Mira needed to pass as a human. Sometimes she became careless and raised the temperature of the air around her, in order to keep herself more comfortable on the colder days. If the wrong eyes were reading the scans, it would raise suspicion if she possessed an abnormally high heat signature. After a few seconds, the lights flicked off.

    ¡°Name and purpose?¡± asked a digitized voice emanating from the doors. To the side of the doors was a key-pad for people who were supposed to have access to the lab.

    ¡°My name is Lydia, I¡¯ve come to discuss Professor Noree¡¯s findings in the report she made recently,¡± said Mira. There was no immediate response. She glanced around at her surroundings. Mira waited several more minutes before the doors slid open with a whoosh. White light illuminated a long hallway within the facility; more noticeable was the dryte woman standing in the entrance. She wore a white lab coat with long sleeves. For Mira, it was peculiar to see a dryte wearing real clothing. Most dryte covered themselves in micro-petals or leaves which grew from their body¡ªin order to mimic clothing. Dryte were a humanoid evolutionary offshoot of plants. Her skin was a light purple and her hair a dark blue moss that came down across her shoulders. Her eyes were purple orbs, which made it difficult to tell exactly where she was looking. The dryte woman was slender and a little taller than Mira. She had fashioned a blue micro-petal skirt that came from her waist down to her toes. Around her chest was what seemed much like a blue tank top¡ªmade of the same blue petals.

    ¡°You¡¯re here to speak with me?¡± Noree asked. Her words were direct and to the point with no pleasantries. Mira knew it wasn¡¯t part of dryte culture to shake hands at greetings, so she didn¡¯t bother.

    ¡°I am,¡± said Mira. ¡°It¡¯s important that we speak in private, regarding your report on the monster you discovered last night.¡± It was hard to determine where the dryte woman was looking without any movement of her head. Noree could be looking her over for weapons, but surely the invasive scanners in the door would have told her all she needed to know about Mira.

    ¡°This way, Lydia,¡± said Noree.

    Mira narrowed her eyes, as she expected more questions or an unwillingness to see her. That had been her usual experience so far on Malstyx. Since Mira¡¯s arrival in First City, she¡¯s heard of a great deal of crime. More than most cities its size. Crime and corruption were the best ways for demons to thrive. Despite all the potential dangers of the unknown, Noree was welcoming Mira in. Perhaps that scanner at the door told Noree more about her than she¡¯d expected. Was Noree already aware of what she was?

    Noree¡¯s footsteps were eerily silent. Mira noticed that she walked around in her bare feet. She couldn¡¯t recall ever seeing a dryte wearing footwear.

    The two women headed inside and eventually came to one of the many metal doors against the pearly white walls. Noree turned and waved her data-band covered wrist near the scanner. The door slid open and she walked inside with Mira right behind her. The lights in the room flickered on with their entrance. Once Mira was inside, the doors slid shut behind her.

    ¡°My lab is designed to prevent outside surveillance,¡± said Noree. ¡°You said you wished to speak privately?¡± she continued to walk while speaking to Mira. The room itself was compact and comfortable, a small section¡ªwhere they stood currently, acted as a lobby. A couch sat against the wall and several chairs were stationed around the room. There was a single door at the far end, but more prominently was the side-wall which led to the actual lab. There were windows against the wall, allowing Mira to see the various machines within.

    Noree approached the doorway to the lab. She swiped her hand in front of another scanner so the lab would open up for her. Mira followed after her. Inside the lab were; counters, tables, data-terminals and machines which Mira couldn¡¯t fathom the use of. Mira looked at everything with curiosity. Phoenixes were technically immortal entities, but even with the entire expanse of time, it wasn¡¯t always practical to spend it learning every facet of knowledge, including the many fields of science and understanding.

    ¡°The monster you found,¡± Mira started. ¡°I need to know any details you have about it that weren¡¯t included in your report. I need to know if the transformation was demonic in origin. I want to¡ª¡±

    ¡°It was demonic in origin,¡± Noree interjected. Mira¡¯s eyebrows lifted as Noree continued. ¡°I knew the creature was demonic within minutes of studying it. If I had included anything about demons in that report, I would be targeted within days, if not hours,¡± she said.

    Noree walked over to one of her data-terminals and tapped the screen to waken it. She brought up various images as well as information on what she had gathered from the monster. Mira stood beside her and looked over all the information about the creature.

    ¡°The creature¡ªa deceased ursari, had traces of demon blood. Small traces, but that¡¯s all it takes,¡± said Noree. ¡°Whatever demon did this, their blood is the catalyst that is violently changing the nature of the victim and causing them to take on unique traits. I¡¯ve concluded that the drug ¡®ero¡¯ is the culprit. I found traces of the drug in the victim¡¯s system and analyzed other samples, all of which contain demon blood. Ero is a drug with strong hallucinogenic properties. It¡¯s exceptionally potent and It¡¯s become quite popular on Malstyx. I believe it¡¯s manufactured here as well. The drug doesn¡¯t seem to turn everyone into a monster, but in a small sample of its users, it causes what I can only imagine to be a violent transformation. The end result being the monster in my report.¡±

    Noree pulled up a diagram on the terminal. It looked like a map of district nine¡ªone of the industrial and warehouse sectors of the city.

    ¡°I asked some colleagues to investigate and forward me any leads regarding the manufacture of the drug,¡± said Noree. ¡°They were able to locate a possible location that the drug might be stored or created at. I can¡¯t do anything about it on my own, but I was hoping to pass on the information to someone who could. You appear to be such a person.¡±

    Mira smiled. The dryte woman was proving to be quite valuable to her. It was nice when she didn¡¯t have to intimidate or persuade everyone she came across.

    Noree tapped at her terminal. Mira¡¯s data-band vibrated. She tapped her wrist to bring up the interface for her data-band. There were map overlays for a small area of the city. Unfortunately, Mira would be going in blind. For all she knew, a horde of demons waited in any of the buildings on the map. Well, it was still more information than she had before coming here and it was certainly a start.

    ¡°So there you have it, what are you waiting for?¡± Noree asked. Mira couldn¡¯t fault her for wanting results.

    Mira nodded to the dryte woman and turned towards the door. ¡°Thanks Professor, I¡¯ll put this to good use.¡±

    ¡°One last thing. The tissue sample I took exhibited signs that intense heat or fire would work better than projectiles to bring down the transformed monsters.¡±

    Mira froze for a moment before turning her head to Noree¡ªwhose face was devoid of emotion.

    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Mira replied before making her way out of the lab.

 Chapter 2: Delving Into Dark Places

    The chilly air whipped across Mira¡¯s exposed skin as she left Noree¡¯s lab. She used her data-band to signal another transport to pick her up. When one arrived, she hopped inside and requested a dropoff in district nine.

    The five minute trip was more intriguing this time around. The ship¡¯s screens showed various portraits with bounties. Mira perused all the faces, just to see if there was anyone she recognized. The images showed people from gangs and corporations. There were even a few so-called mercenaries, who were usually the ones to claim the bounties; but sometimes they ended up getting snagged with felonies in the process.

    The taxi landed in a small clearing for vehicle drop-offs. Mira swiped her data-band over the scanner to pay for the trip before she stepped out of the craft. She took in her surroundings as the vehicle lifted away and the hum of its engines faded.

    She pulled up a map from her data-band and headed straight for the vicinity Noree had mapped out. There was no way of knowing what she¡¯d find there.

    She was surrounded by warehouses, some new, some ancient and corroded. The further she traveled, the older the warehouses appeared. The composition of metals, the architecture, some looked as though they might crumble under a strong breeze. First City was a metropolis, but in the early days of the colony here, the city wasn¡¯t nearly as populated. Structures were torn down and rebuilt all the time.

    Dim ¡®for rent¡¯ screens flickered on the older structures. Insects the size of her fist¡ªor larger, were making their homes in the dark and unused buildings. Mira wasn¡¯t too fond of insects, but only because she¡¯d seen what some insect species were capable of. As long as they left her alone, she wouldn¡¯t turn the entire place to ash.

    Mira checked her map as she approached a particularly rusted warehouse. It was massive but didn¡¯t seem to be in use. She approached one of the side doors. There wasn¡¯t even a keypad by the door, only a handle with an old key and lock mechanism.

    She looked over her shoulder, taking in her surroundings for a long moment. The chill of the night air wrapped around her. She curled her fingers around the doorknob and intensified the heat emanating off her hand. The metal of the doorknob melted away until her hand pushed through to the other side. The lock was no more.

    She pulled the door open and entered the old warehouse. She was greeted with a drab and dusty hallway. There were footprints and tracks from wheels in the dust. There was no telling how long ago they were made.

    She walked through the compound. It was like any other warehouse she¡¯d ever been in. Some of the doors led to large open areas for storage. There were small offices, devoid of any equipment. It looked as if this place hadn¡¯t been in use for quite some time.

    Why was she here? Her fingers clenched into fists as there were no clues or leads. Noree¡¯s information pointed to this warehouse being used in the manufacture of the drug ¡®ero¡¯. Mira checked over the nav feature of her data-band. There was no mention that this location was necessarily used for manufacture. Perhaps it was a storage site for the drug?

    Mira headed towards the opposite side of the warehouse. When she entered the storage bay, it was utterly empty. All that was left were large imprints on the floor where cargo containers had once sat. There was no dust in those spaces¡ªin fact, there was no dust in the entire bay. Mira headed for the closest office that would¡¯ve been associated with the bay. It was empty, like everything else, but it was also devoid of dust.

    Mira¡¯s body temperature rose with her frustration.

    After several seconds, she let her temperature normalize as she regained her composure.

    ¡°Command, ping surroundings,¡± she issued a command to the data-band she wore. It was common for people to setup custom commands which could be executed with a word or gesture. With the right implants, a command could be executed with a thought.

    Her data-band emitted a pulsing sound for several seconds. When it was complete a display formed in front of Mira. It was a three-dimensional depiction of the room she stood in. The command she¡¯d issued to her data-band was something that investigators, smugglers, or even pirates made good use of. There were always hidden rooms and compartments to be found. A data-band with the right sensors could scan a room and find hidden doors and other secrets by vibrating the room¡¯s every crevice.

    She looked over the hologram of the room. Nothing eluded to any secrets here. She swiped her hand to dissipate the display and walked back into the storage bay she¡¯d just come from.

    ¡°Command, ping surroundings,¡± she said again. After several seconds another, much larger, graphic display was produced before her eyes. She looked it over and spotted an empty space in one of the adjacent rooms.

    She walked through a doorway into a nearby office. She spotted a dark circle in the corner of the room and approached it cautiously. She took in a deep breath, preparing herself for anything. The spot on the floor was dark, but had an odd rust to it. She pressed the tip of her boot down at the blemish and it immediately crumbled.

    A shrill screech filled the room as chitinous appendages clamoured out from the crumbling floor.

    Mira back-stepped and drove her hand forward. Flames burst from her palm and scorched the floor and filled the pit. A multitude of screeches sounded in crescendo as her fire burned deeper into the ground and the nest of insects she¡¯d happened across. She stopped the out-pour of fire only when the nest had gone silent, save for the burning ground.

    ¡°Not what I was after, but always a good feeling,¡± she mused and released a held breath.

    After cleansing Malstyx of a few dozen insects, she continued to ping the walls and floors of each room she found. Each time she came up empty. Soon enough, the entire warehouse had been scanned. There was nothing there.

    She left the rear storage room with clenched fists. The cool air nipped at her flesh and she immediately raised her temperature to compensate. Outside the back of the warehouse was a landing area for transports¡ªso that cargo could be brought inside with security and semi-privacy. But the warehouse was abandoned and the fence surrounding it was torn down in places.

    Mira glanced around. There was nothing left to look for. Only a vacant slab of metal for transports to park on. Her eyes narrowed. She walked towards the center of the landing zone.

    ¡°Command, ping surroundings,¡± she said.

    After several seconds, an image of the metal slab she stood on appeared before her eyes. She gestured with her fingers to lift the slab up so she could see under it.

    There it was.

    A foot beneath her was a circular empty space. A tunnel or passage? Perhaps it was just a drain? She looked down to her feet. She knelt down and placed a hand to the metal beneath her. Her hand heated up. The metal under her fingers began to glow a bright orange. She clenched her hand into a fist and focused the heat into a wider area. The metal gradually gave way. It warped and fled from her touch as it became liquid. As the intense temperature rose, some of the metal began to vaporize¡ªwhich created flashes of light until she was able to see down into the hole.

    The passageway was unusual. Where the metal ended, stone began. Stone rungs descended straight down into the darkness below. There was enough space to fit someone twice her size.

    Mira stared into the darkness. She¡¯d have to descend into the depths in search of answers. Her hands trembled.

    She was the incarnation of the sun¡¯s will made manifest. What did she have to fear of the darkness? With an iota of will, she created an orb of swirling flame in her hand and lowered it towards the darkness.

    Mira wasn¡¯t concerned about her masquerade here. This place was hidden and wasn¡¯t supposed to be found. Who knew how long it¡¯s been sealed? She needed to be prepared for what lurked in the shadows.

    She shifted herself around to take footholds on the rungs, the stone was cold to the touch as her fingers wrapped around them. Carefully, she made her descent. The stone was coarse and unpolished. Mira kept her right hand facing down towards the depths as she made her descent. A floor came into view a ways down. Mira¡¯s anxiety escalated. She dropped from the last few rungs and turned to face into the structure. There was a doorway which led to a stairwell. With her intrusion, dust kicked up into the air. It smelled as if she was walking into a tomb.

    Mira held her hand up as she illuminated her surroundings with the swirling light of the fire in her palm. The stairs made a partial decline and she followed them down. She proceeded further into the depths until she was stopped by a wooden door. The wood resembled the dark trees of the wilds; it was covered in white markings. Age had worn away some of it, but she recognized the ancient symbols.

    ¡°Djinn?¡± she whispered. To Mira¡¯s knowledge, there were no djinn on this world. The djinn homeworld was on the other side of inhabited space. Djinn were tribal, but also nomadic. It wasn¡¯t out of the question that they could have been here before, but how long ago? Perhaps these markings weren¡¯t put here by the djinn, but by someone who knew djinn warding symbols? Mira studied the markings for a little while longer.

    Words of power¡ªinvented by the djinn, meant to counter demons. This had to be the place she was looking for, but still it didn¡¯t make sense. Hungry for answers, Mira grabbed the handle of the door and pulled. It didn¡¯t budge at first, but with a few more hard tugs, she managed to pry it from its stiff state. Dust fell from the frame as the light from her fingers illuminated another hallway made of stone. She stepped through the doorway, there was a hall with five doors on the left side and five on the right. Each of the doors were made of the same wood.

    Mira approached the one directly to her left. She pulled it open with a firm jerk. The ward-painted door gave way and her light shown inside. It was an empty room. There was nothing inside, just a stone room covered in more of the symbols.

    Upon closer inspection, Mira noticed a stone ring outlet on the floor. It was the kind used to attach a chain to secure a beast or prisoner. To Mira, It seemed archaic. Mira turned and approached another door. With another rough pull the door gave way to a similarly empty room. Annoyed, she went down to each door, yanking them open one by one. Each was empty. She stared into the the last room on the right side of the hall. There was nothing here.

    The djinn were technologically superior to every known specie in the universe. Their ingenuity, especially when dealing with demons, was impressive to say the least. Yet all Mira found was a bunch of empty cells with djinn markings everywhere. In her frustration her right hand clutched the flames she wielded, causing the flames to lick around her fingers intensely. The light from her flames danced around her surroundings. One of those flickers glinted on the stone to her left. Her gaze was drawn to the end of the hall. It was only when she stared directly at it, that she noticed it wasn¡¯t just the end of the hall. It was another door, covered in more djinn writing. Two large stone slabs with a sealed crease between them. Beside the center crease was an indented hand-hold for each slab. Her eyes narrowed. The door appeared especially heavy. She reached over and lit the door to her right on fire. She needed to free her other hand and also create a source of light. The wooden door began to burn brilliantly and made a soft crackling sound. Mira returned her attention to the stone door. She pulled at the left slab. It didn¡¯t budge.

    If Luca had been able to join her, he would¡¯ve made short work of this door. An ursari could tap into their adrenal glands at a moment¡¯s notice. He could have pulled the door apart with ease. Mira shifted her weight around and tried again. Something must¡¯ve loosened. The slab made a rough grating sound as it budged and started to slide. She increased her efforts, managing to pull it just enough with some centimeters to spare to fit herself through. She looked through the opening. Another dark room awaited her. She lifted a hand and created new flames around her fingers as she slid through the opening. This room was larger than the cells she¡¯d looked through. Her hand was encased in flames and the radiance illuminated the entirety of the room. There was nothing here.

    Except for the body on the floor.

    Mira stared at the body laying in the center of the room. She waited for it to move¡ªto jump up and attack her. It didn''t, yet. Mira took her first step towards the figure, then another. Even with all the power of the sun at her disposal, she was still vulnerable. If her body was mortally wounded, she would lose it. It was a situation she never looked forward to. She considered lighting her entire body in flames. Heat and flame was one thing her body was immune to. It had worked many times in the past as a cautionary defensive measure when she didn¡¯t know what she was getting into.

    Her eyes scanned the body. It was draped in what were practically rags. The person had a mess of white hair splayed against the floor. It wasn¡¯t until Mira was half a foot away that she noticed the clothes had more djinn inscriptions written on each layer. Mira leaned down to find out if this was a deceased djinn.

    The body squirmed and the head lifted. The snowy locks of hair fell around a face. It wasn¡¯t the face that caught Mira¡¯s attention, but the pair of short black horns that poked from the top of the figure¡¯s forehead. Mira clenched her right hand into a fist, causing the glow of the flames to shift and cast new shadows about the room.

    The demon¡¯s face illuminated under the glow of her flames as the creature sat up with its knees bent. The wrappings bulged out around her chest, Mira was dealing with a demoness. Was she a disciple of wrath? would she lash out at her? or did the demon belong to any of the other possible sins? Knowing which sin a demon was beholden to was half the battle.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Mira questioned. It was only now that the demon¡¯s eyes slid open to reveal purely black orbs. Her skin was a cherry red. She wasn¡¯t hiding that she was a demon in the least. Her lips parted as she let out a cough. Mira caught movement behind the demon, watching as it was just her tail slowly uncoiling from the shadows beneath her. The appendage was thin and cord-like with an arrowhead tip.

    ¡°What took you so long to come for me?¡± the demoness whispered. Her voice was soft. Her statement wasn¡¯t what Mira expected the demon¡¯s first words to be.

    ¡°Pardon?¡± Mira replied. She was unsure how to respond to such a question. Mira felt the demon¡¯s gaze upon her, despite the demon¡¯s lack of pupils. The fire from Mira¡¯s hand caused little glints and shimmers in those black eyes.

    ¡°I waited for you, right where you left me. You betrayed me!¡± Her words came out in a raspy gasp. She coughed several times as her body moved. The demoness crawled towards Mira, but an audible clink of metal sounded and her movements were halted. Mira looked down to the demon¡¯s clawed feet. Her ankles were clasped with metal rings with chains attached to the floor. The chains had djinn inscriptions on them. Mira took a moment to look about the room. From the markings on the walls and what little she knew of djinn inscriptions; it wasn¡¯t difficult to determine that this cell was designed to sap the demon¡¯s strength and power¡ªplacing her on par with the strength of a human. The fact that only a pair of shackles kept her physically in place was a testament to that.

    ¡°I¡¯m obviously not who you think I am. My name¡¯s Mira, What do you know of¡ª¡± Mira cut herself short. How could this demoness possibly be responsible for anything happening on the surface if she was stuck down here? ¡°How long have you been down here?¡± She asked instead.

    The demon¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t shift as she was focused intently on Mira.

    ¡°Eva,¡± the demon whispered. The demon blinked several times, her head tilted to the side. ¡°You...you¡¯re one of those crimson birds,¡± she said. Her tone became colder and less confused.

    ¡°Answer my question and who is Eva?¡± Mira asked. As soon as the words left her lips, the demoness laid back down on the floor, placing her cheek against the stone.

    ¡°I am Bel. You smell peculiar,¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s a hint of a demon about you.¡±

    ¡°Bel?¡± asked Mira. ¡°I encountered a demon of greed earlier.¡±

    ¡°No, no no no...not greed. This scent is different, or have I forgotten it? Not greed...but I can¡¯t remember which. Are there more than seven? More than eight?¡± the demon rambled.

    Mira tensed and her eyes narrowed. Her hands tightened into fists as she wondered how this demon could possibly smell¡ª

    ¡°Eva is everything, why did she betray me?¡± The demon whispered as she lay there, having interrupted Mira¡¯s thoughts. Bel¡¯s eyes closed. ¡°Why is a crimson bird here? I don¡¯t recall phoenixes being so inquisitive with demons.¡±

    Mira tapped her foot on the dusty floor as this discourse dragged on. It seemed she wouldn¡¯t get any answers from this imprisoned creature.

    ¡°I stumbled across your prison while searching for the source of a demonic drug,¡± said Mira. ¡°It¡¯s being distributed among the city¡¯s populace and changing some of them into monsters.¡±

    Bel¡¯s eyes went wide. Her head turned to look up at Mira.

    ¡°City?¡± She asked.

    Mira gave the demon a curious look.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been down here since before the city was founded?¡±

    ¡°There were only villages and caves when I was last on the surface of this world. There was no city. I cannot count the days,¡± the demon replied.

    ¡°The city has been standing for centuries,¡± said Mira.

    ¡°As you say,¡± Bel remarked.

    ¡°Why were you placed down here so long ago?¡± Mira asked.

    ¡°If I tell you,¡± said Bell. ¡°Will you release me from these bonds?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Mira scoffed.

    ¡°Then leave me to my solitude,¡± she said. ¡°I shall wait centuries more if I have to. She will return to me.¡±

    Mira was about to ask again who this woman was that she kept referring to, but she doubted the demon would be forthcoming with answers, unless she was offered something in return. Mira didn¡¯t have the patience to negotiate with another demon. The entire situation had been a waste of time. Mira turned from the demon and headed back out the way she came. Bel said nothing as Mira left her to rot in the prison. When Mira made it through the stone door, she closed it back up. The door she had set ablaze was still burning. Mira gazed upon the fire and extended her will towards the flames. She squelched them with a thought and continued towards the steps.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Mira to return to the surface. She took account of her surroundings and ran her fingers through her crimson hair. She had nothing to show for the time she¡¯d spent here. There didn¡¯t appear to be any connection between Bel and the drug being used in the city. It was mere coincidence that she stumbled upon the demon¡¯s cell. Mira had run out of leads. She¡¯d searched every inch of the facility and come up with nothing. Whatever had been here, was long gone.

    Mira looked down at the hole in the metal slab. If she left it as-is, anyone could come along and potentially free the demon. Mira still had questions for Bel¡ªsuch as what she knew and why she was down there. But that could wait. The demon wasn¡¯t going anywhere and Mira could return when she had more time. She wasn¡¯t going to spend hours interrogating a demon who couldn¡¯t help her with her current pursuit.

    Mira stepped away from the hole and brought her arms up. Heat emanated off her hands and a stream of licking flames poured from her palms. She shifted her hands, sending the flames along the edge of the tunnel. The metal softened and began to melt inwards. She walked a circle around the hole and continued this for a solid minute before cutting off the stream of flames. With this, It would seem like a chemical burn or small explosion had damaged the spot. Hopefully no one would be the wiser. Satisfied, she hailed another transport to take her to her apartment.

    While she waited, she sent a message to Noree, letting the woman know that she¡¯d found nothing of interest at the warehouse. She decided to leave out the part about finding a demon hidden underground. Minutes later, a transport arrived and whisked her away.

    The sun no longer lightened the clouds above, the dreariness of the atmosphere was now gone and in its place was a black sky. With all the overcast, it was a rare occurrence to ever see a star. It left a sense of isolation, as if no other worlds existed out in the universe.

    When she arrived at her apartment complex, Mira made her way inside. She passed through the gold-pillared double doors and into the lobby. A scanner took notice of her, but did nothing to impede her entrance. There was a man in a security box in a room nearby who could be out there in an instant if need be-¨Cif he wasn¡¯t sleeping.

    Mira walked down the hall. Her feet scuffed the floor with each footstep. She arrived at room seventy-two. She waved her data-band in front of the scanner, it unlocked the door and she made her way inside. The lights flipped on at her entrance. The door closed and locked behind her. She knelt and undid her boots, slipping her toes from them and onto the warm tile. The apartment was simple. The room she stood in now was a combination of kitchenette and living room. There was a single bedroom directly to her right. She turned to walk into the open bedroom and the lights flickered on. Mira slipped her top off and tossed it into the clothes basket.

    A figure lay naked on her bed.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you ever greet me in a warm and affectionate way when you come in?¡± the person asked.

    Mira leaned down and undid her pants and slipped them off, leaving her in her undergarments. She finally looked over to the bed. The figure on the bed had soft purple skin; her toes and fingers came to subtle points. A corded tail with a hooked tip slid across the bed sheets. A pair of gray horns poked out from beneath her black hair which cascaded down against her shoulders.

    ¡°You look tense, did that ursari upset you? He seems rather fond of you. I wish I could walk around with you in plain sight as he does,¡± the woman spoke.

    Mira walked towards the bed and sat down on the edge. Her hands rested on the bed as she stared at the floor. Seconds later she felt the woman¡¯s bare chest press against her back. The woman wrapped an arm around Mira and rested her hand on the phoenix¡¯s belly. Her other arm came around so that she could drift her fingertips over Mira¡¯s shoulder and along her collar.

    ¡°I acquired the services of a demon of greed to act as a bankroll,¡± Mira told her, ignoring the woman¡¯s comments.

    ¡°Was she prettier than I?¡± the creature behind her questioned.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Mira replied.

    ¡°Is she why you look so downtrodden?¡± the woman asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s a drug spreading throughout the city. It¡¯s widely available and creating abominations, and I have no leads to put an end to it or to find out who¡¯s responsible,¡± Mira answered. The woman¡¯s teeth nipped at the back of Mira¡¯s ear.

    ¡°We should try this drug, I bet it would be a splendid experience. Don¡¯t you think?¡± she whispered into Mira¡¯s ear like a succubus trying to seduce their prey.

    ¡°We will do no such thing,¡± Mira replied. Her response was met with a soft pout from the woman¡¯s lips.

    ¡°I met an interesting demon at the depths of a hidden dungeon in the city. She¡¯s been down there for centuries. She thought I was someone else at first. I couldn¡¯t determine her alignment and wasn¡¯t able to garner any information from her in the least. She said her name was Bel. Are you familiar with such a demon?¡± Mira asked.

    ¡°Was she prettier than I?¡± Mira heard the familiar words leave the woman¡¯s lips. The woman ran her fingers over Mira¡¯s shoulder and along her arm.

    ¡°No,¡± said Mira. ¡°I decided to leave her as I found her, for now. It was strange, to say the least. An old hidden dungeon with djinn markings everywhere, holding a single demon prisoner.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s two demons you let live today. My my, are you still a phoenix?¡± The woman asked.

    Mira¡¯s fingers tightened on the sheets. The woman at her back was the only one who could get away with such an accusation, even in jest.

    ¡°The demon of greed was useful to me,¡± Mira said in her defense. ¡°The one in the dungeon could still be of use when I have more time to deal with her.¡±

    ¡°As you say,¡± the woman replied. Her knees slid forward to rest on either side of Mira¡¯s body as she held close against her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think Bel is a bit short to be a meaningful name for a demon?¡± asked the woman. ¡°She obviously didn¡¯t divulge her full name to you, you certainly realized that.¡± Mira listened as the woman¡¯s cheek nuzzled the nape of her neck.

    ¡°I wish you were more helpful,¡± Mira muttered.

    ¡°I wish you would remove the rest of your clothes,¡± she replied.

    ¡°I¡¯ve had a long day, longer than I expected. I need some sleep.¡± Mira whispered as her eyes grew heavy.

    ¡°If you¡¯d rather sleep than pay attention to me, I¡¯ll not bother you further,¡± the woman said.

    Mira shifted to lay down. A sigh left Mira¡¯s lips and slumber took her soon after.

    ***

    Mira opened her eyes at the buzzing of her data-band. She leaned up and rubbed at them. Her arms stretched into the air. She yawned and fell back to the bed, of which she was the only occupant. She stared at the ceiling. Her data-band was still buzzing and keeping her from falling back to sleep. With a groan she sat back up and slipped off the bed to stand. She stretched again and tapped her data-band a few times to turn it off. She pulled up her notifications to see if she had any messages waiting. There were none.

    Mira wrote out a quick message to Noree, asking if there were any new leads with the drug. After sending the message, she headed into the bathroom. She stepped into the small shower bay and pressed her preferred setting for the water jets and soaps. Steaming water sprayed over her as she closed her eyes. Mira¡¯s thoughts went to Noree and if there had been any new developments. Surely Noree would¡¯ve contacted her by now. Perhaps she was still asleep. Dryte tended to have strange sleep habits.

    Mira let the hot water pour over her. With the slightest effort, she could create a burning heat, but the outside source of warmth on her bare skin was tantalizing.

    A soft vibration came over her wrist. With a disappointed sigh, Mira brought her hand up to tap the data-band. The display materialized in the confines of the shower. Water sprayed through the image in the air and distorted it. The message was from Luca. It read ¡®hope you¡¯re still alive, you never got back to me about what happened with Noree. You forgot about me again, didn¡¯t you little bird?¡¯

    Mira scanned over the message and frowned.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± she whispered and placed a hand to her forehead. ¡°I did forget about you, again,¡± She reached over and pressed a button on the shower bay to have it finish up. Within twenty seconds Mira was fully cleaned and dried, not that she couldn¡¯t have just flash-dried herself of course. She stepped out of the bay and finished up in the bathroom. Once she was back in her bedroom she proceeded to get dressed. Heading over to her closet and dresser, she slipped into a clean pair of undergarments. She opted for a pair of dark blue denim pants and a purple short-sleeved shirt. Having no reason to head outside yet, she didn¡¯t get anymore dressed than that. She headed into the living room and tapped the data-band again and brought up a keypad. She responded to Luca¡¯s message, telling him about everything that happened the day before, even mentioning the underground demon. She trusted Luca with this knowledge far more than the dryte woman who she¡¯d only known for a day. She hit send and went over to the kitchenette to find herself something to eat.

    After finishing a meal, Mira¡¯s data-band vibrated again. She quickly checked her notifications and had the message she was waiting for. She tapped it quickly, her anxiety building as she read Noree¡¯s message.

    ¡®No new developments.¡¯

    Mira slumped in her seat and her arms lowered to the table. She stared at her hands. What was she going to do? She put her arms together and placed her head upon them. Her eyes slid shut as her mind wandered over every little facet of the previous day.

    ***

    ¡°INTRUDER ALERT MAIN DOOR, INTRUDER ALERT MAIN DOOR.¡±

    Mira¡¯s eyes bolted open. She¡¯d fallen asleep? The words coming from the apartment¡¯s system echoed in her ears. She looked towards the door as she rose from her seat. Instinctively she escalated her body temperature.

    ¡°Luca?¡± she asked. Her ursari friend stood in the broken doorway. Pieces of the door lay scattered on the floor. Luca¡¯s eyes looked directly into Mira¡¯s and he started walking towards her.

    ¡°Mira,¡± he said. The word was sluggish and strained as he spoke her name.

    ¡°Luca, what¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked.

    Mira¡¯s eyes narrowed as her friend closed in on her. His movements appeared forced as he took each step. In just a few seconds he was in front of her. He reached out and grabbed Mira¡¯s shoulders. She expected one of his usual invasive hugs, but instead his grip became like a vice. Mira pushed against his chest to separate herself from his strong grasp.

    Mira gasped ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Luca had never acted like this before. There was no greeting, no jaunty voice. Just a dead stare and the monotone voice.

    ¡°I...can¡¯t,¡± his voice strained for each word. He tightened his grip and pushed her against the kitchen wall. His physical strength was easily greater than that of a human hosting a phoenix¡¯s consciousness.

    Mira raised her voice, ¡°Luca, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± She shoved his chest to no avail. She couldn¡¯t get any leverage against him. Mira looked into his eyes. His pupils were dilated.

    ¡°Did you take something?¡± could she even reason with him? It was unlike Luca to get involved with drugs.

    ¡°Someone...injected me,¡± he grunted. ¡°Wanted...to help...but I...I can¡¯t...stop it,¡± his hand raised and grabbed her neck. Mira¡¯s patience dissipated.

    ¡°Enough!¡± she shouted. In an instant, she created a micro-pocket of heat between their bodies and inflated it like a balloon. The bubble separated them as flames singed his shirt. The pocket of flame burst in a fiery explosion. It sent Luca sprawling back onto the floor. There was a loud thud when he landed. Mira stepped towards her fallen friend. The fire had left her unscathed but there were burn marks all around the walls and floor as well as on Luca¡¯s clothes and skin.

    He lay there with closed eyes. There were a series of lumps in his arms. Mira stared at his skin, worried that she had broken his bones with the force of the explosion. Her fears elevated when those lumps began to move beneath his flesh. Her heart sunk in her chest as the reality of the situation hit her.

    ¡°No!¡± she screamed as long tendrils burst from beneath his skin. His arms became a mass of writhing tentacles. His pants were pierced through as the slick appendages coiled about his legs. All she could do was stand there in horror as her friend became one of the monsters she¡¯d sought to prevent.

    Luca shifted and rose up, his blank eyes stared down at her. She could still see a tinge of life in them. Was Luca still in there? His fingers were gone and in their place was a writhing mass. His arm came up like a whip, which wrapped around Mira¡¯s neck. The tentacles wrapped and strangled her throat. Their grip tightened with each passing moment.

    Mira had no choice. She caused her right hand to burn, the heat radiated off her skin as she jabbed her open palm into his chest. His skin and bones gave way to the intense burning heat of her fingers. She wrapped those digits around his heart and hesitated for just a moment, before squeezing her fingers shut.

    Luca¡¯s eyes widened as his lips moved, breathing his last words. ¡°Sorry, little¡­bird.¡±

    She stared into Luca¡¯s eyes as the light faded from them. His life snuffed out by her clenched fist. The tentacles around her neck loosened. His body slumped to the floor. The charred scent of meat permeated the air. All Mira could do was stare down at his lifeless corpse. Luca, her only true friend on this wretched world. A world she was supposed to save. It was her fault, she couldn¡¯t even save one man. All she could do was end his life. Ending life was all she was capable of. She let demons live while her only friend in the world died by her hand.

    Mira fell to her knees beside what had once been Luca. Tears evaporated from her eyes before they could run down her cheeks. Her body scorched the floor. Her hand had vaporized anything that had been on it. She let her heat dissipate as she stared at the corpse. What sort of phoenix was she? What great protector was she supposed to be?

    The sound of footsteps echoed into the room. From the corner of her eye she caught someone enter the doorway to the apartment.

    ¡°How long has he been transformed? When did he die?¡± came a quick female voice. Mira¡¯s eyes looked upon the figure.

    ¡°Noree?¡± Mira murmured. The dryte woman strode towards Luca¡¯s corpse. She knelt by his head and reached into her labcoat.

    ¡°Five...six minutes ago?¡± Mira responded in a dull tone. ¡°What does it matter? He¡¯s dead,¡± her thoughts turned to anger and frustration. The dryte woman pulled a syringe from her pocket. She placed a hand to Luca¡¯s head as if she was steadying it. Noree placed the syringe above his eye and slid it through the pupil.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Mira yelled.

    Her tone didn¡¯t change the dryte¡¯s demeanor in the least.

    ¡°I¡¯m making sure his death means something. I would think that¡¯d be important to you, as his friend,¡± she said. Noree didn¡¯t so much as look at her.

    Mira¡¯s anger spiked as her friendship with Luca was questioned. She was seconds away from striking the plant woman. But the desire subsided as Noree¡¯s words broke through her haze.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Mira asked as calmly as she could manage.

    ¡°Luca messaged me a little while ago,¡± Noree replied. ¡°He said he had been dosed with Ero when he was speaking with a dealer. He was trying to investigate Ero on your behalf. The latter part of his message started to ramble, most likely as the drug started to take effect. I can only imagine that he contacted me in hopes of a cure, but I had none to give. In his rambling, he mentioned you and wanting to see you. Surely you were the focus of his drug-addled state, or perhaps he thought you could help him. Regardless, I had a friend track his data-band for me, which led me here. I sent you a message.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Mira checked her data-band and sure enough, there was a message from Noree. Mira must¡¯ve put her data-band on silent at some point before falling asleep at the table.

    Noree began to speak again before Mira could read the message. ¡°My research showed that the ursari were highly susceptible to change when taking Ero. The details are a bit complicated.¡± Noree filled the syringe with a pale fluid and slowly pulled the needle free from Luca¡¯s eye. ¡°This will help me isolate the blood traces of the demon responsible for the drug. With that and a little more time, I can help you track this demon if they¡¯re on Malstyx.¡±

    Mira stared at the syringe, then looked to Noree.

    ¡°How soon?¡± Mira asked.

    Noree pressed something on the syringe to retract the needle and slipped it into her coat pocket. Noree rested a hand on Mira¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Calm down,¡± said Noree. Her demeanor unwavering. Mira glanced back to Luca. His skin darkened as if a mold was slowly consuming him.

    ¡°What¡¯s¡ª¡± Mira began.

    ¡°This is what happens after death. They become a monster for a short time and then they become nothing,¡± she spoke in a soft voice as Mira watched her friend. ¡°It may not be safe for you here anymore. You have no idea the things he may have divulged, even accidentally to agents in league with demons. They can find his apartment, they can find you¡ªas I did. You would be safer elsewhere,¡± Noree pointed out the things Mira would have concluded to in a less emotional state. The dryte woman was Mira¡¯s much-needed compass and yet she knew so very little about her.

    ¡°I have nowhere to¡ª¡±

    ¡°You will stay with me,¡± said Noree. The woman had a penchant for cutting off her sentences. Mira would¡¯ve refused out of instinct. She had already burdened Noree enough already. But the truth of the matter was that Mira had no alternatives.

    Mira nodded her agreement. Noree¡¯s lips curled as she smiled at Mira for the first time. Noree gave her shoulder a squeeze before releasing it and helping Mira to stand.

    ¡°Gather your things,¡± said Noree.

    Mira set about the apartment to ready herself. She would leave Luca¡¯s apartment behind. His selflessness had shown her that there were people worth fighting for and saving on Malstyx. With Noree¡¯s kindness, Mira knew that she could redeem her failures as a phoenix.

    She owed it to Luca.

 Chapter 3: S&M Detectives

    Marcus glared at his partner from across the room. ¡°Do you have to do that inside?¡± he asked.

    Saris pulled a blood-vaporizer from his lips and turned to look at Marcus. ¡°It¡¯s not hurting you, so don¡¯t look if it bothers you so much,¡± he said. ¡°Besides, there¡¯s a fire across the street. I don¡¯t want to breathe in all that smoke if I don¡¯t have to. I¡¯ll be coughing all day.¡±

    Saris stood by the window and placed the bloodcig back to his lips. He inhaled, causing the tip of the device to glow a soft red. To Marcus, the thought of vereans walking around and vaping blood was almost as unsettling as when they drank it. Sure, most of it was supposed to be synthetic or animal blood, but who really knew?

    The muted display on the wall depicted an ongoing news report. A small crowd stood outside a gold-pillared apartment complex within the city. The complex was billowing smoke. That very crowd¡ªalong with the burning building, were across the street from their office.

    Saris and Marcus ran the two-man venture called ¡®S&M Detectives.¡¯ They co-owned the office and living space upstairs. They didn¡¯t get a lot of business, but kept busy with what they could manage. S&M took on jobs such as finding out if someone¡¯s spouse was cheating on them, or finding out where someone was. Most of their paid work came from the Enforcer Bureau on Malstyx¡ªwhich is where their office was located. Saris had wormed his way into the hearts¡ªand pants, of some of the officers there. So when the bureau needed to outsource investigative work, S&M tended to get the job. It was usually things the bureau investigators didn¡¯t want to dirty their hands or be associated with, which often entailed demons. Why send valuable assets in the department, when they could outsource to a couple of nobodies? No one would complain about a few civilians going missing if a potentially demonic situation took a turn for the worst.

    Saris¡¯s black hair was swept back. Marcus¡¯s was the same length but brown and swept to the side. They both had a light amount of facial hair which they kept trimmed. Marcus was used to dressing nicely, due to his time in the Anti-Demon Agency¡ªotherwise known as the ADA. Saris on the other hand, was more laid-back in his demeanor and appearance¡ªbut still dressed similarly to Marcus. Saris had the usual red verean eyes and pointy ears, though his eyes were a bit dull in hue. Marcus¡¯s were brown. They had similar physiques, but Saris benefited from being verean. He had a lighter body and stronger musculature. Marcus thought of himself as the smarter of the two. His time in Malstyx¡¯s ADA, had provided him with a plethora of skills.

    ¡°Did we make any money at all the past two weeks?¡± asked Marcus. His head tilted to get a better view of Saris without the image obscuring his vision.

    ¡°Oh!¡± said Saris. ¡°The Enforcer Bureau signed off on the contract we did for them. So that was fifteen hundred credits I think?¡±

    Marcus blinked and asked, ¡°We did work for the E.B.?¡±

    ¡°Err, well...It was a bit of a solo job, on my part. On behalf of team S&M.¡±

    Marcus sighed and leaned back in his chair with his fingers to his temple.

    ¡°You screwed one of the E.B. officers again, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°The incident involved something along those lines,¡± said Saris. ¡°It¡¯s...a bit of a blur.¡±

    Marcus rolled his eyes. ¡°Well at least you made something,¡± he murmured.

    ¡°More than you,¡± Saris countered.

    ¡°I keep S&M afloat while you screw around,¡± Marcus yelled.

    ¡°Oh, so I was the one who got drunk three days ago and stumbled around the streets hitting on every dryte in sight?¡± said Saris ¡±¡ªand had a hangover the whole next day? You humans indulge far too much in every vice.¡±

    Marcus grumbled at Saris¡¯s superb recollection.

    ¡°I have a thing for plant people. I can¡¯t help it,¡± said Marcus.

    The dryte were an exotic race. They resembled plants¡ªwith their mossy hair and their petal-clothing, but their individual appearance could differ wildly. It was one of the reasons Marcus found them so fascinating.

    Marcus tapped his data-band to dissipate the display. He grew weary of staring at reports and numbers. He looked up to see Saris walking towards his desk. ¡°So are we taking that job?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°It¡¯s a bit peculiar, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s not much else right now, It¡¯s the only real work we¡¯ve had in days,¡± said Saris.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d call it real work until we actually get paid for it,¡± said Marcus. ¡°Which, given the nature of the situation, Isn¡¯t likely.¡±

    ¡°Are you backing out of it already? You were the one who got the call and setup the meeting,¡± said Saris. ¡°You do this a lot, you know. You get excited over something new and mysterious, but then you back down after you¡¯ve thought about it for too long.¡±

    Marcus rasped his fingers on his desk as he stared off towards the window. ¡°I¡¯m just getting a bad feeling about it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what you always say,¡± said Saris. He sighed and headed for the door. ¡°How about we head over there, get a few drinks in you and we¡¯ll see how you feel about it afterwards?¡±

    Marcus glanced over to the display with the news. He noticed the time. The meeting was in an hour. He looked to Saris. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± he said. Marcus stood and brushed his hands down his black pants and straightened out his button-up short-sleeved collared shirt. He joined Saris by the door.

    ¡°They advertise that they have the largest selection of blood-liqueurs,¡± said Saris as he opened the door.

    Marcus gritted his teeth. Why did his partner have to be a verean? Blood-this, blood-that.

    ***

    Marcus sat across from his partner at a dimly lit table in the pub. He held his glass to his lips and took a sip. The upbeat but soft music was a comforting undertone to the rather drab appearance of the place. The windows were tinted to keep the harsher lights from the city at bay. Inside, the decor gave a more relaxed look, with rustic furniture and gentle yellow lighting.

    Marcus looked to him from behind his glass. He sipped at the contents and let out a huff before setting the glass down with a clink. Saris was still puffing away on his bloodcig. Marcus looked around the bar and observed the other patrons. A few older gentlemen sat at the counter against the wall where the bartender was whipping up drinks. There were two women at a table across the room and a few miscellaneous patrons at their own respective tables. It was relatively quiet, which was strange for a new bar. Maybe no one knew about it yet. Marcus relaxed into his padded seat and nudged the glass with a finger.

    ¡°She won¡¯t show up,¡± said Saris.

    ¡°She sounded scared, she¡¯ll show up,¡± Marcus replied. ¡°Not like we have anything else going on, might as well see it through.¡±

    Marcus glanced to the bartender and lifted his glass while holding up two fingers. The bartender nodded in his direction. Saris was still nursing some sort of blood alcohol concoction. Marcus never kept up with the names for drinks that included blood. He leaned back and looked up to the ceiling.

    ¡°So we have a girl with a dead boyfriend, who recommended that she hand off this item¡ªwhatever it is, to us,¡± said Saris.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the pay in this?¡±

    Marcus bit his lower lip. Saris had a point. Maybe they should file some sort of ¡®non-profit¡¯ paperwork for their business. It seemed like half of what they did was charity for somebody.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why her boyfriend recommended us,¡± said Saris. ¡°We aren¡¯t a bank or a storage facility.¡±

    Marcus gave it a bit of thought.

    ¡°We investigate things. I¡¯m hoping that if we talk to her, she¡¯ll reveal a little more to us,¡± said Marcus. ¡°Unless she thinks we can figure out who killed her boyfriend, based on the item.¡±

    ¡°She said she couldn¡¯t go to the police, right?¡± said Saris. ¡°So, maybe It¡¯s evidence of corruption?¡±

    Marcus chuckled. ¡°Everyone¡¯s corrupt on this planet,¡± he said. ¡°Even if we could incriminate someone...why would we bother? We don¡¯t need that sort of exposure. That¡¯s a perfect way to get both of us killed.¡±

    ¡°Humans, always thinking about your mortality,¡± said Saris.

    ¡°Well some species don¡¯t have the luxury of being immortal. Besides, you¡¯re more suited to deal with this line of work. I may have spent years analyzing data and executing missions, but people like you were the ones who had to get messy.¡±

    Saris lowered his bloodcig and gave him a fanged grin. ¡°If I recall correctly, back at the agency you were the only agent who actually went out with operatives. All the others prefered to sit at their cushy desks, while you enjoyed getting close to the messy parts.¡±

    Marcus grimaced and narrowed his eyes as he stared at the far wall. ¡°It wasn¡¯t enjoyment, trust me. But it¡¯s probably the only reason I¡¯m still here and the rest of the department isn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°A shame you weren¡¯t assigned more operatives,¡± said Saris. ¡°Perhaps more than the two of us would¡¯ve survived.¡±

    ¡°Tch,¡± Marcus sneered. ¡°So what? Two of us...three of us...four? There were over five hundred of us. Now look where we¡¯re at. Bottom feeding off whatever dreck jobs we can get around the city. We¡¯re barely even equipped to deal with demons nowadays.¡±

    Saris took a slow drag of his bloodcig, then let out the breath before speaking. ¡°Most of our equipment was at the precinct when it blew. The specialty ammo we took for granted is all but gone.¡± Saris let his grin return as he subtly tapped something hidden beneath his jacket. ¡°But at least we had these beauties on us. They¡¯re better than anything we¡¯d be able to afford on the market.¡±

    Marcus rolled his eyes. ¡°Yea, but¡ª¡± he cut himself short as the bartender came into view and set his drink on the table. ¡°Thanks.¡± Marcus brought the new drink to his lips and took a gulp of the amber liquid. He set the glass down and rolled his tongue within his mouth. His attention returned to Saris. ¡°I¡¯m useless compared to you. I wasn¡¯t special forces. I only shot at the range to pass assessments.¡±

    Saris waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Most of the other agents cheated their numbers, or had the evaluator pass them to meet quota. Even our own agency was lax when it should¡¯ve been vigilant and don¡¯t forget, you managed to hit that demon square between the eyes...that one time.¡±

    Marcus chuckled. ¡°Yea...if only that single shot would¡¯ve actually stopped him.¡±

    Saris couldn¡¯t help but laugh as well. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why it¡¯s so funny, you almost died, because you loaded the wrong ammo.¡±

    Marcus grinned at the memory and shook his head. ¡°I thought I was dead for sure. Broken ribs, arm¡­¡± He trailed off as he stared at the window. ¡°Hey, do you think the lunatic is caught up with demons?¡± Marcus asked.

    Saris shook his head. ¡°Couple young dreg like them? I doubt it. You saw her profile and the supposed boyfriend¡¯s. They¡¯re dreck...bottom of the food chain on Malstyx. They barely make enough to live on. I don¡¯t know what the item is, but it¡¯s probably another corruption scheme that ended up getting the boyfriend shot by some gang or mercs.¡±

    Marcus took a slow sip of his drink. The liquid burned as it ran down his throat. The more he thought about the situation, the more his gut told him that Saris was wrong and that there was going to be trouble. There was always trouble.

    The next hour crept along. Marcus had two empty glasses on the table, compared to Saris¡¯s one, but Saris had also been through four bloodcig ampules.

    Marcus checked his data-band for the time. ¡°She was supposed to be here an hour ago,¡± he said.

    Saris had been watching the window and glancing around the bar. His eyes never seemed to remain on any one thing for too long. He was the type to size others up with the briefest glance. He pushed his chair back and stood. ¡°Well, guess that¡¯s all we can do.¡±

    Marcus took one last look at the door to make sure the girl wasn¡¯t coming. He then followed Saris¡¯s lead and stood as well. ¡°I lost the bet, so the tab¡¯s mine,¡± he said and made his way to the counter. The bartender brought up their tab and Marcus swiped his data-band over the scanner and accepted the transaction with a press of his finger. The bartender gave his thanks and Marcus went to the door, making his way out with Saris.

    They straightened their jackets and Saris took in the surroundings while patting his pocket. ¡°Damn, I¡¯m outta amps,¡± Saris grumbled. Marcus looked over to him and smirked.

    ¡°Gonna see if the bartender has any,¡± said Saris, who turned and headed back into the bar.

    Marcus shook his head and started down the street. Various other outlets were on either side of him but they were closed for the night. The bar was located at the far end of a side street. It wasn¡¯t a terrible neighborhood, Marcus had seen far worse around the city. His arms crossed as he came to a stop and looked down the street towards the rooftops. He watched the lights from transports flying by. Blues, yellows, greens. It was almost mesmerizing to just sit back and gaze.

    Something hard and cold pressed firm to the back of his head.

    ¡°Give me your data-band and you get to keep your life, don¡¯t turn around!¡± the man grunted.

    Marcus tensed, keeping still and staring forward. ¡°My data-band?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Take it off or I¡¯ll take your arm!¡± the man demanded in a low voice. His strict and concise voice portrayed experience. He¡¯d done this before. Had he cut off people¡¯s arms in the past for their data-band? It wasn¡¯t unheard of on Malstyx. Band-hackers could pull a lot of credits out of a person¡¯s account¡ªif the data-band wasn¡¯t decently encrypted.

    ¡°Calm down, I¡¯m taking it off,¡± said Marcus as his arms came up in a form of surrender. He reached over at a snail¡¯s pace. The apparent muzzle of the weapon against his head pressed harder against his skull.

    ¡°Hurry up!¡± the man grunted.

    Data-band¡¯s couldn¡¯t be ripped off, the band had to be disengaged by a function on the device itself; otherwise the dreg would¡¯ve taken it by now.

    Marcus sighed. What was taking so long?

    He tapped the data-band on his wrist to pull up a small display. He hit the correct icons, but took extra time to reach the correct menu. He occasionally hit the wrong selections and had to back-up in the menu.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m nervous!¡± said Marcus in a trembling voice, but with steady hands.

    ¡°Get it off or I¡¯ll take your whole arm¡± said the man.

    Marcus frowned a bit now. Oh, maybe he needed to move his head?

    ¡°Sorry! I can¡¯t see too well!¡± said Marcus as he leaned his head down to get a better look at the data-band¡¯s screen.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    DZZZT, came a sharp electric sound.

    The pressure against the back of Marcus¡¯s head diminished and a thud came from behind him. Marcus turned to see his would-be mugger on the ground. A red pool spilled out onto the street beneath his head. He lifted a brow and looked to the bar a couple dozen feet away. Saris was walking towards him, already lowering his gun down into his jacket.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t have any,¡± called Saris.

    Marcus furrowed his brow at him. ¡°What?¡± asked Marcus as Saris stopped a foot away from him.

    ¡°Bartender didn¡¯t have any blood amps,¡± he clarified.

    Marcus looked down to the dreg who Saris had just shot. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get home then, wouldn¡¯t want you going without your¡ª¡±

    A scream cut through the air.

    Marcus looked around, it sounded as though it came from a nearby street, ¡°Damn, what is it now?¡±

    ¡°I got it!¡± Saris dashed into the nearby alley, his pistol already in hand once again. Marcus barely had a chance to blink and Saris was already on top of things. He pulled out his own sidearm and ran after his partner, but Saris had some distance on him.

    Saris reached the far end of the alley. He turned and faced into another backstreet, he raised his firearm. With a flick of his thumb, he altered the firing mode of his weapon. An audible drone emanated from the pistol. A second later, Saris fired into the alley. Energized rounds burst from the muzzle of his weapon in bright streaks of blue.

    ¡°Saris!¡± Marcus called as he closed in on his partner. Saris kept firing and stepped out of sight into the alley. Marcus flipped the same switch on his pistol and it duplicated the soft drone. The discharge from Saris¡¯s gun could still be heard as Marcus made it around the corner.

    Usually Marcus would choose safety over brashness, but he knew Saris might need his help if his partner was still firing at whatever he¡¯d seen. Whatever it was, he hadn¡¯t even hesitated to shoot it. Marcus knew full well what that meant.

    Now that Marcus had turned the corner, he lifted his firearm. He could smell the tingling scent of burnt atmosphere as it tickled his nose. Saris was a half dozen feet away, discharging shots towards the dead-end street. Had Saris gone crazy? Why was he shooting at nothing? The energized bullets impacted the glossy black wall at the far end.

    The burning smell of something reminiscent of sulfur and oil filled the air. The darkness shifted as bits of black sludge fell from the wall. Marcus¡¯s eyes widened in realization. He trained his weapon on the side of the building, but now that his eyes were adjusted to what he was seeing, he noticed something moving near the ground.

    There was someone in the wall.

    He aimed higher than the figure and fired into the oily blackness; his energized shots joined Saris¡¯s. More globs of sludge fell from the facade and sizzled on the ground. The black goop sucked its captive deeper into its dark depths. Rope-like tentacles wrapped around the person¡¯s mouth and legs. Every passing second meant that more of the trapped figure was lost.

    Saris and Marcus closed in on the creature and simultaneously fired into it, hoping to destabilize it so that it would release the girl it held. The sludge was up to her chest. Her arm came up and thrust forward, an object flew from her fingertips towards Marcus. A tentacle surged out from the blackness towards the fallen object, but Saris seared the tentacle off with a single shot. The long appendage fell to the ground and quickly decomposed into a black dusty ash. Marcus could barely hear the girl¡¯s muffled screams over the sound of their weapons, but moments later, when her head sunk into the sludge, all her sounds stopped.

    The girl was gone.

    The black sludge poured down onto the ground and moved towards the fallen object. Marcus raced towards it. He swiped the black cube from the ground and dashed back towards Saris. The sludge threw out tentacles to grab at Marcus, but each one was shot off by Saris¡¯s gun, which never stopped firing as he covered his partner¡¯s retreat.

    Marcus stood by his partner and raised his weapon. The mass of sludge crawled ever closer towards them. His salvos joined Saris¡¯s own as the two detectives released an unrelenting barrage of blue light, until the dark ooze was nothing more than decomposing ash on the ground.

    Saris¡¯s gun fell silent as he scanned their surroundings. Heat radiated off the weapon from overuse but Saris endured it. Marcus kept an eye on the ash, making sure it was really dead. The fact that it wasn¡¯t moving was a good sign.

    ¡°I never thought we¡¯d see one of those again,¡± said Marcus.

    ¡°Do you think that was her? your contact?¡± asked Saris. He looked down at the black shiny cube which Marcus was holding. ¡°What¡¯s in the secure-cube?¡±

    Marcus was still catching his breath, while Saris didn¡¯t even seem winded.

    Marcus lifted the object and inspected it. ¡°I don¡¯t know, we¡¯ll have to take it back to the office to crack it open. Whatever it is...it was worth sending a sludge-glutton after.¡±

    Saris flipped the switch on his gun, letting the drone die down. Marcus did the same.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe someone would send a demon of that rarity after our lunatic girl,¡± said Saris.

    Marcus looked to him and shrugged. ¡°Sooner we get back to the office, the sooner we get some answers,¡± he said as he turned and headed back the way they¡¯d come. He couldn¡¯t help but feel as though eyes were on them. ¡°Not to mention we¡¯re not equipped to deal with more demons, especially not of that calibre,¡± he spoke in a slightly quieter tone.

    Saris followed after Marcus. ¡°Yeah, my magazine¡¯s almost dry.¡±

    ¡°I want to know where she ended up,¡± said Marcus. ¡°The other half of that sludge-glutton has to be somewhere.¡±

    Saris hissed. ¡°I¡¯m just pissed that I¡¯ve killed two halfs of those things in my life and with the other half still laying around somewhere, it just grows a new one. I¡¯m not used to my foes still being alive after I¡¯ve killed them.¡±

    Marcus stared at the black security cube. He knew it couldn¡¯t be opened without a nearby data-band transmitting the passcode. Without knowing what was inside, it wasn¡¯t worth the risk of cutting into it. If it was a decent model, it would self-destruct when physically tampered with. Cyber tampering might make it explode as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what model this is,¡± said Marcus. ¡°I might be able to open it. The crypto program from the agency was able to crack most cubes.¡±

    ¡°So we crack it open and find out what was so important about that girl. Maybe it¡¯ll help us find her. I¡¯d love to kill the other half of that demon,¡± Saris grumbled.

    Marcus was almost certain that Saris was more concerned with killing a demon than he was saving the girl. Although, Saris might¡¯ve just been more realistic about the situation. Once the girl was interrogated by who, or whatever took her, she¡¯d probably end up dead¡ªif she wasn¡¯t already.

    ***

    As Saris and Marcus approached the door to their office, an emergency vehicle lifted away from the apartment complex across the street.

    ¡°Looks like they finally put out that fire,¡± said Saris.

    ¡°Took long enough,¡± said Marcus as he made his way into the office and went straight to his desk. He placed the security cube down and sat in his chair. He flicked his thumb, gesturing for his data-band to pull up a display and keypad. He tapped away at the keys to start the decryption program.

    Saris locked the door behind him. Not that locks did much good against demons. He went to his desk and began fishing through the drawers for blood ampules.

    Marcus looked between the data-band¡¯s display and the security cube. He initiated various scanning features of the crypto program and waited for each scan to complete. He focused on the display as information regarding the model of the cube appeared. The program was testing the waters, as it were. It was using the scanners on his data-band to make the least invasive measures before delving further into the cube¡¯s mysteries. It could take another sixty seconds, or he could be here for an hour.

    A little red light illuminated across the room and drew his attention. Saris stood there in the shadows, illuminated only by the meager light from the window, but the prominent red flicker from his blood vaporizer was hard to mistake. He didn¡¯t say anything this time. He was too tired from the ordeal in the alley. Perhaps he shouldn¡¯t pester Saris about it all the time. He often took his partner for granted.

    So instead of complaining about Saris¡¯s habits, Marcus reclined in his chair and propped his feet on the desk and relaxed. ¡°Go get some sleep, I¡¯m gonna doze for a bit while the program runs the scans,¡± he said.

    Saris walked about the room, heading over to a cabinet in the back. A mechanism inside loosened and the front panel opened. Saris retrieved ammunition for the sidearms the two of them used. He ejected the nearly spent magazine from his weapon and slid a new one into place.

    ¡°I¡¯ll sleep when we find out what¡¯s in that cube, and how deep of a mess it¡¯s put us in,¡± said Saris. He placed some spare mags discreetly tucked away in his jacket. He grabbed a few extras and walked over to Marcus and dropped them on his partner¡¯s desk.

    Marcus groaned at the effort of moving to get them. He slid his firearm out. He followed the same routine as Saris and loaded a clean mag and pocketed the spares. ¡°I doubt anything saw us and tracked us back here, but I guess we can¡¯t be sure,¡± said Marcus.

    Saris sucked at the bloodcig between his lips as he sat down in his chair. He set the weapon on the desk and started to run maintenance scans on the firearm, making sure that the overuse of it earlier hadn¡¯t damaged any of the components.

    Marcus tapped his data-band several times and turned on a display in the office. A screen lit up against the wall. The sound was muted as a local news channel appeared on the display. He decided that if Saris wasn¡¯t going to get any rest, he wasn¡¯t going to either. He might as well catch some of the news.

    ¡°Wish we had something with more power to it,¡± Marcus grumbled.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been fighting too many different kinds of demons,¡± Saris replied.

    ¡°If only there was a kind of bullet that worked perfectly on everything,¡± said Marcus as he turned in his seat to better watch the news while his data-band ran system checks on the gun. ¡°Energized shots were a lucky break for that gluttony demon. Would¡¯ve been a waste of ammo using anything more powerful. We need to get our hands on explosive ammo...that was good stuff.¡±

    ¡°Sadly, our budget doesn¡¯t allow for that kind of luxury. Not to mention the required firearms are either old and expensive, or they¡¯re riddled with malfunctions,¡± said Marcus.

    ¡°Yeah, I remember the piece of dreck that weapons supplier sold to the ADA,¡± said Saris. ¡°I think only one of them functioned properly after the first couple weeks. Damn things got Royce and Toria killed.¡±

    Marcus lifted a hand to his temple as he stared at the news screen. ¡°I remember the video we pulled from their data-bands,¡± said Marcus. ¡°A bad way to go. We also never heard from that damned salesman again. Just up and disappeared.¡±

    Saris slotted the last component back into his weapon as he reassembled it. ¡°If I see him again, I¡¯m placing a round between his eyes. I¡¯m not asking permission,¡± said Saris. ¡°Royce and Toria were verean. I grew up with them, trained with them. They weren¡¯t the best people, but they didn¡¯t deserve to have their bodies¡ª¡± Saris cut himself off as he shook his head. He looked to Marcus and then the screen on the wall. ¡°What¡¯s on the news?¡±

    Marcus blinked the vision of what had been left of Royce and Toria from his thoughts. ¡°I don¡¯t know, more riots I think,¡± he replied as he read the subtitles at the bottom of the screen. ¡°The sphinx...or sphinxes, whatever you¡¯re supposed to say¡ªare starting to get more violent. Which is just what First City needs. As if demons and corruption weren¡¯t bad enough.¡±

    Saris smirked. ¡°What? You¡¯re not gonna sign up to get yourself some pointy ears, or a forked tongue?¡± he asked. ¡°Saw one of them with antennae¡ªor something, coming out of their head. Think they¡¯d be functional?¡±

    Marcus shook his head. ¡°No idea and no, I have no desire to screw around with my genetics like that. I don¡¯t see the big fascination with it either.¡±

    Saris shrugged. ¡°Lucky for me, I don¡¯t have a choice in the matter since they¡¯re only able to modify human genes,¡± he said.

    ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of time before they¡¯re able to move on to other specie,¡± said Marcus. ¡°It¡¯s probably an alpha-stage sort of thing. I¡¯m sure it works into their business model to target the largest portion of the population first, to increase sales. They¡¯ll move on to verean and ursari next.¡±

    ¡°I hear the ursari mafia isn¡¯t too happy about the whole thing,¡± said Saris. ¡°Especially when humans choose ears similar to theirs. Apparently they¡¯ve been adamant about teaching those people a lesson. In their usual friendly methods.¡±

    ¡°Guess the Enforcers are going to be busy for a while with all the sphinx activity,¡± Marcus mused. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll get some work if they find themselves pulling detectives from their usual duties.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find out,¡± Saris replied.

    Marcus leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. The news was starting to loop content it¡¯d already shown, so he figured he¡¯d try and get a few minutes of¡ª

    Click Click

    Marcus¡¯s eyes bolted open as he looked towards the door.

    Saris looked over to him. ¡°Came from your desk,¡± he said.

    Marcus looked to the screen which illuminated the top of his desk. In bright letters read the message ¡®Defense mechanism deactivated. Locking mechanism deactivated. Security cube safe for opening.¡¯ Marcus looked at the cube. There was a dull mark on the top which signified which way to open it. He picked the cube up and eased the top open. It slid smoothly and revealed the contents inside.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Saris asked as he headed over to Marcus¡¯s desk.

    Marcus stared at it for a long moment, bewildered. He then carefully clasped it between his fingers and lifted it out of the confinements of the cube. He held it up to the light coming from the screen. ¡°Some sort of...vial?...blue liquid?¡± he said. The vial had a glass body and a metal stopper at the top. The blue liquid was semi transparent but otherwise unremarkable.

    Saris looked down at it and furrowed his brow. ¡°You have no idea what it is, do you?¡± he asked.

    Marcus stared at it for a long moment. ¡°I know exactly what it is,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s something we¡¯re going to have to take to Noree, because I haven¡¯t a clue.¡±

 Chapter 4: Malstyx Guard

    On the farthest reaches of inhabited space, Malstyx was the only planet in the Mal solar system. Gates, pioneered by human scientists¡ªallowed instantaneous travel between two points in space. Gate¡¯s couldn¡¯t operate within any strong gravitational field, so they were placed further out where no problems would arise.

    The Malstyx Guard¡ªor MG for short, was the military force that protected the lone world.

    A light-skinned man with black, but graying hair sat at a table in Station One¡¯s cafeteria. He wore a pair of black denim pants and black boots. A dark blue long sleeved jacket covered his torso. The zipper came midway down his chest. There was no standard uniform for members of the MG, but all members had to signify who they were. A black patch with red lettering resided over his left breast. A similar one rested on the white shirt beneath. His patch read ¡®Jonas Grim - Cruiser Captain - Grimwold¡¯; it signified name, occupation and the ship¡¯s designation.

    Jonas had finished his meager breakfast and was sipping away at a steamy beverage, which was supposed to be a close substitute for coffee. Well at least the color was a close substitute, but the similarity ended there. He wondered if a non-human scientist had created the stuff. Usually other species had different taste buds. He had a hunch it would taste better if he wasn¡¯t human.

    ¡°Are your armament requests taking longer than usual?¡± came a voice from over his shoulder. He didn¡¯t need to turn his head to find the source, the voice was one he knew well.

    ¡°Yeah, our weapons cache is getting lower than I¡¯d prefer. I¡¯m guessing there¡¯s something delaying the weapon shipments to the station,¡± he answered as a dark-skinned woman came around and sat across from him at the small table. Lyra was the captain of the Saturn¡¯s Lament. She was Jonas¡¯s rival and closest friend, among other things.

    ¡°Well I put the request in nine days ago. I¡¯m running desperately low on all missile types. Not to mention my guns are almost fully depleted. The armor of the Saturn¡¯s Lament isn¡¯t thick enough to take many direct hits if my guns can¡¯t take out missiles,¡± she told him of her troubles with the requisition office of the Malstyx Guard as she began to pick at the meat and lumpy orange mass on her plate.

    ¡°I thought you were going to fit her with laser countermeasures?¡± Jonas asked as he neared the end of his mug of ¡®not coffee.¡¯

    ¡°It seems our reactor can¡¯t handle the load,¡± said Lyra. ¡°I tried fitting one and we fried all the relays to that turret and almost overloaded the reactor. I¡¯ll never touch the damned things again.¡±

    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying, is that your cruiser is an underpowered piece of dreck,¡± Jonas said with a grin.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t take much power to fire a salvo of twenty missiles,¡± Lyra gloated. Her missile-platform of a cruiser had decent offensive capabilities, compared to the Grimwold.

    ¡°You win, you win. It¡¯s too early for me to be competitive,¡± he groaned. All Lyra ever had to do was bring up the offensive capabilities of her ship, to win most arguments between them¡ªas far as space warfare was concerned. Jonas brought the plastic mug to his lips, only to find he¡¯d already finished the last few drops. He sighed and set it down. He leaned back in his seat and watched Lyra eat. A minute later, the data-band on his wrist vibrated. He touched it and brought up a holo-display.

    Jonas¡¯s eyes ran over the information. ¡°Looks like the Sorrow of Mars and the Giant¡¯s Fist are engaged with a squadron of raiders at station three,¡± he said. He then silently read more from the report. Harriet¡ªhis second in command, usually kept him apprised of ship movements and engagements in the system, when he wasn¡¯t onboard. Pirates could come through any number of gates, even legitimate ones. Sometimes it took a few jumps and paying off the right owners. Far too many times the excuse ¡®we had a malfunction¡¯ was the cause of allowing unverified ships to places they weren¡¯t supposed to be; that, along with lazy and careless gate operators. Jonas had seen a video that recorded a lone operator watching a movie on his data-band. When requests came in, he just reached over and accepted them. There was always an abundance of the slothful.

    ¡°Poor raiders, they picked the wrong gate to come through today,¡± Lyra commented as she placed a bite of orange mush in her mouth.

    ¡°Apparently they¡¯re just drones. They were attached to a transport that unwittingly brought them into the system,¡± Jonas said after reading the additional excerpt from the report.

    ¡°Unwittingly, sure,¡± Lyra scoffed. Jonas smirked at her remark and eased his chair back and stood up. He walked over to her and set a hand on her shoulder and leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me out there alone for too long,¡± Jonas whispered into her ear.

    ¡°I never leave you alone, if I can help it,¡± she said under her breath. His lips curled into a grin. He raised a hand and brushed over his hair as he stepped away to let her finish her breakfast.

    Jonas made his way to the docking port where the Grimwold awaited his return. Lyra was right, his requisition requests seemed to be delayed quite a bit. He wondered what was going on. As an officer in the MG, any ammunition expended or damages accrued on duty, could be written off and reimbursed through the requisitions office. Funds were still being allocated to pay the station¡¯s repair fees, but no new ammo was arriving at Station One. If this kept up, He¡¯d have to check into manufacturing some cheap ammo with the station¡¯s fabricators. Some weapons were decent at utilizing cheap ammo effectively. His weapons weren¡¯t that type. The fabricated ammo would probably jam or damage the guns on the Grimwold, but cheap ammo was better than none at all. There was also the option of the black market, but any credits spent with black market traders couldn¡¯t be reimbursed.

    Jonas headed down a hallway towards one of the lifts. The lights in the station were dim white specs that dotted the tops and bottoms of the walls. He reached the lift and tapped the button to enter inside. He chose the docks as his destination and the lift slid down the tube. The doors opened soon after and he strolled onto a ramp which connected to the ports ships were docked at. He headed straight for the Grimwold¡¯s hatch.

    The Grimwold wasn¡¯t much to look at, mostly a space-worthy slab of pointy metal. What counted was all the devices, scanners and weapon ports. A ship was only as good as it¡¯s capabilities and its crew. A pretty ship didn¡¯t account for much in space.

    Jonas made his way through the hatch and entered the ship. He turned down a brief hall and approached a door, it read his data-band and swooshed open. The command deck of the Grimwold awaited its captain.

    ¡°Morning, Jonas,¡± came the voice of his ursari weapons technician. He was often scoffed at for his choice of placing an ursari as a weapons tech. Some people thought the ursari were a bit hot-headed and too prone to emotion during a firefight. It was that unique ability that made Alexa the perfect candidate. The ursari could tap into their adrenal glands at a moment¡¯s notice. This allowed them strength, speed, and above all, clarity. She could become laser focused on her task, drowning out everything else that wasn¡¯t important. But from time to time, that also included his orders.

    ¡°Morning, Alexa,¡± he said. ¡°Sorry, but the requisition still hasn¡¯t come through. I just spoke to Lyra a few minutes ago, she¡¯s having the same issue. She¡¯s been set back nine days.¡±

    ¡°Nine days?¡± asked Alexa. ¡°I put our request in six days ago! You better hope things are quiet out there,¡± She turned back to her console. Alexa had a point, perhaps they were spoiled with having new shipments to the station every two to three days.

    ¡°Second!¡± Jonas called. ¡°Get us underway!¡±. He looked around for the person he¡¯d barked the orders to. ¡°Where are you my darling?¡± Jonas¡¯s voice was louder than needed for the size of the room. He glanced around for his second in command.

    ¡°I wish you would stop calling me that,¡± a human woman spoke up. She brought her head up from under the navigator¡¯s console. Her name was Harriet and Jonas couldn¡¯t hope for a better second officer in the entire galaxy, unless he was able to pull Lyra away from her own command. But even then, Jonas and Lyra would surely butt heads over what to do in any given situation.

    ¡°Something wrong with the nav?¡± Jonas asked as he came to a rest in his captain¡¯s seat.

    ¡°No, just routine checkup,¡± said Harriet as she input commands into the nav system to undock the cruiser. A low hum emanated from the core of the ship as it moved and disengaged from the station and headed towards the patrol route of gate one.

    ¡°Not sure how we¡¯d keep afloat without you,¡± he said

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how we keep afloat despite me,¡± she countered.

    Jonas grinned as he tapped his data-band. It had already synced to the command terminal. He brought up a holo display of the ship¡¯s charts. He started his own routine of checking inventories and systems.

    ¡°If we get into a fight,¡± said Alexa. ¡°You better hope we fight something big, cause missiles are the only thing we¡¯re in good supply of. Maybe pick a fight with a battleship, or one of those pretty vampire vessels,¡± said Alexa.

    Jonas chuckled. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be something?¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t call them vampires, they¡¯re verean,¡± Harriet countered. ¡°It¡¯s disrespectful.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for a word your people invented,¡± said Alexa.

    Harriet knew there was no use in trying to change the ursari woman. ¡°In any case, I bet the Krikadia Bloc would pay nicely for bringing one down, especially if they weren¡¯t directly held responsible for it,¡± said Harriet.

    Jonas glanced to his second. ¡°The KB is still feuding with the vereans? You¡¯d think they¡¯d have greater concerns than territorial disputes with each other.¡±

    Harriet shrugged. ¡°Last report I read said that they¡¯re fighting over some planet that they both have gate access to. They both claim they need the resources to defend themselves.¡±

    Jonas slumped in his seat. ¡°Might as well just hand themselves to the demons if they keep acting like that. I gotta give Malstyx credit for that at least, it may be a pirate haven of a world and corrupt all the way to the roots, but at least it doesn¡¯t use us for conquest. We¡¯re out here to defend civilians, and that¡¯s what we do.¡±

    ¡°And yet, I can¡¯t get ammunition to ensure that,¡± Alexa grumbled from her terminal behind Jonas.

    ¡°That reminds me, how¡¯s gate three? How did Sorrow and Giant fair?¡± Jonas asked and turned his attention to Harriet.

    ¡°You could look it up yourself you know,¡± she replied.

    Jonas frowned.¡°But I have all this other stuff to read. Just sum it up for me, they never bulletpoint these things when they report it to command.¡±

    Harriet rolled her eyes. ¡°Fine, your bullet-point summary is that they took no casualties and the raiders were eliminated. No significant damages, save for the sorrow¡¯s engine being down, but she¡¯s parked near the gate while repairs are ongoing, so she can still defend it.¡±

    ¡°Good, good,¡± he murmured as a new column of information was flowing on the side of his holo-display. His lips curled as he knew that any moment¡ª

    A new screen appeared in front of him. Lyra¡¯s face showed prominently.

    ¡°Keeping our spot warm for me?¡± asked Lyra in a sing-song voice.

    ¡°We just arrived. How¡¯s the Saturn¡¯s Lament?¡± he asked as a way of small talk.

    Lyra turned her head, looking back to someone off screen, before turning her attention back to the viewer which relayed her image to Jonas. ¡°Not so good. Remember those relays I mentioned¡ªthe ones I had to replace? Well...the replacements were shoddy and started shorting,¡± she said. ¡°Only half of them are reading as active. I wasn¡¯t sure I was going to get a comm going. My mechanic says that he¡¯s going to have to replace them with more shoddy ones, in hopes that we can luck out with some that work.¡± Lyra looked off screen again. ¡°James, you got an ETA for me yet?¡±

    ¡°Two hours!¡± came a gruff male voice from Lyra¡¯s side of the comm.

    Lyra looked back to the viewer and sighed. ¡°Two hours and then hopefully we¡¯ll be out there with ya,¡± she said. ¡°Think you¡¯ll survive without me for a bit?¡±

    Jonas smiled. ¡°Should be, unless Alexa gets her wish and a battleship squeezes its way through gate one.¡±

    ¡°I was joking!¡± called Alexa.

    Lyra laughed as she leaned back into her seat, having to cover her mouth after a few seconds before shaking her head to compose herself and lowering her hand away. ¡°Well...unless someone wants to bring one through the gate piece by piece, we¡¯ll never see one. Even battlecruisers can¡¯t easily get through the gates around here.¡±

    ¡°Least we have that going for us. No one¡¯s going to attack Malstyx with only a handful of cruisers alone, that¡¯s for sure,¡± said Jonas. He had always been under the impression that the best attack against Malstyx would be organized in such a way that the attacking force would manage to get one or two cruisers through each gate all at once, before command had a chance to shut them down. If that were the case, it¡¯d be an even fight since two MG ships watched every major gate into the system. There were also all the private ships that could come to the aid of Malstyx if need be. But the private sector couldn¡¯t be counted on for much of anything, unless it benefited them.

    ¡°Captain, first ship coming through now,¡± said Harriet.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you get to it then,¡± said Lyra. ¡°We¡¯ll join you when we can. Lyra out.¡±

    Jonas didn¡¯t have a chance to wish her luck or say goodbye. The screen holding Lyra¡¯s image had dissipated and instead a new one pulled up. A metal frame loomed in space and gradually powered up. He stared at the image as a flicker of light shined at the center of the large metal portal. Then, the gate materialized and expanded a window from that single flicker of light. The doorway across the universe expanded to the confines of the gate¡¯s structure. From across space, a vessel slipped through and crossed the vast distance in the span of seconds.

    Watching the gate power up never got old for Jonas. He could remember the very first time he¡¯d seen it. It was beautiful, yet ominous. Just as the gates could carry aid from across the stars, they could also spell the arrival of much more nefarious forces. The gates were often a boon to space-travel. But at times, they were also a bane to the inhabitants of secluded worlds.

    ¡°Just a freighter, foodstuffs,¡± said Harriet, who was checking records and flight data for the ship, as she did with every vessel that passed through gate one.

    Jonas nodded from his reverie and tapped through the various forms of information for the freighter. Checking its previous destinations as indicated by the ship¡¯s flight log, which had to be made public in order to enter the Mal system. He usually let Harriet take care of all of this, but he had little else to do. A second set of eyes to check incoming ships never hurt.

    When ships came through the gate, they had to supply information to the gate owner on the other side of space. If all checked out, a request would be sent to where the ship intended to go. Gates were always open, but the window in which something could pass through, was only large enough for data to be sent. If the gate owner on the receiving end felt that everything checked out, they would open the gate¡¯s window from their end, and allow the ship to come through. If both windows weren¡¯t open and a ship tried passing through, the ship would be torn apart.

    The information ships had to supply, was usually kept at the installation overseeing the gate. In the Mal system, those installations were full-fledged space stations, with crew, military guard, civilians, the works. The information for incoming ships was passed to on-duty MG vessels patrolling the gates, so that their own crews could give incoming ships a little peer review to make sure everything checked out. But in reality, it was just a way to outsource the work to the captains and their crews, while the station personnel slacked off.

    After two hours, Jonas was slumped in his captain¡¯s chair. He was already tired of reading flight reports and documentation. He wasn¡¯t sure how Harriet kept up with things as well as she did.

    The doors slid open to the command deck. A fair-skinned and well-built man walked through. He was dirty and his undershirt clung to his muscled torso. ¡°Captain,¡± he said. ¡°Any word on the Saturn?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Nothing yet...I¡¯m sure your brother¡¯s fine, Toby,¡± said Jonas.

    ¡°I worry about James,¡± said Toby. ¡°Maybe I should take a shuttle back to the station and give em a hand?¡±

    Jonas held his chin as he tapped a few holo-buttons to initiate a comm with the Saturn¡¯s Lament. ¡°Well, we need a mechanic in case something happens...never know what¡¯s gonna come through that gate,¡± said Jonas.

    ¡°Yeah, like a battleship,¡± said Harriet.

    ¡°Can¡¯t even make a joke around here without getting teased about it,¡± said Alexa.

    ¡°But,¡± said Jonas, ignoring the banter between his subordinates. ¡°I¡¯d feel a lot better with Lyra our here with us.¡± Jonas watched an icon on his display as the comm attempted to make a connection with Lyra¡¯s ship. ¡°Strange...usually she auto accepts my comms.¡±

    ¡°They might¡¯ve blown out some more relays, cap,¡± said Toby. ¡±Maybe they lost comms and who knows what else. We got plenty of spares which won¡¯t be missed. Let me fly back and give em a hand?¡±

    ¡°Fine...but leave us enough to fall back on. No reason to debilitate both of us. These supply rations are really pissing me off. Hate relying on the fabricated dreck at the station,¡± Jonas grumbled.

    ¡°Thanks cap, I¡¯ll get em out here right away!¡± Toby nodded and headed back into the hall.

    Jonas cleared his throat ¡°Harriet, free up a¡ª¡±

    ¡°Already done,¡± she said.

    Jonas sat up in his chair. ¡°Could at least let me pretend I¡¯m good for something on my own ship, even if it¡¯s just relaying orders you¡¯re already carrying out.¡±

    ¡°Sorry captain,¡± she replied.

    Time passed and Jonas brought up a display of the internal cameras for the Grimwold. The command deck had the three of them. The engineering bay still had several occupants but lacked Toby. The drone deck had several of Jonas¡¯s fighter and drone pilots milling about with several engineers.

    ¡°No issues with the drones, I¡¯m hoping?¡± Jonas asked as he glanced to Alexa.

    ¡°Infantry and flyers are all working, but the pilots complain that you don¡¯t let them shoot anything,¡± she said.

    ¡°Broken drones are the last thing I want to worry about fixing. Those are always the slowest requisition requests,¡± said Jonas.

    ¡°Too many types of drones and not enough mechanics for them all. But I¡¯m glad to have them as backup when Lyra¡¯s not out here. In fact, I remember when¡ª

    ¡°Captain,¡± Harriet interrupted. ¡°Take a look at this freighter¡¯s cargo and flight report.¡±

    Jonas grumbled as he pulled up the appropriate report for the vessel currently in transit through the gate. ¡°You could just tell me if you think they¡¯re hiding something,¡± he said.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it, It¡¯s in plain view...check the cargo and their destination,¡± she said.

    Jonas did as his second instructed. The more he read, the more he tensed and his fists clenched.

    ¡°Put a hold on that ship,¡± he ordered.

    His fingers flew over the holo-buttons to initiate a comm line with Malstyx Guard Command at the station. Within moments, a uniformed officer with short brown hair appeared. His eyes were half-lidded and his face had the tell-tale red marks from where it¡¯d been resting against something, like his desk.

    ¡°This is Commander Perkins,¡± he said. ¡°What do you have to report?¡±

    ¡°This is Jonas, Captain of the¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah, I know who you are. What¡¯s the comm for?¡±

    Jonas¡¯s hands clenched as he stared at the officer¡¯s image.

    ¡°I have a freighter here with supplies intended for station two, but the ship is set to land at Malstyx for three days and has no itinerary for unloading. Its log say that it¡¯s going to just sit there for three days, without unloading or loading, and then proceed to station two.¡±

    Commander Perkin¡¯s eyes seemed even duller now than when Jonas had opened the comm. ¡°And? This doesn¡¯t sound like an issue for the guard and certainly not an issue for a cruiser captain on gate duty.¡±

    ¡°If station two is in the same condition as the one you¡¯re sitting in right now, then they need those munitions and components. How are we...are they, supposed to keep the gate safe when they¡¯re out of critical supplies which are being sent to sit and wait for three whole¡ª¡±

    ¡°Captain Jonas,¡± Perkins broke in. ¡°As I said. Supplies and logistics aren¡¯t your concern, if you want to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Get me your commanding officer immediately, Commander Perkins,¡± said Jonas.

    Perkins almost portrayed a sneer, but cut his screen to black just in time. The comm was still connected, officer Perkins had initiated a video and audio mute.

    Jonas rasped his fingers on the armrest of his chair. His fingers stopped when an older man appeared on screen. There were several more ribbons on his chest and he certainly had more years than the dreg Jonas was just speaking to.

    ¡°This is Admiral Thompson. I hear you have a complaint about logistics...Captain Jonas?¡± asked the Admiral.

    ¡°A complaint?¡± Jonas almost scoffed. ¡°I have a ship with supplies for station two, coming through station one¡¯s gate...just to land on Malstyx and sit around. What¡¯s the purpose of this? The ship¡¯s instructions come from Malstyx HQ. There has to be a mistake, it doesn¡¯t make a bit of sense and I¡¯ve never seen this behavior for supplies.¡±

    ¡°Thank you captain,¡± said the admiral. ¡°I¡¯ll look into this immediately, but in the meantime, you¡¯re to let the ship pass. I¡¯m not going to order that ship to an alternate designation without doing my own investigation first, but I appreciate your interest in this matter. I¡¯m lifting your hold request on that ship. Remain at your position at the gate and stay vigilant, captain.¡±

    ¡°Admiral, I¡ª¡± The screen went black, the communication cut.

    Jonas stared at a view screen, watching the freighter move from its idle position. It gained momentum as it headed towards Malstyx and not station two.

    Jonas slammed his fist. ¡°Damnit!¡± his hand came up and gripped his chin as he stared at the bulkhead. He glanced to Harriet who sat idle at her terminal. ¡°Tell me I¡¯m not insane.¡±

    Harriet shook her head and started tapping at her holo-display. ¡°You¡¯re not insane, it doesn¡¯t add up. It sounded as though the Admiral had no intention of looking into it. You could contact whoever his superior is?¡±

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t,¡± he said. ¡°He was at the top. I can make an inquiry elsewhere, but it won¡¯t matter. Whatever game they¡¯re playing...I¡¯m betting there¡¯s just another useless dreg in front of a terminal back at HQ to deal with my inquiry. I¡¯d just get tossed around and then someone would try and slip something through the gate when I¡¯m dealing with this stupid situation and then I¡¯d get reprimanded for my inability to catch contraband or...whatever...damnit!¡± he shifted in his seat then pulled himself to a stand. His hands found his pockets while he paced around the command deck. He came to a stop. ¡°I wish Lyra was out here.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only been an hour since Toby left,¡± said Alexa.

    Jonas glanced to Alexa as he made his way back to his chair and sat down. He released a held breath and leaned his head back. ¡°Wish he¡¯d hurry up,¡± he said. The corner of his eye caught a screen displaying the gate letting another ship through. Harriet was already tapping away at her terminal, checking up on the ship¡¯s info.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Jonas half expected Harriet to say something about this next ship. He didn¡¯t even bother looking at the report. He stared at the visual of the ship, watching it pass by and head towards its intended destination.

    Another hour passed as Jonas brooded over the ordeal with the freighter and station command.

    ¡°Captain,¡± said Harriet. ¡±There¡¯s a skirmish at gate four. The Giant¡¯s Fist is being called from gate three to assist. The Yumori was disabled by an EMP. More raiders¡ªsame as this morning.¡±

    ¡°Two incidents in one day?¡± Jonas murmured. ¡°How¡¯d they sneak something through the gate with a big enough EMP field to take out the Yumori?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, captain,¡± she replied. ¡°The report is limited, the engagement is ongoing.¡±

    Another ship came through gate one.

    ¡°Harriet, back on gate duty. Alexa, keep an eye on that skirmish for me,¡± Jonas said as he brought up the new arrival¡¯s manifest, wanting to give Harriet another set of eyes so they wouldn¡¯t have any surprises.

    Jonas and Harriet checked the reports for the next several ships that came through the gate. Jonas¡¯s fingers began to rasp along his armrest again.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Lyra will be here soon enough, captain,¡± said Harriet.

    Jonas wanted to refute the accusation that he was thinking about Lyra, but he¡¯d been caught far too many times with Lyra on his mind. There was no denying that he was worried about her and how the repairs on her ship were going. He could contact the station and inquire about her vessel, but then that¡¯d be asking a favor of that damned Commander Perkins. Surely Jonas could wait a few more hours.

    ¡°Captain, their engines went silent,¡± said Harriet.

    ¡°What?¡± He asked, realizing there was a new ship that had just slipped through the gate. ¡°Comm them, see what¡¯s wrong,¡± said Jonas.

    Jonas re-ran several scans of the vessel. Their engine was down, their reactor was down as well, but there was a power signature within the ship. A backup of some sort?

    ¡°No response sir, should I try¡ª¡± Harriet¡¯s words cut off as she stared at the display depicting the drifting freighter. Jona¡¯s eyes returned to his own view screen in time to see several sudden flashes of light coming from the underside of the ship.

    ¡°Was she hit by something? The reactor was dead, did it overload and blow out the underside of the ship?¡± asked Jonas, frantic for answers.

    Harriet shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the design of that freighter, I recommend deploying drones to scout the damage and try and make short range contact with anyone alive inside.¡±

    Jonas pressed his fingers together as he stared at the vessel. ¡°Alexa, have the pilots deploy two drone fighters and a full lifter. We¡¯ll land some infantry drones on the ship and see if we can get in through one of the hatches.¡±

    ¡°Right away,¡± said Alexa.

    Jonas looked to his second in command. ¡°Harriet, send word to command, let them know we have a situation developing. We need a medical shuttle out here. Have them put a freeze on gate one. Maybe they¡¯ll actually listen to that request.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± said Harriet

    ¡°Drones are prepping, sixty seconds,¡± advised Alexa.

    ¡°There¡¯s something suspicious about this. Is there anything in the area?¡± asked Jonas.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± replied Alexa. ¡°There¡¯s us, the gate and the freighter, ¡±

    Jonas kept his eyes on the freighter, but pulled up the logs on an adjacent screen to see where the freighter had come from. He scanned the information, his gaze flicking back to the freighter every now and then. There was nothing to warrant suspicious behavior. The freighter should have a crew of at least ten, plus drones.

    ¡°Drones are on their way,¡± said Alexa.

    Jonas brought up another screen so he could follow the progress of the drones. A tactical overlay displayed the locations of his ship and the freighter, along with the position of the gate and the drones he¡¯d deployed. The drones proceeded towards the freighter, closing in by the second.

    ¡°Sir,¡± said Alexa. ¡°That ship has been drifting right towards us the entire time. The explosions should¡¯ve made it spin or move in a random direction, but it¡¯s not spinning and it¡¯s drifting right towards the Grimwold.¡±

    Jonas¡¯s eyes narrowed at the depiction of the freighter. Its flat and elongated top was the only portion he¡¯d seen of the ship so far. ¡°Get one of the drones beneath the freighter, I want to see what¡¯s on the other side of that ship.¡± Jonas tapped a button on his chair to deploy hard-controls for navigation of the Grimwold. His fingers flit over the keys as he set the ship into a gradual reverse.

    ¡°More explosions,¡± said Harriet.

    Jonas looked up to the screen, seeing several more bright flashes emanating from the bottom of the other ship.

    ¡°It¡¯s closing in faster now,¡± said Alexa. ¡°I¡¯m reading engine signatures, they¡¯re faint...but definitely coming from the other side of the freighter. The energy signature at the center of the ship is increasing!¡±

    One of the drones reached the freighter and soared around it. Jonas stared at the live-feed from the fighter drone. When it managed to view the underside of the freighter, his eyes widened.

    ¡°Withdraw the drones!¡± Jonas shouted. He smacked the keys at his terminal and increased power towards reversing the ship. Another series of flashes came from beneath the freighter. Thanks to the video from the drone, Jonas knew exactly what those flashes were.

    Several large chunks of metal broke away from the freighter.

    ¡°Grapplers!¡± Alexa growled. ¡°Damned raiders were hitching a ride! The freighter is heading right for us, I can¡¯t get a line of sight on the grapplers.¡±

    The drone which had illuminated the underside of the freighter went dark.

    ¡°Drone one is down,¡± said Alexa. ¡±The lifter and drone two are heading back. Sir, I¡¯m worried about that energy signature in the freighter. If it¡¯s a bomb¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already in range,¡± Jonas muttered.

    Jonas kept an eye on the power signature within the freighter. It had reached a tipping point and they were in range of it. It wasn¡¯t a bomb, not the exploding kind at least.

    ¡°Deploy flak!¡± Jonas yelled. ¡°Harden for EMP!¡±

    Alexa¡¯s hands rushed over her terminal display. A series of dull thuds echoed from further inside the ship. The Grimwold unleashed a torrent of metal shards to defend against incoming missiles. Another groan came from all around the ship as it¡¯s framework shifted under the pressure of moving metal to cover essential components of the ship. Metal poles jutted out from the Grimwold¡¯s hull, which jutted out smaller spikes from within them.

    ¡°Countermeasures deployed,¡± said Alexa.

    In the blink of an eye, the energy reading inside the freighter dropped to zero.

    Less than a second later, the lights within the Grimwold sparked and blew out.

    Jonas winced from the bright flashes inside the command deck. ¡°Harriet, status!¡±

    ¡°Life support is good,¡± said Harriet. ¡°The reactor is good, engine is good, sections of the ship are dead. Lights, external comms are down, scanning appears to be limited. Alexa?¡±

    Alexa¡¯s fingers flew over her terminal, trying to determine what she had. ¡°I can¡¯t see those grapplers. I can¡¯t detect their engine signatures either. I can send a message to the drone bay, but I¡¯m not reading a connection to the drones any more, not even the ones in the bay.¡±

    ¡°Damnit, they¡¯re all fried.¡± Jonas grit his teeth. ¡°Alexa, take control of the ship, use whateer scanners are still available. Find those Grapplers and take them out. I don¡¯t care if you have to blow up that damned freighter to do it. If there was anyone aboard, they¡¯re probably dead now anyway.¡±

    ¡°Well this is tragic,¡± grumbled Alexa. ¡°Captain, I have turret control, but not the scanners to gain a lock and without long range comms, I can¡¯t direct our missiles. I could dead-fire them...but...with targets that small, you¡¯d have to hope that they run into the shots or missiles themselves.¡±

    ¡°Maybe if we ask nicely,¡± murmured Harriet.

    Jonas directed his attention back to the visuals he had. They could fire at the grapplers, but without target locks, they¡¯d be wasting their nearly depleted ammo. The drones were fried, so they couldn¡¯t be deployed to deal with the raiders.

    ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll just keep their distance with the flak,¡± said Alexa.

    Jonas closed his eyes. He visualized the Grimwold sitting there with a field of magnetic flak which would detonate missiles on impact. It was an expensive countermeasure, but it was a good one. He pictured the freighter, still flying towards them, the grapplers were probably still behind it, but there was no way to be sure. They blended perfectly to the blackness of space and didn¡¯t seem to be using their reactors. ¡°Bring us to a stop. Go ahead and knock the freighter off course with a missile. Try not to destroy it completely, I want¡ª¡±

    ¡°Captain,¡± Harriet interrupted. ¡°Engineering is reporting sounds coming from outside the hull. They¡¯re comparing it to sporadic hammering...and now the drone bay is reporting the same thing.¡±

    Jonas narrowed his eyes. Hammering?

    Clunk clunk clunk... clunk clunk¡­

    The sound echoed through the command deck.

    Jonas looked around the room. ¡°Is that what I think it is, Alexa?¡±

    ¡°If you think it sounds like those grapplers are firing cannon shots at us, then yes,¡± she replied.

    Jonas tightened his fist. ¡°Damnit, they¡¯re going to rip through the outer armor. Try and get a visual on their fire-bursts. They¡¯re running silent, they must be manually maneuvering and shooting. We should be able to catch sight of them. Alexa, can you manually fire towards those flashes?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a really hopeful strategy, captain,¡± said Alexa.

    Jonas caught sight of small flickers of light which coincided with clunks on the hull shortly after. There were four grapplers. Each one a fair distance from the others.

    ¡°At this rate, they¡¯ll start breaching the armor in under ten minutes. It won¡¯t be long before we start venting atmosphere and losing whatever systems they hit,¡± said Alexa.

    A brief flash came from the freighter. The missile Alexa launched managed to impact the aft and forced it to spin. It began moving off its course from the Grimwold.

    ¡°Well, that helps a little. We need to buy ourselves time to take them all out,¡± said Jonas. ¡°Plot-out their locations and start turning us, see if we can shift around a bit so they have to alter their fire. If we¡¯re lucky, the flak will eat some of their shots.¡±

    Alexa shook her head, but obeyed his commands.

    Jonas watched the view screen as the grapplers continued to fire on the Grimwold.

    A streak cut through space and pierced through one of the raiders. That grappler wasn¡¯t firing any longer. Another streak and another grappler went dormant.

    ¡°Sir,¡± said Harriet. ¡°I¡¯m detecting a vessel, I think it¡¯s¡ª¡±

    ¡°Lyra,¡± he said with a wide grin. ¡°bout damn time too,¡± he laughed as he rose out of his chair, watching as two more streaks proceeded to nullify the last two grapplers. The hammering sound on the outside of the ship came to a halt.

    ¡°There¡¯s a shuttle attached to the starboard hatch, reading it as one of Lyra¡¯s,¡± said Harriet. Without another thought, Jonas turned and headed for the door.

    ¡°Captain?¡± she asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re in command!¡± Jonas called back as he headed down a hall towards the hatch. He came around just in time to be standing in front of the doors as they slid open.

    Lyra¡¯s gaze met his own. ¡°So you¡¯re not dead?¡± she asked. ¡°You could¡¯ve blinked a light or¡ª¡±

    Jonas stepped towards her and cupped her face, his thumbs rested on her cheeks as he locked his lips with the other captain¡¯s. Lyra¡¯s hands went slack behind her, before her fingers curled and entwined together as she kissed Jonas.

    Jonas smiled as he pulled from her lips, but then realized Toby and James were in the small hatchway as well. The two men were both staring at the walls. Jonas shifted to the side.

    ¡°Toby,¡± said Jonas. ¡°You have a ship to fix.¡±

    Toby nodded and grabbed his brother¡¯s arm. ¡°Yes sir, that¡¯s why James is here, we¡¯ll get her...er, the Grimwold in working order, lemme just...slip by,¡± he said as he shifted his bulky frame to the side of Jonas. The two ursari brothers made their way out of the hatchway and headed down the hall.

    Jonas returned his attention to Lyra, whose fingers were running down his chest. ¡°So¡­¡± said Lyra. ¡°We¡¯ll pretend that it¡¯s not my fault that you were in this predicament in the first place and that I just saved you and your crew from impending demise?¡±

    ¡°We can do that,¡± said Jonas. ¡°We¡¯ll subtract this from the number of times I¡¯ve rescued you.¡±

    Lyra¡¯s lips curled into a smirk. ¡°Sure, we can do that. Unfortunately for you, it still puts me ahead.¡±

    A soft buzz sounded three times. Jonas leaned back and glanced to his data-band, despite the fact that he hadn¡¯t felt it vibrate.

    ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± said Lyra as she brought her arm forward.

    Jonas gave her some room as his hands clasped together behind him.

    Lyra tapped the band on her wrist. ¡°Go ahead,¡± she stated.

    ¡°Captain, we¡¯re getting another request from the gate,¡± came the voice of Lyra¡¯s second in command. ¡±Another ship wants to come through. Command wants to know if we have the means to properly protect the gate, considering the Grimwold¡¯s condition. Command and the waiting ship are getting pretty pushy about it. More than usual. You may want to head back over here, if Jonas and his crew are fine, that is.¡±

    Lyra looked up to Jonas and lifted a brow at him. ¡°Are you and your crew fine, Captain?¡± she asked with a playful smirk.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t take any casualties, unless you count some expensive equipment,¡± he said. ¡°Why don¡¯t we leave the brothers to the repairs, and I¡¯ll pay the Saturn¡¯s Lament a short visit? Harriet would love to be in command for a few hours anyway.¡±

    ¡°In command of a dead-in-the-water hunk of metal?¡± Lyra quipped.

    Jonas shook his head in defeat. He reached over to seal the airlock door on his ship¡¯s side.

    ¡°We¡¯re heading back over,¡± said Lyra to her second. ¡°Don¡¯t let anything through the gate till I¡¯m aboard.¡±

    ¡°Yes captain,¡± her second replied.

    Lyra reached over and opened the hatch to the shuttle she¡¯d come over in. She¡¯d piloted it herself. The two captains headed into the shuttle.

    Jonas¡¯s lips curled again as he followed Lyra. ¡°Can I fly?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Only if I¡¯m dead.¡±

    ***

    The shuttle ride was short and uneventful, save for Lyra¡¯s teasing about Jonas¡¯s ship. The two captains were docked at the Saturn¡¯s Lament in less than three minutes. Jonas had been aboard Lyra¡¯s ship dozens of times. The walls had a better metallic gloss to them, as opposed to the darker browns of the Grimwold¡¯s interiors. The only thing he had to tease her about, was a few scratches of paint and a single light fixture which wasn¡¯t working. Her reply was, ¡®we could¡¯ve taken a little extra time to fix the lights and I¡¯d have been the only ship left to protect gate one.¡¯ After that, Jonas decided he¡¯d keep quiet for a bit.

    Lyra stepped into the command room, which was laid out similarly to Jonas¡¯s. Jonas delegated a console to Harriet and Alexa in his command room, to split the tasks among more people. Lyra only had a lone old man in the room as her command staff. The rest of her crew worked in other places of the ship.

    ¡°They still complaining?¡± Lyra asked as she went over to her captain¡¯s chair.

    ¡°They¡¯re inquiring every sixty seconds for an update,¡± said the old man. Lyra¡¯s second in command was a man of the age of sixty or so, by the name of Edgar. ¡°I keep sending the same response,¡± he said in a low hum-drum voice.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s make them wait a little longer while we get situated and comfortable,¡± said Lyra. She turned her head to see Jonas taking a seat at a spare console. He shifted around quite a bit. It just wasn¡¯t like his own captain¡¯s chair.

    ¡°Thanks for the fine shooting, Edgar,¡± said Jonas, after finding a decent enough position in the chair.

    ¡°Oh I barely did a thing,¡± said the old man. ¡°The Saturn¡¯s Lament is a fine marksman. I just tapped a few buttons.¡±

    ¡°Good ol¡¯ Edgar,¡± said Lyra. ¡°He may not be able to run around the ship, but his hands can wisp around the console as fast as a person a third his age.¡±

    Edgar chuckled. ¡°Ah...well, I do what I can, captain. I just work smarter, is all.¡±

    Lyra directed her attention to Jonas. ¡°He¡¯s always in here, messing with alerts and triggers for the ship¡¯s responsiveness. He takes hours creating new subroutines and macros to expedite commands.¡±

    Jonas lifted a brow, glancing between the both of them. ¡°Why not install a rudimentary AI to handle the basics?¡± he asked.

    Edgar chuckled again. ¡°An AI is only as good as it¡¯s programmed to be,¡± he said. ¡°We don¡¯t need a fancy and expensive AI to deal with things. We just need the right...triggers. I have the Saturn¡¯s Lament all triggered-up, better than any AI could do. You see, an AI needs a CPU to think. So therefor you have to buy a hefty CPU and the AI. With my triggers, I just utilize the systems that are already in place.¡±

    ¡°He likes to think he¡¯s saving us tons of money by being incredibly useful,¡± said Lyra.

    Jonas tapped at the terminal he sat behind. He began to peruse some of the customized settings. He hadn¡¯t known Edgar did so much work behind the scenes. His eyebrows lifted as he was greeted with seemingly endless lines of code, all done by the old man¡ªwhich weren¡¯t part of the system¡¯s default structure.

    ¡°I think,¡± said Lyra. ¡°Edgar is setting the ship up to be ran without him. So he can just retire and just sit in that chair and collect a paycheck,¡± she tossed the old man a smirk.

    A bellowing chuckle emanated from Edgar¡¯s chest. ¡°Ah, you found me out, captain!¡±

    ¡°I bet Harriet would love to replicate some of this,¡± said Jonas as he diverted his gaze back to the terminal.

    Lyra laughed. Edgar had a big smile painted on his face as he looked back to Lyra, then to Jonas. ¡°The...good captain already knows this,¡± said Edgar. ¡°But I only joined as her second, under one stipulation.¡±

    Jonas turned in his seat to face Lyra and Edgar, always up for a good story.

    Edgar coughed once and cleared his throat. ¡°The Saturn¡¯s Lament, is a fine ship. It¡¯s thirty years newer than the Grimwold,¡± he said. ¡°But...that¡¯s just fact, I don¡¯t mean to pick at your pride or anything, but anyway...the grimwold uses systems designed when the grimwold was built. But I¡¯ve retrofitted the Saturn¡¯s Lament with systems that were designed for a ship thirty years older than the Grimwold.¡±

    Jonas blinked and took on a contemplative look. He glanced between Lyra and Edgar, before looking back to Lyra. ¡°So your operation systems...are some sixty years old?¡± he asked. ¡°On this ship?¡±

    Edgar nodded sagely. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Lyra sighed. ¡°Yeah, I thought he was mad when I took him aboard and heard his proposal. But I gotta say, I love what he¡¯s done with her.¡±

    Jonas tapped his fingers idly on the terminal. ¡°So then I guess none of this would be useful to us on the Grimwold. Our systems are ¡®too new¡¯ for your additions,¡± he said.

    Edgar nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. The...the...oh, that ship from earlier¡­¡± the old man grumbled as he tried to remember something, before tapping at his terminal, ¡°Ah, the Giant¡¯s Fist. That ship could utilize my triggers, since it¡¯s an old beast of a vessel. But, I¡¯d never trust a vampire captain. Even a freelance one in the MG. Nope, can¡¯t trust them, not since that mess on Progo.¡±

    Jonas¡¯s eyes narrowed in thought. Progo...where had he heard that name before?

    ¡°Edgar was a trade-ship captain¡¯s second in command,¡± said Lyra. ¡°He was on the first vessel to make it to the planet Progo, after Progo¡¯s gates came back online.¡±

    The new information had sparked Jonas¡¯s memory. ¡°Are you serious?¡± he asked, his attention went back to Edgar.

    The old man nodded, but turned his attention to his terminal. ¡°Afraid so,¡± he said. ¡°Progo was a lifeless world before humans and those vampire dregs colonized it for resources. Neither of us had any business there. So when the supplies, the food and the blood ran out, the humans got hungry and so did the vampires. But vampires don¡¯t starve like humans do. Humans might go mad in the head, but starving vampires are something else entirely. I couldn¡¯t believe the things I saw when we landed on¡ª¡±

    The old man¡¯s words were cut short as a notification appeared on his screen.

    ¡°Oh, they lifted the lock on the gate...guess we were taking too long. Well, story time is over,¡± said Edgar.

    Lyra brought up the incoming ship¡¯s report to glance over the details. ¡°Time to get back to work,¡± she said.

    Jonas decided he¡¯d stick around for a little while longer, just enough to look over the incoming ship¡¯s manifest and itinerary. Then he¡¯d head back to the Grimwold when he was sure all was safe.

    Gate one opened and a cruiser flew through.

    ¡°Well if that ain¡¯t a fancy ship,¡± said Edgar with a whistle.

    Jonas looked up to the viewer and watched as the ship crossed onto their side of space. ¡°Looks like it was built yesterday,¡± he said. It was only a cruiser-class ship, like his and Lyra¡¯s, but it was probably worth more than both their ships combined, and then some.

    Jonas¡¯s curiosity peaked and he looked back to the ship¡¯s manifest. It wasn''t carrying goods. Its destination was to orbit Malstyx. There wasn¡¯t anything about unloading cargo.

    ¡°Guess they¡¯re sightseeing,¡± said Lyra, as she read over the same information.

    ¡°Probably another band of mercs,¡± Edgar guessed.

    Jonas would¡¯ve dismissed it, but he remembered something he¡¯d been told. He noticed where the cruiser had stopped before coming to Malstyx. He tapped his chin. The cruiser had been to a dozen worlds in the last month. For a merc, that wasn¡¯t entirely unusual, but for a fancy merc ship? Jonas¡¯s eyes narrowed as he watched the ship accelerate towards Malstyx. The image of the pristine vessel was now ingrained in his mind.

    Jonas tapped the terminal, making the selections to send a communication to the planet.

    Lyra peeked over to him. ¡°Who ya calling on Malstyx?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I owe someone an incredible debt ,¡± he said. ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll ever manage to fully repay it, but this is a start. I need to warn someone.¡±

    ¡°Warn someone?¡± asked Lyra. ¡°Warn who?¡±

    ¡°A phoenix,¡± he said.

    Lyra¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°A phoenix?¡± she gasped. ¡°There¡¯s a phoenix on Malstyx?¡±

    Jonas nodded.

    ¡°And this phoenix has something to do with that ship just came through?¡± Lyra was desperate for answers on this new development.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Jonas. He¡¯d just finished the outgoing comm-link, and was waiting on a response from the recipient.

    Lyra shifted in her seat. ¡°Damn, Malstyx must be worse off than we thought. You don¡¯t think a phoenix would be here to burn the planet, do you?¡±

    He lifted a brow and looked to Lyra. ¡°I sure hope not. But there¡¯s no telling what she¡¯s really capable of.¡±

    Lyra rasped her fingers on her armrest as she stared at Jonas. ¡°How¡¯d you find out a phoenix was on Malstyx?¡± she asked.

    Jonas swallowed, staring at the screen before his eyes. Waiting for the phoenix to answer his call. ¡°Because I¡¯m the one who brought her here.¡±

 Chapter 5: Broken Bird

    Noree had only been awake for a couple hours. She sat in her lab, staring blankly at one of her terminals. For once, her research wasn¡¯t on her mind. The phoenix Mira, was prominently in her thoughts. She had taken Mira in after the travesty with Luca.

    Outside her lab, was a small lobby room. There was a side-door which led to a small hallway with several doors. One door led to her bedroom, another led to a guest room which she occasionally used for test subjects when she was researching or doing contract work which required live specimens, such as people. All the guest rooms were vacant, so she let Mira set herself up in one. She hadn¡¯t given Mira a time frame for how long she could stay. She didn¡¯t wish to burden the phoenix with that.

    A phoenix¡¯s work was very important, but Noree had set her life towards the pursuit of knowledge and the sciences that many of the other species had learned, in the hopes that she could accomplish even greater works for the benefit of all the races. Such endeavors often involved anti-demon research.

    Despite her willingness to help Mira, Noree was still apprehensive of having a being with the potential of the sun in the same building as her. Plants and fire didn¡¯t get along well.

    Mira had left the compound about an hour ago. Noree did nothing to stop her as it made sense for Mira to get out. She surely needed to keep her mind focused on the task at hand and not dwell on the passing of her friend.

    Phoenixes were similar to demons in regards to being able to possess a living entity. From what Noree could glean, if a phoenix was killed, their consciousness was left adrift until it managed to find a new host. When it did, that person would gain the powers of the phoenix and their mind would merge with the consciousness of the phoenix. The phoenix would gain the host¡¯s thoughts and fragments of their personality, gradually changing with each new host.

    None of this was proven. Phoenixes never willingly divulged such facets to the public. With good reasoning as well. They were self-proclaimed demon annihilators. It was their sole reason for existing, or so they said.

    Noree wondered how new hosts were chosen. Could a phoenix merge with anyone they wanted and were they aware of who they were possessing? Were there requirements for a new host? Was it entirely random? A phoenix had never answered such questions and she doubted Mira would be forthcoming.

    Noree rolled her chair closer to one of the data-terminals in her lab. She accessed the screen and pulled up an overview for a scanner she had analyzing the sample she had taken from the deceased Luca. Much to Noree¡¯s dismay, anything involving demons didn¡¯t always amount to an exact science. Scanning the sample from Luca and trying to narrow down the origins of the demon from its blood was...a slow process. She had developed the program herself and what it amounted to was a seemingly endless list of checks and balances in regards to determining any useful information about the blood. Hopefully she would gain what she¡¯d need to run a city-wide sweep for the demon. Unfortunately, city-wide sweeps weren¡¯t particularly legal under Malstyx law¡ªoutside the proper departments.

    Which reminded her. ¡°Persephone, are you here?¡± Noree called. Her purple eyes scanned her immediate surroundings. It was hard to keep track of Persephone when she was so silent. Noree caught sight of a purple gelatinous goo pouring from an above air-vent in the ceiling. The purple slime began to congeal and take the form of a humanoid figure. Seconds later, the body was completely formed from the goo and a pair of eyes looked back at Noree.

    ¡°Yes Noree?¡± The gel-like entity asked. Her voice sounded as if she was speaking under water.

    ¡°Did you notice we have a guest now? I didn¡¯t get a chance to tell you,¡± said Noree.

    Persephone nodded as she sat against Noree¡¯s terminal. ¡°The human with an unusually high temperature,¡± she said.

    ¡°She¡¯s a phoenix,¡± said Noree. ¡°You should keep your distance from her for now. There are many who believe that claymores such as yourself were the product of demonic machinations, especially after the incident on the verean colony I told you about. I haven¡¯t had a chance to question her about her thoughts on claymores and with all she¡¯s been through...I don¡¯t want to burden her. In the meantime, I¡¯ll be sending you off with those mercenaries you¡¯ve been spending time with. They could greatly use your help again today.¡±

    ¡°I enjoy being on their ship,¡± she said. ¡°They take me all around First City. It¡¯s very exciting.¡±

    Noree¡¯s lips curled into a smile. ¡°Just make sure you continue to listen to Scotia and do as you''re asked. She won¡¯t force you to do anything you don¡¯t want.¡±

    Persephone smiled. ¡°I will remember.¡±

    A chime sounded from Noree¡¯s data-band. It was the notifier she¡¯d setup to alert her if anyone was at the door. She only received the notification after her guests had been scanned. She placed a finger to the data-band to interact with the lab¡¯s AI systems.

    ¡°A Saris and a Marcus are here to see you, Noree,¡± said the AI, the digitized voice coming from her data-band.

    ¡°Invite them in, open the lobby,¡± Noree replied, giving the AI instructions to carry out. She stood and looked to Persephone. ¡°You should make yourself scarce. No reason to be seen by people who don¡¯t need to know you¡¯re here.¡± Even though Noree trusted Saris and Marcus, she felt that they didn¡¯t need to be aware of everything that happened in her lab.

    Persephone morphed into a liquid state as her form moved upwards, stretching out until she reached a grate above and disappeared into the ventilation system. Noree left the lab portion of the room and passed through a doorway into the lobby area. Just as she did, a pair of men came through the hallway entrance, into the lobby. Noree slid her hands into her labcoat pockets and looked between the two. Saris the verean and Marcus the human. They had helped her out a number of times in all manner of jobs where their expertise would be useful.

    ¡°Hello Noree,¡± said Marcus.

    ¡°Hey Noree,¡± said Saris.

    She gave them a brief nod in greeting. ¡°You didn¡¯t comm me to let me know you were stopping by, what do I owe this visit?¡± She asked in her usual business-like voice. She immediately took notice of Marcus carrying a black cube in his hand.

    ¡°What is that?¡± she asked, before Marcus had a chance to explain.

    ¡°It¡¯s why we¡¯re here,¡± said Marcus. He slid back the top of the cube and handed it to her.

    Noree accepted the cube and looked inside.

    ¡°It¡¯s not going to explode if I touch it...is it?¡± she asked as she observed a vial with some sort of blue liquid, sitting within the security cube.

    ¡°We were hoping you could tell us,¡± said Saris.

    Noree glanced at Saris before turning and heading towards her lab. ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ll need to analyze it. Hopefully you didn¡¯t bring some sort of virus into my lab, or something that¡¯s intended to detonate.¡± Noree motioned for the two of them to follow her, she opened the lab door and ushered them in before following. She immediately headed towards one of the smaller machines located near her desk. She slid the vial from the security cube and placed it in an enclosure on the machine. She pressed a button, and the machine closed around the vial.

    ¡°Now to see what you¡¯ve brought me, hopefully analyzing it won¡¯t trigger it,¡± she said in a less than enthused tone.

    ¡°Why are you so sure that we brought you something terrible?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°I mean, I can understand if Saris came by himself, but my presence should alleviate a little concern, right? It¡¯s as if you don¡¯t trust me any more than you do him.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust either of you more than the other,¡± she stated as she tapped her data-band and brought up a holo display. She pressed buttons on the display as she initiated various scans on the liquid sample. The machine which held the liquid made an audible hum. She then watched as information poured down the side of the display, indicating the composition of the liquid material.

    ¡°Noree really knows how to wound a person, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Saris said to Marcus, as if Noree wasn¡¯t within earshot.

    Noree¡¯s focused on the data she was seeing. ¡°This compound¡ª¡± she said, trailing off as she continued to read. Her hand came up to swipe her fingers through the air as she scrolled back through the data, re-reading what the analyzer was displaying about the liquid.

    The hum from the analyzer faded as it fully completed the scans Noree had assigned it.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Marcus.

    ¡°My expertise deals mostly with biotechnologies and medicine, but this substance seems to act similarly to the gates.¡±

    ¡°Gates?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know gate-science...so...to those of us who are not scientists, what is it?¡±

    Noree stared at the information for a few more moments before turning around. She swiped her finger which caused the screen to dissipate. ¡°The simplest I can explain this, is that these particles which the liquid is comprised of, are able to cause an effect on...hmm...what words do I want here...spatially distorted phenomena.¡±

    ¡°So...that means?¡± Saris prompted.

    Noree brought a hand up to rest on her head, still pondering the implications. She knew what the liquid was capable of, but why would anyone create something that could¡ª

    Her eyes widened. ¡°Demons.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, demons?¡± asked Saris. ¡°What¡¯s the blue stuff have to do with them? Does it explain why a sludge-glutton abducted a girl who was carrying this stuff?¡±

    Noree looked between the two of them. ¡°Where did you get this? What girl?¡±

    ¡°There was this girl who we were supposed to meet,¡± said Marcus. ¡°She was going to hand us this item, so that we could discover who killed her boyfriend or whatever. Her boyfriend obtained that vial somehow but we couldn¡¯t find anything on why he had it or where he¡¯d picked it up. There was no employment history for the past six months. Now, can you please explain?¡±

    Noree stared off at a nearby wall of the lab. ¡°This substance seems to work off the principle of sinphoria, where sin in our universe affects other dimensions, such as hell. Sinphoria also explains the connection between dimensions. For instance, pretend a demon in hell is using a device like a terminal and he¡¯s able to create an avatar of himself in our universe. We don¡¯t yet know how they do it, or how they enter our world, but that¡¯s the gist of what they¡¯re actually doing to get here. At least, as far as I can hypothesize. Their avatar is an extension of themselves, meaning there¡¯s actually a link that¡¯s transcending dimensions to connect with the actual demon in hell. That link is part of the sinphoria theory. Following so far?¡± she asked and looked back and forth between them.

    ¡°Right, demons exist in hell and can project a portion of themselves into our world, that¡¯s the portion of the demon we¡¯re able to see,¡± said Marcus. ¡°That¡¯s what Saris and I have been dealing with for years.¡±

    ¡°Correct, but think of a demon in hell as the bottom of a string. Now, think of the projected demon we see in our universe as the top of the string. If you set flame to the top of the string, it burns the whole way down until it¡¯s entirely consumed. On contact, this substance would be able to create a destructive feedback that will follow the link through dimensions and actually damage, even kill the demon in hell.¡±

    Saris crossed his arms and stared at the floor.

    Marcus furrowed his brow and rested his hands on his hips. ¡°Can we weaponize this? maybe even coat a bullet in them?¡±

    ¡°Anti-demon bullets. Being able to actually kill them permanently is a game changer. Not even phoenixes can do that,¡± Saris murmured.

    Noree thought about Mira and then let the notion pass as she looked over to a machine in her lab. ¡°I could extract the liquid and coat some ammunition with it. The coating would be rather thin, but it wouldn¡¯t be a matter of quantity of the particles, just that it¡¯s enough to coat the entire projectile. Each particle that moves through a demon, would cause feedback towards their real body¡ªif they even have real bodies, in the dimension we call hell.¡±

    ¡°So, these bullets wouldn¡¯t actually help us do anything we aren¡¯t already doing, as far as inflicting physical harm...but they¡¯d eliminate the demon in hell, whereas right now they eventually find the means to come back?¡± Marcus asked, a bit skeptical of the entire situation.

    Noree shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s my best guess, given the nature of what these particles are. I can only imagine that a well-funded lab had to be responsible for its manufacture. Something in the private sector, kept off the books.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps one of the clans,¡± said Saris.

    ¡°Or any corporation with money to burn,¡± Marcus countered.

    ¡°It¡¯d be impossible to guess,¡± said Noree ¡±I¡¯m sure that whoever was working on it, wants it back. Our lives would be meaningless towards retrieving this item. I¡¯m half tempted to make you take it away. I¡¯m not fond of the idea of my lab being destroyed and me along with it. In fact, how about¡ª¡±

    In the blink of an eye, Saris un-holstered his weapon and aimed it up at the ceiling. The firearm was already humming with electric potential.

    Noree¡¯s eyes widened, she looked up to the ceiling and quickly raised her hands as she moved towards Saris. ¡°No don¡¯t!¡± she gasped

    ¡°Damn,¡± he grunted, his weapon trained on the entity. Persphone¡¯s liquid form flowed towards the floor from the air duct.

    Noree was in a panic, looking between the still-armed Saris and then to Persephone. ¡°She won¡¯t hurt you, she¡¯s friendly I swear it,¡± she spoke quickly to the tense verean.

    ¡°Tch,¡± Saris trained his firearm away from the congealing purple mass.

    Noree stepped to Persephone¡¯s side, her eyes cautiously remained on Saris. ¡°She¡¯s not hostile like you know claymores to be,¡± Noree said, before narrowing her eyes a bit at him. Her face lessened in intensity a few moments later as she asked ¡°Why didn¡¯t you already fire? Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t...but your training would¡¯ve driven you to shoot her.¡±

    ¡°Her?¡± asked Marcus, who was rather bewildered at what was happening.

    Saris flicked the electrifier off his weapon and holstered it. He crossed his arms, still a bit agitated as his fingers clung beneath his shoulders. His eyes were narrowed at Persephone. ¡°I didn¡¯t fire, because vereans don¡¯t get the drop on claymores, hardly ever. If that creature wanted me dead, or any of you, she¡¯d have already killed us. So I figured, the split second before I fired, that she had something to do with you. What is she to you? Some sort of bodyguard?¡± he asked with distaste seeping from his voice.

    ¡°You need to keep your curiosity in check,¡± Noree chided the claymore.

    ¡°They seemed friendly enough, I wanted to test the verean¡¯s reactions at the sight of me,¡± she said with that somewhat aquatic voice. ¡°He is quicker than I expected!¡± she looked to Saris again and lifted her hand, making a little wave. ¡°Bye bye.¡± With that, Persephone congealed down into a blob and slid over into a grate in the floor. All three of them watched Persephone melt back into the ventilation.

    ¡°I hate those things,¡± Saris grumbled. ¡°Even if they¡¯re not trying to kill me. Actually, that¡¯s the first one I¡¯ve seen that wasn¡¯t on Torima.¡±

    ¡°Now I¡¯m a bit lost,¡± said Marcus. ¡°What¡¯s Torima?¡±

    Saris kept silent for a long moment. Noree looked to him and lifted a brow. Saris¡¯s lips twitched a little as he shook his head and looked away.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t talked to him about Torima,¡± said Noree. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d hide that part of your history.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Noree knows about this and I don¡¯t?¡± Marcus said, obviously a little hurt at the prospect.

    Saris waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Torima is common knowledge. At least it was fifty years ago. So I guess you weren¡¯t born yet. Anyway, it was a verean colony. Long story short, one of the asteroids came loose from the claymore fields and landed near the colony. It was a massacre. First the population of Torima and then for those who tried to exterminate the claymore infestation.¡±

    Marcus looked at Noree, who remained silent.

    ¡°I was one of the early soldiers in the campaign to retake and clear Torima,¡± said Saris. ¡°I was there from beginning to end. We were supposed to exterminate the claymores so that we could rebuild the colony. Instead, it seemed that all I did was watch a lot of my comrades die. My survival in the campaign led to my acceptance in the special forces. Which in turn, led me to become an operative under your command in the ADA.¡±

    Marcus slid his thumbs into his pockets and looked to the floor.

    Noree kept quiet for several seconds. She had read-up on Saris¡¯s background when she first met him and Marcus. Not that his background was public information, but she had her ways.

    ¡°That reminds me. I wanted to thank you for the information about Ero,¡± said Noree, breaking the awkward silence for the two.

    Marcus looked to her ¡°Did it help? Anything come of it?¡± he asked.

    Noree shook her head. ¡°No, the person I handed the information to wasn¡¯t able to learn anything from the location. It was a dead end. The warehouse had been cleaned out.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a shame,¡± said Marcus. ¡°It was the best intel we could come up with, given the nature of what you provided.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been running a city-wide trace on some demon blood, which was acquired from a freshly deceased victim.¡± said Noree.

    ¡°You¡¯re using the demon-tracer program I gave you?¡± asked Marcus. ¡°It¡¯s what we had to resort to in the agency. Slow process, but it gets results. Unfortunately, if you¡¯re using the agency''s system...those scanner¡¯s aren¡¯t being maintained. I bet half of them are inoperable.¡±

    Noree looked over to the machine which was actively analyzing the demon blood samples she¡¯d taken the other day. She had hope that something new would come up. Perhaps a better genetic marker, anything she could use to narrow down her searches, or something to extend her search capabilities.

    ¡°For now, it will have to do,¡± she said.

    ¡°So, what are we going to do about that blue stuff?¡± asked Saris.

    ¡°I hate to say it, but maybe it¡¯ll be safest if you leave it with me,¡± said Noree. ¡°See if you can find out anything about it¡­you¡¯re good at investigation, right? Try and track down where it came from. I¡¯ll analyze the information I pulled and see if I can weaponize it for you. Won¡¯t happen overnight, I need to make sure it doesn¡¯t have volatile reactions. So, I¡¯ll let you know what I come up with. Don¡¯t tell anyone you brought it here and don¡¯t tell anyone about Persephone,¡± she said and tossed Saris a pointed look.

    ¡°Sure thing,¡± said Marcus.

    ¡°Fine...fine,¡± Saris grumbled.

    Marcus motioned to Saris and the two men turned and headed for the door. Marcus held up his hand in a wave. ¡°See ya Noree, thanks again,¡± he said as they made their way out of the lab.

    With their departure, Noree was left alone in the lab once again. Except for wherever Persephone currently was. She looked around her lab. She thought of all the possibilities that the blue particles could be utilized for. It seemed as though the particles were manufactured specifically to deal with demons. It was certainly the biggest breakthrough in anti-demon warfare she¡¯d ever heard of. If it could be mass produced, demons could be potentially eliminated forever, or at least deterred from entering this dimension, since their very existence could now be threatened. She wondered if the liquid could line buildings and starships. She had more research to do on it, as there were many factors to consider. The substance might be volatile under certain conditions, or even break down under others. Only time and numerous experiments would tell.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Noree decided to inform Mira about this discovery. Surely the phoenix had her own ways of dealing with demons, but a phoenix¡¯s fire couldn¡¯t harm demons in hell, like this substance seemed capable of doing. Noree reached to activate her data-band. She selected the contact ID for Mira, but before her finger could press the communication icon, her hand froze.

    The particles...they were able to follow the connection through dimensions back to the demon in hell. But the implications of that, didn¡¯t have to be simply cross-dimensional. What if the consciousness of the entity possessing a person, was in the same dimension? Perhaps at the center of a sun?

    Noree had no idea where phoenix consciousness originated. Phoenixes claimed to be born of the sun, so wouldn¡¯t their conscious be connected to it? If this substance was used on a phoenix, what implications would that have? Could it kill a phoenix forever, as she speculated it would for a demon? If so, would it create an anomaly within the sun itself? What untold consequences would come of such an interaction?

    Noree found the closest chair and slumped into it. She stared through the image. Should she tell Mira about this substance? Theoretically, it could kill the phoenix forever, not just her host body. If she told Mira about it, would the phoenix come and take it away? or destroy it? The vial that Noree had might be the only one in existence, if it was lost...could it ever be replicated?

    The decision weighed heavily upon Noree. Perhaps for now, Mira should be kept in the dark.

    ***

    Mira hadn¡¯t been content to sit around Noree¡¯s lab. When morning came, she¡¯d gotten dressed and headed out. There was no rush, so she took the streets on foot instead of signaling a transport. The walk would do her some good. She missed the sunny days of other worlds. Here on Malstyx, the weather was almost always dreary. She hadn¡¯t glimpsed the sun since she was in orbit.

    On her way through the teeming metropolis, she passed the usual protesters she¡¯d seen ever since her arrival. A local company was weaving DNA; giving humans the opportunity to take on the characteristics of animals. Mira had already seen the occasional ¡®gene-weaved¡¯ human around. Ears and tails of various types, seemed to be the most prominent alterations. The populace had already given them the title of ¡®sphinxes,¡¯ named after Sphinx Corp¡ªthe company selling the gene therapy. She wasn¡¯t sure how it all worked. She¡¯d have to ask Noree about it the next time she saw the dryte woman.

    Mira hailed a transport and headed into the industrial sector, district nine. If she had nothing better to do, now was a good chance to question the demon she¡¯d found in the dungeon.

    ***

    Mira stood over a hole, behind the warehouse she¡¯d visited two days before. A hole she¡¯d deliberately covered to conceal what she¡¯d found deep underground. She hadn¡¯t hidden it as well as she¡¯d thought. Unless someone had observed her actions when she was here before. She had already checked underground and confirmed that the demon known as Bel, was gone. Bel¡¯s shackles had been broken and two sets of footprints had been left in the dust of the dungeon.

    Mira had returned to the empty warehouse in hopes of questioning the demon. A demon who¡¯d been locked away for over a thousand years. But now she was free and Mira had no idea where the demon went or who had taken her. Had she unwittingly unleashed a new terror on the city? Her fists clenched at the very notion.

    The data-band on Mira¡¯s wrist began to vibrate in short intervals. She tapped the band and a display formed over her arm. She noticed who the call was coming from and accepted it immediately. A face appeared. A man with black hair with graying edges.

    Mira lifted a brow at the sight of the man. ¡°There¡¯s only one reason you have to be contacting me, Jonas,¡± she said with narrowing eyes. ¡°Please tell me he¡¯s not here.¡± She hadn¡¯t even given him a moment to say hello.

    Jonas blinked and took in deep breath as his eyes focused on Mira¡¯s. ¡°If by ¡®he¡¯ you mean that vessel you warned me about. Then yes, that person is here,¡± said Jonas.

    Mira¡¯s fists clenched. She lowered her arms to her hips, which made the display follow her arm. She stared up into the dismal sky.

    ¡°Are you still there, Mira?¡± asked Jonas. ¡°I¡¯m still tracking the ship. Do you want me to forward you its location as I track it?¡±

    Mira took a moment to compose her thoughts before holding her arm back up and looking to the display. ¡°Yes, track it, along with any shuttles that depart from it. I...wouldn¡¯t suppose I could ask you to shoot it down for me?¡± Mira asked, as the corner of her lips curled.

    Jonas¡¯s eyebrows lifted as he wasn¡¯t sure what to say, until he saw Mira smirk. ¡°I¡¯m hoping that grin means you¡¯re not serious,¡± he said.

    Mira shrugged. ¡°I was just hoping you¡¯d save me a lot of headache,¡± she said.

    Jonas was silent as he looked away offscreen, before focusing back to her. ¡°Would it save your life?¡± he asked.

    Mira tilted her head, looking at him with a curious expression. ¡°No, the circumstances of his arrival shouldn¡¯t be that dire. But if it turns out that I¡¯m wrong...I¡¯ll handle it. No need for you to intervene with this. You¡¯ve helped me a great deal already, for bringing me here safely.¡±

    Jonas nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll relay the tracking to you.¡± He went silent for a long moment, before inquiring, ¡°Mira...who''s on that ship?¡±

    Mira shook her head. ¡°No need to concern yourself with that. I¡¯d rather not speak his name on comms, in case he¡¯s already listening in on all communications, scanning for mentions of his name.¡± she said.

    Jonas gave her a strange look. ¡°But this comm is secure, I¡¯m routing through-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not enough,¡± Mira interrupted him. Her eyes narrowed subtly. ¡°Trust me.¡±

    Jonas didn¡¯t continue his line of inquiry, he simply nodded. ¡°I do. I-¡± Jonas¡¯s words trailed as his eyes seemed to focus on something off-screen. ¡°Mira, it looks like a shuttle just left that cruiser.¡±

    Mira¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Damnit, already?¡± she asked. ¡°Forward me its coordinates immediately!¡±

    Without further words, Jonas gave a single nod. A moment later, Jonas cut the transmission from his side. Leaving Mira staring at a blank display until a notification came up. She accepted it with a tap, and then watched as an overlay of Malstyx appeared.

    Above the planet, was a single sphere, representing the ship in question. But between the planet and the sphere, was a small dot, representing the shuttle.

    ¡°System, analyze trajectory on the shuttle, what¡¯s the coordinates of its destination?¡±

    Mira waited as she watched a little loading icon on the display, as her data-band made the proper calculations. Then, a digital voice emanated from the data-band. ¡°Exact destination, currently indeterminable. The shuttle is headed in the general vicinity of district one.¡±

    ¡°System, continue to analyze trajectory until you¡¯re certain of the shuttle¡¯s destination.¡± Mira quickly tapped an icon on the display, and hailed a transport, placing district one as her intended destination. But after she made the request, she saw an error notification on her display. ¡®Error: Transportation request system, currently under maintenance.¡¯

    ¡°Like hell it is,¡± she scoffed. Mira glanced around to get her bearings, and started running towards district one.

    The city was vast, and even after ten minutes of running, Mira still hadn¡¯t reached district one¡¯s border.

    Mira¡¯s data-band chimed. ¡°Destination determined. Destination of shuttle, street twelve.¡±

    Mira continued to run down the streets. She could see the gate to district one a few blocks away. ¡°System,¡± she said. ¡°What¡¯s on street twelve?¡±

    ¡°Listed businesses on street twelve, are: Club Newland, District One Restaurant¡ª¡±

    ¡°System!¡± Mira gasped. ¡°Exclude restaurants and groceries.¡±

    The voice paused just a moment. ¡°District One Pawn and Bounties, First District Bank, Tarmin¡¯s Arm¡ª¡±

    ¡°System, stop,¡± Mira said as she came to a stop herself. Her chest rose and fell as she stared off at the gates to district one. ¡°No, he can¡¯t be,¡± she whispered. Mira hadn¡¯t even recalled the street until her data-band spoke of the bank. The bank she¡¯d been at two days ago.

    Mira¡¯s hands trembled, before she tightened them back into fists. ¡°He knows...he knows I was there. But, why is he going there?¡±

    ¡°System, hail transport,¡± she said.

    ¡°Error: Transportation request system, currently under maintenance.¡±

    Mira began running again. Surely this was just coincidence? Or did he bring down the entire transport system, just to keep her from beating him to the bank? She knew she was going to be too late.

    ***

    It was another half hour of running, before Mira made it to street twelve. She turned the corner and ran down the street, heading past people...people, who were staring up at something.

    Mira glanced around. Her eyes followed what everyone was looking at. Up in the towering building, a fire billowed smoke from one of the uppermost rooms. At the middle of the structure, was a sign in big letters, which read ¡®First District Bank.¡¯

    Mira approached the bank¡¯s steps at a slow pace. She kept her eyes on the structure and counted the floors. When she counted the one billowing fire, her heart skipped a beat. The fire seemed to be contained to a single room. But it was located on the same floor as Vanessa¡¯s office.

    She looked to the doors which led inside the bank. Should she go in? Was he still in there? She reached over and tapped her data-band, in order to check the location of the shuttle. But movement at the doors caught her eye.

    A man walked out of the bank. He had red swept-back hair and a fine black suit with red trim. Mira froze. The man glanced around. His eyes went from person to person in the crowd nearby. Everyone was looking up at the fire, or talking amongst themselves. Everyone except Mira, who was staring directly at the red-haired man leaving the bank.

    It was in that moment, that she realized her mistake. But it was too late. It was a moment too long. The man¡¯s crimson eyes found hers.

    The man walked casually towards her. She knew there was no use in diverting her gaze. She¡¯d already made the mistake of looking at him, of taking notice of him. He walked up to her, and a smile adorned his lips.

    In the blink of an eye, his eyes became burning embers.

    Mira inhaled sharply, as she was now on the receiving end of the burning gaze. A single blink and then her eyes resembled the man¡¯s.

    ¡°Mira...Mira...Mira,¡± he said in a soft voice.

    She swallowed as her burning eyes stared into his.

    ¡°Cursa,¡± she said.

    Cursa blinked once more and his eyes returned to normal. Mira¡¯s did the same.

    ¡°So you remember me!¡± he said. ¡°How fortunate. I wondered if you¡¯d lost some of your memories after your reincarnation.¡±

    Mira¡¯s lips parted, as if to speak, but Cursa continued.

    ¡°So this is your new face! How exciting for you, It¡¯s always refreshing to have a new identity, isn¡¯t it? Where no one knows who you really are?¡± he said. ¡°You know, speaking of exciting¡­¡± his voice trailed as his up-beat expression faded until his face went blank, as if portraying no emotion at all. ¡°Tell me what happened on Cestus.¡±

    Mira knew it was only a matter of time before he asked. Had he been tracking her ever since? Waiting for her to reincarnate?

    ¡°What do you mean? I died on Cestus and now I¡¯m here. What¡¯s there to tell?¡±

    Cursa lifted a brow at her, inhaling and then releasing it in a prominent sigh. ¡°Mira...Mira...Mira,¡± he said again. ¡°What are we going to do with you? Just tell me what happened on Cestus. Antares would like to know as well.¡±

    Mira stood there, her eyes on Cursa¡¯s. She had a feeling that Antares wasn¡¯t as concerned as Cursa was. She doubted Antares even knew Cursa was here on Malstyx. It was surely just a hollow threat and ploy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened,¡± she said. ¡±Besides the fact that I died.¡±

    Cursa¡¯s eyes narrowed the slightest bit. ¡°Perhaps we should start with an easier question, one which is far more recent. Like...why didn¡¯t you tell anyone that you¡¯d risen? It¡¯s just common courtesy to let your kin know that you¡¯re back from the dead, Mira.¡±

    She swallowed, having prepared for such a question with a bit of truth. ¡°I didn¡¯t want anyone to know I was around. I didn¡¯t want anything to hinder my masquerade here on Malstyx, while I worked.¡±

    ¡°Hinder your masquerade while you worked?¡± Cursa said with a laugh. ¡°So, hiding who you were...was what you were doing in the bank? And working, is what you call letting that demon of greed live?¡±

    Mira stood her ground. ¡°That demon was a valuable asset and not a high priority for extermination,¡± she countered.

    Cursa¡¯s head tilted back the slightest bit. ¡°You do remember what you are, don¡¯t you?¡± he asked. ¡°It¡¯s our job to kill demons!¡± he shouted now. Apparently Cursa had no qualms about his own masquerade. Of course, with the incident up in the bank, Mira doubted there wasn¡¯t a single demon on Malstyx that didn¡¯t know Cursa was here.

    ¡°You see, it¡¯s very simple. Our existence is very simple,¡± he said. ¡°Vereans drink blood, humans mess things up and lose planets. Phoenixs, like ourselves, we kill demons.¡±

    Mira¡¯s fists tightened as she started to lose her patience the more Cursa¡¯s words dug at her.

    Before she could respond to his latest comments, Cursa decided he had more to say. ¡°I find it really strange. It just baffles me. You didn¡¯t even tell Sol that you came back. Now I find that immensely unusual, given the nature of your relationship. That whole debacle with his home system, was all because of you. Wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern,¡± she said. She wanted to lash out. She wanted to yell at him. She wanted to punch him in his damn face.

    Cursa paused a moment, his eyes finally diverting from Mira as he looked around. ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right. That was all Sol¡¯s fault, surely no one would blame you for what happened. But there I go getting side tracked.¡± He looked back to Mira.

    ¡°So you have no specks of information about Cestus? Anything about why the gates were destroyed? You volunteered to go there. I could¡¯ve gone myself, but Antares thought it was a waste to send two of us. So we let you handle things. But you didn¡¯t handle things, did you? An entire world has gone dark.¡±

    ¡°I went to Cestus,¡± said Mira. ¡°I investigated the artifact. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything demonic about it. I told you and everyone else in the report I sent. But before I could return, I died. That¡¯s the last thing I can recall.¡±

    ¡°And what happened to the artifact?¡± Cursa asked quickly.

    Mira shrugged. ¡°It must be on Cestus,¡± she said.

    Cursa was idle for several long seconds before his lips parted with a smile. The tips of his fangs could be seen as he then nodded. ¡°You know, you¡¯re right. It must still be there. Since you told everyone that the artifact wasn¡¯t a problem, that must be true as well. I just¡ª¡± Cursa began to tap his chin as he looked away. ¡° Well you see...first the human¡¯s home system, with you and Sol...and then you go and die on Cestus, another human colony. Only to be found years later. I mean...what¡¯ve you been doing all this time? You haven¡¯t been on Malstyx, I know that much. Else I¡¯d have found you a bit sooner. It just...it leaves your character a bit suspect, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Cursa waved his hand before Mira could even comment. ¡°But...let¡¯s just forget all that business about Cestus for now. You¡¯ve been here on Malstyx for a while, I¡¯d imagine. So, what¡¯ve you been pursuing? Any leads on the prison break?¡±

    Mira¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Prison break?¡± she asked, but the moment the words left her lips, she knew she¡¯d made another mistake.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± he asked. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought that it would¡¯ve been a high priority. After all, dozens of convicts were reportedly abducted by an unknown vessel. You really didn¡¯t hear anything about this?¡±

    Mira gritted her teeth. ¡°I¡¯ve been pursuing a drug with demonic origins, which has been leaked into the populace. It¡¯s creating monsters and more of the drug is being distributed by the day.¡±

    ¡°Demonic drug?¡± he asked. ¡°How do you know it¡¯s demonic in origin and not just some mutation weapon devised by one of the corporations here on Malstyx?¡±

    Mira wasn¡¯t about to tell Cursa about Noree. ¡°A demonic origin is the conclusion my investigation has led me to, based on the mutations and characteristics of the monsters.¡±

    Cursa shook his head. ¡°I saw a report about the drug you¡¯re referring to. I hardly gave it any notice. The monsters didn¡¯t show any characteristics of demons. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve been wasting all your time on that.¡±

    Cursa¡¯s face was looking more and more punchable every moment. Mira¡¯s hands clutched together behind her back.

    ¡°Did you at least investigate what I would consider to be the second highest priority?¡±

    Mira had a feeling she wasn¡¯t going to enjoy what he said next. ¡°And what do you feel that is, Cursa?¡±

    Cursa looked away, and gestured to the streets. ¡°Well, it¡¯s right there in front of you. I¡¯d say it¡¯s almost everywhere.¡±

    Mira turned her head, glancing behind her at the streets. She looked around. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± she asked.

    ¡°These...sphinxes. Don¡¯t tell me you let that slip by you as well? Really Mira...a company which is messing with these humans'' DNA, and warping them? This really didn¡¯t jump out at you as being worth investigating?¡±

    Mira listened to his words and caught sight of several dog-eared, spotted-humans, walking about. ¡°You don¡¯t really think¡­¡± she trailed off as she looked back to Cursa. He was staring her down again. Unfortunately, now that it was pointed out to her.

    It...made a little sense. Damnit. Why did it have to make so much sense? Why was she so blind not to see it?

    ¡°I¡¯d overlooked it,¡± Mira admitted. She hoped that Cursa would lighten up on her, if she admitted to this.

    ¡°No matter, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve had your hands full with all the demons you¡¯ve been destroying in your pursuit of this...drug and its...what? Manufacturers?¡± he asked, but Mira saw through his words and knew he was mocking her.

    Instead of defending her own actions, Mira asked, ¡°what will you be doing? Surely you came here with something more in mind, than to question me about things I don¡¯t know?¡±

    Cursa smiled and shrugged. He took a step away. ¡°I¡¯ll be doing what I was created to do. Which is more than I can say for you, Mira. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll see how truly deep the corruption on Malstyx runs. I don¡¯t plan on leaving soon, I¡¯ll be in touch.¡±

    Mira watched as the other phoenix stepped past her and headed down the street. She kept her eyes on him until he had disappeared around the corner. She looked to the bank and saw that the smoke had subsided. She realized her hands were still clenched.

    The sudden vibration of her data-band made Mira jump. She glanced around quickly, as she was still lingering at the bottom of the stairs to the bank. She moved to the wall, for at least a minimal amount of privacy. She tapped her data-band and checked the message. It was from Noree. She scanned over the words. Finally, some good news.

 Chapter 6: Bloody Jaws

    A sharva knelt by a weapons locker. The light in the ship glinted off her. Instead of skin, sharvas had micro scales covering their bodies, which could easily be mistook for human skin at a distance. Her tongue slid over the rows of pointed teeth within her mouth. A habit that had gone unbroken since her childhood. Her short and tidy white hair didn¡¯t obstruct her vision in the least. She reached into the container and shifted items around, in search of something. Her fingertips had more pronounced points than a human¡¯s. Her piercing eyes narrowed.

    She released a feral growl which reverberated off the inner hull of the ship. ¡°Who took my weapon?¡± Scotia demanded. ¡°I set it in the armory chest and now it¡¯s gone! Damir! It was you, wasn¡¯t it? You¡¯re always fingering it when I¡¯m not looking!¡± She leaned up from the weapons cache and looked over to the couch where the verean lounged. He had the usual red eyes and pointy ears of his race as well as trim black hair.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t touch your precious gun,¡± Damir replied. He watched a live video feed on a screen generated by the data-band on his wrist. Scotia let out a huff and rested her sharp fingers on her hips.

    ¡°You misplaced it last time! Why should I believe you now?¡± she asked pointedly with narrowed blue eyes.

    ¡°I already learned my lesson, when you almost bit my finger off, Captain,¡± he said. His eyes remained on a news report, being broadcasted from the planet Malstyx, which their ship was currently orbiting.

    ¡°If I find out you were screwing with it, I might just bite off your entire arm!¡± Scotia said with a sneer, baring her rows of sharp fangs.

    ¡°Sharva are always so hostile,¡± said Damir.

    ¡°And vampires are thieving little liars,¡± she replied.

    Jamie¡ªwho¡¯d been quietly sitting against the bulkhead, couldn¡¯t keep himself from laughing. This was all it took to draw their attention to him. Jamie¡¯s eyes widened, realizing he might have incurred their combined wrath. He turned his head away and tapped the data-band on his wrist so that he could bring up a image and make it seem like he was busy with something else.

    Their gaze seared into him.

    From the corner of his eye, Jamie noticed a sleek and gelatinous purple tentacle sliding out of the ventilation shaft above the pilot consoles. The tentacle deposited an object on top of the console and slid smoothly back into the open grate. Jamie diverted his gaze back to the display in front of his eyes.

    ¡°Damir was at the controls earlier, did you check over there?¡± Jamie asked, while keeping his eyes averted from the two of them.

    ¡°I said, I didn¡¯t take it! You¡¯re against me now too?¡± Damir asked.

    Scotia was already walking towards the pilot controls. She reached down and wrapped her fingers around the revolver¡¯s handle. She turned around and faced Damir.

    ¡°Well, would you look at this...my revolver,¡± she said.

    Jamie did his best to keep from smirking. Damir leaned up and planted his feet on the floor. ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon I didn¡¯t put it there! What would I need with your gun? I hate your gun! It¡¯s way too heavy and ugly and old!¡±

    Scotia narrowed her eyes at Damir and raised her revolver. ¡°You...hate my gun? The most beautiful gun in the entire universe?¡± Her voice became the hissing growl which was more native to the sharva race.

    Damir¡¯s eyebrows lifted as Scotia¡¯s weapon trained on him.

    A bubbly giggle, as if someone was laughing under water, sounded from the ventilation shaft behind Scotia. Her gun lowered as she turned to the vent. ¡°Persephone? What are you doing in the vents again? I told you I don¡¯t want you clogging them up!¡±

    A purple translucent goo pushed out of the vent. Moment¡¯s later, the large mass congealed into a humanoid figure. A multitude of thin tentacles formed the creature¡¯s hair. A pair of eyes with noticeable divots for pupils looked around the room, taking everything in.

    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Damir said while eyeing Persephone. ¡°It was you, wasn¡¯t it? You framed me! Didn¡¯t you?¡± He pushed out of his chair.

    Persephone¡¯s gel-like eyes widened, a soft ¡®meep¡¯ came from her as her body lost its form and pushed back into the vent, disappearing back into the confines of the ship¡¯s structure.

    Damir rushed over to the wall and pounded on it, the sound echoed through the air duct. ¡°Get back here! Admit it!¡± he shouted.

    ¡°I think Persephone was more concerned with setting up Damir, than she was with actually stealing it,¡± said Jamie, while still seated against the far wall. ¡°I guess that¡¯s what you get for always calling her a gooey bitch.¡±

    ¡°She is a gooey bitch!¡± Damir replied. ¡°She¡¯s not natural. I still don¡¯t trust her, I don¡¯t care if Noree vouches for her. There¡¯s a reason claymores stay within the asteroid fields.¡± He crossed his arms and sat down at the pilot seat.

    Scotia walked over to the couch and sat down. She caressed her revolver and eye¡¯d Damir. ¡°I think you¡¯re jealous of her,¡± said Scotia.

    ¡°Jealous? How could I be jealous of purple goo?¡± Damir asked.

    ¡°She took out those two snipers on the roof that you couldn¡¯t get a bead on,¡± said Jamie.

    ¡°She also secured that entire room, the one you were supposed to deal with,¡± said Scotia.

    ¡°And don¡¯t forget when we were pinned down by the ursari mafia, she saved Scotia while you were unconscious,¡± said Jamie.

    ¡°Why does no one ever take my side?¡± Damir asked.

    ¡°Your brother used to take your side...about ten percent of the time,¡± said Scotia. ¡°And so did Vin...she looked up to you.¡±

    Damir¡¯s red eyes stared blankly at the corridor which led to the living quarters. ¡°How long has it been since Vin¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nine months,¡± said Scotia.

    Damir ran his hand through his hair.

    Jamie¡¯s eyes lowered to the floor.

    Scotia¡¯s pointed fingers gripped the hilt of her gun. She silently released her held breath. ¡°Do we have any work this week?¡±

    Damir turned and faced the piloting systems of the ship. He tapped a button to bring up a screen. ¡°We haven¡¯t decided on anything yet,¡± he said. ¡°What we have available...is¡­¡± he tapped the buttons in midair. The imagery before his eyes changed to a series of requests. ¡°Starting from the top. There¡¯s a bounty on a ¡®Sergeant Blimmer¡¯ of the Malstyx Guard.¡±

    Scotia¡¯s finger tapped her gun as she pondered. ¡°Any information on that one?¡±

    ¡°Says he¡¯s holed up with the...oh, our friends from the other day. The ursari mafia, he was last seen at their compound.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather not have to go in there with just the three of us, seeing as we can¡¯t always count on Persephone,¡± said Scotia.

    ¡°So, gleaning the list for missions that can be dealt with by three or less...that eliminates a majority of them, if we want to be safe about it,¡± said Damir.

    ¡°How many members does Blood Moon Mafia have anyway?¡± asked Jamie.

    ¡°Somewhere over two hundred guns, plus whatever personnel they utilize,¡± said Damir. ¡°Scotia and I killed¡ª¡±

    ¡°And Persephone,¡± Scotia interjected.

    Damir sighed. ¡°Scotia, Persephone and I...took out about twenty five on that mission, but we weren¡¯t assaulting the compound, we hit one of their weapons depots. Pulled some nice ammo from it too. We¡¯d been getting pretty low lately.¡±

    ¡°And without Persephone we¡­¡± Scotia spoke but trailed off from that train of thought. She shook her head. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re not hitting Blood Moon Mafia for a while. We had good intel on that depot, got what we needed when their guard was down and no one was killed but I¡¯d rather not press our luck with them. They¡¯re not the average thugs we usually find.¡±

    Damir nodded. ¡°They¡¯re all ex Malstyx Guard or ex ursari militia from their homeworld. Not to mention they¡¯re all ursari.¡± He shook his head. ¡°You make one false move when they¡¯re pumping adrenaline, and you get a fist smashing in your face.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I remember how Lurik and Marik were,¡± said Jamie. ¡°They were actually the first ursari I¡¯d ever met.¡± He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling.

    Scotia slid her revolver into her belt and stood. ¡°I miss them too. Their loyalty to me never wavered...not once. No matter my decision, even if it was a terrible one, they backed up every word.¡± Scotia looked over to Jamie. ¡°You need to stop kicking yourself over their deaths. They knew they couldn¡¯t make it out, but they made sure you did. There was nothing you could¡¯ve done.¡±

    Jamie looked to Scotia and nodded. Scotia knew it wasn¡¯t Jamie¡¯s fault. It was her own. The ursari brothers¡ªher comrades, took every measure in ensuring Jamie was safe. Sure, Jamie could take care of himself, probably better than most humans could, but he was still human.

    ¡°Looks like a company called ¡®Sphinx Co¡¯ is hiring guards. They need guns to patrol their compounds,¡± said Damir. ¡°Seems pretty safe and laid back...oh wait...damn, they¡¯re trying to fill a large quota of gunmen. Meaning there¡¯s gonna be a whole mess of other mercs down there with no clear hierarchy, forget that.¡±

    Scotia turned back to Damir and approached the pilot seat.

    ¡°I¡¯d rather not get mixed up with all the other mercs out there, unless you¡¯re feeling inadequate, then you¡¯re allowed to head down there and prove yourself against all the dregs. Perhaps you and Persephone can take the job? Whoever beats up the most Mercs wins.¡± Scotia said with a wide grin.

    Damir hissed, ¡°I¡¯m not partnering with Persephone, she barely says a¡ª¡±

    Beep beep, beep beep

    Damir hit the blinking notification on the display. Several images popped up on the screen, along with coordinates for the planet below.

    ¡°It¡¯s Goma! We got a hit, we finally got a hit!¡± yelled Damir.

    Scotia¡¯s hand clenched the back of Damir¡¯s chair. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Damir nodded and enlarged one of the photos. ¡°It¡¯s him. Facial recognition match. Noree¡¯s friends are good at what they do, apparently.¡±

    Scotia licked her lips and pulled away from the chair. ¡°Jamie! Take the seat. You¡¯re flying us down there. Damir! load up, we¡¯re dropping in.¡±

    Jamie looked to Scotia as she headed towards the weapons chest. ¡°I¡¯m flying? Wait, I¡¯m not coming with you?¡± He asked as he stood up and headed for the pilot seat. Damir vacated it for him and joined Scotia at the weapons chest.

    ¡°You barely knew Goma,¡± said Scotia. ¡°This is personal for me and Damir. He betrayed us. None of my men have ever betrayed me before. He¡¯s the first and he will be the last.¡±

    Damir pulled a standard pistol from the chest. He made sure the weapon was functional before loading up on magazines. Scotia loaded her belt with ammo for her revolver and gave it another look-over to make sure Persephone hadn¡¯t somehow jammed it up. She was happy to have the extra help that Persephone provided, but she was quite a handful.

    Jamie took the pilot¡¯s chair and started to check the systems as he plotted a course down to the planet.

    ¡°I should be coming with you. We can auto-nav the ship,¡± said Jamie.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re staying here, that¡¯s final. Keep an eye on Persephone, make sure she doesn¡¯t fall off the ship or...whatever. Keep an eye on things from above. It¡¯ll be faster with just Damir and I.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re taking him out for what he did,¡± Damir spoke under his breath.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll keep an eye on things but I¡¯m not making any promises with Persephone,¡± said Jamie.

    The ship descended into lower orbit and headed closer towards Malstyx.

    Scotia came over to the pilot seat, but leaned over to the wall and banged it several times before yelling into the air-duct. ¡°Persephone! Stay here! Keep an eye on Jamie for me!¡± She then leaned down to Jamie and gripped the back of his seat. She leaned in and nipped his ear with her sharp teeth.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± he ran a hand over his ear and looked at his fingers which had thin streaks of red. ¡°You always draw blood,¡± he grumbled.

    ¡°I draw blood for good luck,¡± Scotia said in a feral growl.

    Jamie frowned and shook his head. His attention went to the controls for the their transport ship.

    Damir gripped a metal rung on the side of the hatchway. His eyes went back and forth between Jamie and Scotia. Scotia took hold of a metal rung on the other side of the hatch. She diverted her attention to Damir and lost her smile. ¡°Time for revenge.¡±

    The ship had entered Malstyx¡¯s atmosphere. The turbulence of their entry started to rock the ship.

    ¡°You think he knows we¡¯re coming for him?¡± asked Damir.

    Scotia¡¯s hands gripped the metal rung and the side of her belt as she remained firmly postured despite the increasing turbulence. She looked Damir in the eye. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if he does. He could be at the center of that damned mafia compound for all I care. I¡¯d still go in after him for what he did to Vin.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯d follow.¡± said Damir.

    The land mass in the cockpit¡¯s viewscreen continued to grow. First City, the only city on Malstyx was already in sight. The vessel shot through the atmosphere towards the Metropolis. Jamie¡¯s hands were tight on the controls to keep the ship as straight as possible. The nav system showed him the way towards the sighting, but he still had to be the one to lead the ship in at these speeds and turbulence.

    Jamie grit his teeth. He reached over and flipped a switch, which caused a noticeable hum within the ship. ¡°Running silent...sort of,¡± he said as he started to decelerate the ship. The vessel rumbled and shook.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t crash us into a building, else he¡¯ll really know we¡¯re coming,¡± said Damir.

    The drag on the ship lessened as the ship zoomed over the buildings at a speed matching the automated taxis around the city. The transport ship was small enough to be allowed within the city¡¯s airspace without the local authorities getting upset.

    Anything much bigger, would need to remain in a higher orbit.

    Jamie¡¯s hands worked at the controls, flipping switches for harsher deceleration as the ship hovered over a back alley. Another button-press and a square hatch slid away, opening the ship to the ground below.

    The sun was setting in the distance. Not that anyone could see it through the thickly clouded atmosphere, but the light would lessen by the minute.

    ¡°Good luck!¡± Jamie called.

    Damir looked to Scotia and then jumped through the opening. He landed a few feet below on the street and headed in the direction of where the sighting of Goma was made.

    Scotia followed after him and dropped to the street. She kept a hand on her belt, close to her weapon as she fell in line with Damir. The two of them made their way down the street as they took in their surroundings.

    Damir held his arm in front of him; A rectangular display was an inch above it. He looked between the screen and the streets.

    ¡°Unless he¡¯s watching for our ship, we should get the jump on him,¡± said Scotia. The two mercenaries turned down an alley and closed in on the rear entrance of a large complex. Malstyx Heights Condos.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to let us walk around and kick in doors,¡± Damir grumbled.

    Scotia reached up and straightened the collar on her jacket. Her hands brushed down over her sleek black pants. ¡°Well, I think I¡¯m presentable enough,¡± Scotia commented as she looked at Damir with a fanged smirk.

    Damir took one glance at her and rolled his eyes. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure all their clientele are mercs, dressed just like us.¡±

    ¡°How did we get the reading on Goma?¡± Scotia asked.

    ¡°Noree says the guys who tracked him for us, use micro drones. Apparently they like to have an extra set of eyes around the city, which others don¡¯t know about.¡±

    ¡°Must be expensive,¡± Scotia mused.

    ¡°Well, since they¡¯re no longer in production, yeah, I¡¯d imagine so,¡± he said. Damir checked the display on his arm again. ¡°He¡¯s gotta be in there.¡±

    Scotia took the lead and gripped the metal handle to the rear entrance of the condos. It didn¡¯t budge. Beside the door was a datapad.

    ¡°Get us in,¡± Scotia grumbled as she stood aside and watched the back streets.

    Damir stepped up to the datapad and began tapping away at the display on his arm. ¡°Well, hopefully they don¡¯t have new software. If we¡¯re lucky, they¡¯re the greedy type,¡± he said as he continued to tap buttons. ¡°Because the newest software is always expensive.¡±

    The sounds of transports were heard overhead. Voices emanated from nearby streets. Nothing out of the ordinary. Their surroundings were getting darker as night arrived quickly on Malstyx.

    ¡°But,¡± Damir began again. ¡°The newest software, also prevents us from doing¡­¡±

    The datapad next to the door chimed and a green icon appeared.

    ¡°That.¡±

    Scotia reached over and pulled the door open. Damir went in first and the captain followed right behind him.

    ¡°Security room,¡± said Scotia.

    ¡°Basement?¡± Damir asked.

    ¡°Basement.¡±

    The two came to a lift. Damir pressed the button and they waited for the lift to come to them.

    So far, they hadn¡¯t encountered anyone. The complex was lavish. Scotia wondered what Goma was doing here. Did he actually live here? Her hand gripped the handle of her revolver even tighter. Just the thought of Goma living in a luxurious place like this, was almost enough to have her start shooting walls. Had someone paid him to take out Vin, and set them up?

    ¡°Did you tell Jamie about Goma? And what happened?¡± Damir asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s...never come up, till today,¡± she said. ¡°I honestly expected Goma to flee Mal space. I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d ever see him again. He¡¯s an idiot for sticking around. But I¡¯m glad he¡¯s giving us the opportunity to kill him.¡±

    Damir crossed his arms as he watched the lift door. ¡°He must have his reasons. Goma wasn¡¯t an idiot.¡±

    Scotia¡¯s eyes narrowed and she looked over to Damir. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll ask him, right before I place a round through his face.¡±

    The lift chimed and opened up. The doors slid to the side and Scotia and Damir stepped in. The datapad was lit up beside the lift doors.

    ¡°Basement,¡± said Scotia.

    ¡°Invalid request, authorization required for basement entry. Please make another selection,¡± came an automated voice.

    ¡°Damnit,¡± Scotia murmured as she looked to Damir.

    The vampire was already tapping at his data-band¡¯s display. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that,¡± he said. ¡°I hope they¡¯re not logging invalid requests.¡±

    Scotia growled as Damir ran the appropriate anti-security software on his data-band. A few seconds later, a green icon appeared on the datapad beside the lift¡¯s doors.

    ¡°And to the basement we go,¡± he murmured. He lowered his arm and readied his weapon. He flipped a switch on the side of his pistol, setting it to non-lethal rounds.

    Scotia tapped her revolver with an index finger. Her weapon didn¡¯t know what non-lethal meant.

    The doors slid away, showing off a stone corridor. Apparently the owners of the building hadn¡¯t cared too much about luxury in the basement. Damir took point and began eyeing the words on the doors. Scotia followed, until Damir came to a stop in front of a sign on the ceiling labelled ¡®security.¡¯ Once more, a datapad impeded their path. Damir made short work of the security lock. It made a chime and he winced.

    Scotia pushed forward and grabbed the handle of the door. She turned it and pushed it in, as the two were bathed in the light of dozens of displays. Scotia trained her weapon on the room¡¯s sole occupant. Damir came up right beside her, his weapon raised as well.

    Scotia¡¯s eyes narrowed as she stared at the back of the man¡¯s head. The security guard continued to sit in the chair, facing all the displays. Scotia lowered her gun, and motioned for Damir to do the same. She stepped forward silently. Her boots didn¡¯t make so much as a squeak on the floor.

    She approached around the side of the guard, but with her weapon lowered. She stepped up beside him and got a good look at his face. She promptly rolled her eyes at what she saw.

    She looked to Damir and shook her head. She gestured for him to come over, and then pointed at the security guard.

    Damir gave her a strange look and walked over just as quietly. He took a peek at the guard¡¯s face and grinned. The man¡¯s jaw was dropped, his mouth agape. He was utterly asleep. Scotia motioned for Damir again and pointed to her wrist, and then pointed to the displays.

    Damir nodded in understanding. He stepped away from the snoozing guard and began to infiltrate the complex¡¯s systems. This time, Scotia walked over to him and looked over his shoulder to see what he could find. Once he was inside the complex¡¯s databases, he began a search for footage with Goma¡¯s face. It took several seconds to complete before depicting silent footage of a brown-haired human man, entering a room.

    Scotia tapped at the top of the image, where it showed the room number. Damir noticed it as well. They needed to head up to the thirtieth floor, room five.

    Scotia patted Damir¡¯s shoulder and headed for the door. He took a last glance to the security guard before following after her.

    Once back in the elevator, Damir queued the lift to take them to floor thirty.

    ¡°His door¡¯s going to be locked,¡± said Damir. ¡°Hack or breach?¡±

    Scotia stared at the lift¡¯s doors as they ascended. ¡°With how lax the security is around here, he may have added his own countermeasures to the door.¡± She slid her tongue across the tips of her fangs. ¡°We don¡¯t have a dampener,¡± she stated.

    ¡°Right, we lost the last one weeks ago,¡± he said.

    ¡°If we blow the lock, there¡¯s a chance we blow out any countermeasures. If we hack it, we might set something off,¡± she weighed the options.

    ¡°Someone will report an explosion,¡± said Damir.

    Scotia smirked. ¡°No, I doubt anyone would care enough to bother.¡±

    ¡°Breach it is,¡± he said. ¡°Not sure why I bother defending the other method. You love shooting things.¡±

    ¡°You got to hack all the others,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s my turn.¡±

    Several seconds later, Scotia pulled out her firearm as the doors slid open. Room five was already in sight. Scotia headed out first. Her gaze followed down the hallway. She waited a few seconds as she listened for sounds in adjacent rooms and halls, but heard nothing.

    She aimed her weapon at the lock and handle. She took a last glance at Damir, before priming her weapon and focusing on the door.

    The revolver made a loud crack and the explosive round tore a hole through the door.

    Scotia slammed against the door and pushed into the condo.

    Potted plants. A hallway. Scotia ran in and trained her weapon into the open bathroom, and then into the living room. ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± she yelled.

    Damir was right behind her, his pistol raised as he joined Scotia. He looked around swiftly, before his gun was aimed at Scotia¡¯s target. ¡°Goma,¡± he murmured under his breath.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    A brown-haired man sat on a white couch. He wore a pair of black slacks and a red shirt. His arms were spread out along the back of the couch. He regarded the two intruders with a smile. He looked between both of them with brown eyes, before glancing to the hallway. ¡°Just the two of you?¡± he asked.

    Scotia glared, her revolver aimed straight at Goma¡¯s head.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± said Damir. He began to glance around the condo, as if expecting something to happen.

    ¡°I know,¡± said Scotia. ¡°He was expecting us, weren¡¯t you Goma?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t really think it was a coincidence that you suddenly found me?¡± Goma commented. ¡°You¡¯re precisely where I want you to be. Scotia, you may be one of the best mercenaries I¡¯ve ever met, but you¡¯re...a bit too predictable, especially for those of us who know you.¡±

    Scotia tightened her grip on her weapon. ¡°Enough.¡± She squeezed off another round with a loud crack. The shot pierced Goma¡¯s head and tore a chunk out of the wall.

    Goma sat there, the couch littered with debris from the wall, but his form was pristine and untouched. ¡°Idiots,¡± he said.

    ¡°Hologram,¡± Damir murmured, taking another quick look around. This was definitely a trap but why were they still alive?. A moment later, the hologram of Goma shifted and the man¡¯s appearance changed. Instead of a human male, a new figure appeared. The new appearance was of another sharva. He grinned with a mouth full of fangs.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Damir asked in confusion as Goma¡¯s visage faded.

    ¡°I¡¯m Goma, of course,¡± he said with a laugh.

    Damir looked over to Scotia, hoping to get some sort of explanation, but Scotia stood there with wide eyes as she stared at the other sharva¡¯s face.

    ¡°Zane?¡± She whispered. ¡°Zane, what the hell is going on?¡±

    Damir looked between the two of them. ¡°You know who this is?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Of course she does, Damir,¡± said Zane. ¡°I made her into what she is today. I taught her everything she knows about being a pirate and a mercenary. Even if she¡¯s mostly done away with the tendencies of the former.¡±

    Damir had since lowered his weapon. ¡°Wait, this...this is your old boss? That pirate lord you worked for?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I was his right hand for a number of years. Until I started the Bloody Jaw Mercenaries,¡± said Scotia.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Zane mused. ¡°And now you and your little band have become an annoyance.¡±

    Scotia wanted to put another round between his eyes, even though he wasn¡¯t really there. But it would probably make her feel better, just to shoot at him.

    ¡°We¡¯ve avoided you! I¡¯ve never once engaged your men!¡± Scotia claimed.

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk,¡± Zane shook his head. ¡°You see, it¡¯s that short sightedness which has led you here. You may not be engaging me directly, but your activities have constantly hindered the ones I work for.¡±

    Scotia¡¯s face was filled with dismay as her hands lowered further. ¡°But you never worked for anyone! I would¡¯ve known!¡±

    Zane lifted a brow and let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Oh, my dear Scotia. Everyone eventually serves a higher purpose and someone greater than themselves. Do you really think all those weapons raids on the Cearfoss clan, were merely by chance of opportunity?¡±

    Damir looked to Scotia. ¡°What¡¯s he talking about?¡±

    Scotia stared at the holographic eyes of Zane. The pieces were falling into place in her mind. She¡¯d been so blind. How had she not seen it all before, when she was always at Zane¡¯s side?

    ¡°We were raiding Cearfoss¡¯s weapon shipments, as a form of sabotage?¡± asked Scotia. ¡°Someone was paying us to do it? That¡¯s how we always pulled in more credits than the weapons were worth.¡±

    Zane¡¯s head tilted to the side. ¡°Is everything starting to make sense then, my dear?¡±

    ¡°But why masquerade as Goma? Why kill Vin?¡±

    Zane sighed and shook his head. ¡°You were so close...but you still don¡¯t see the grand scheme.¡±

    Damir lifted his arm and began tapping away at his data-band¡¯s display, while Scotia was too distracted with Zane to notice Damir¡¯s actions.

    ¡°You started taking the wrong jobs and working for the wrong team, Scotia,¡± said Zane. ¡°So I had to find out first-hand if it was by chance, or if someone was pulling your strings. After I had my answers, I decided your crew required a little downsizing. But don¡¯t worry my dear. I¡¯ll leave you alive, along with...well, I suppose Damir can live. But that¡¯s my last kindness to you, for all our history.¡±

    Scotia¡¯s eyes were narrowed and her fangs bared. If Zane were here right now, she¡¯d rip his throat out with her own teeth.

    ¡°And Damir,¡± he said. ¡±I wouldn¡¯t be worried about trying to trace my transmission.¡±

    Damir looked up from the display, as Zane seemed to realize what he was up to.

    ¡°What you should be concerned about, is your ship and what remains of your crew. Goodbye Scotia, I¡¯ll miss seeing you. But you¡¯re always welcome back on my ship. Any time.¡± Zane grinned and the hologram dispersed.

    Scotia holstered her weapon and tapped at her data-band and brought up a display. She hit the selections rapidly.

    ¡°So, he¡¯s not going to kill us?¡± asked Damir as he looked to his captain.

    ¡°Leading us here was never about us. He wants The Fang,¡± said Scotia.

    Scotia attempted to make a transmission to The Fang, but an error came up, notifying her that the signal was being scrambled.

    ¡°I can¡¯t reach Jamie,¡± she said.

    ¡°We¡¯re being jammed in here,¡± said Damir. ¡°I had the same trouble trying to trace him. We need to get outside.¡±

    Scotia darted for the door, with Damir right behind her. The lift was a short sprint away, but the elevator wasn¡¯t waiting for them. Scotia smacked rapidly at the datapad, as if it would make the lift go faster.

    ¡°Damnit,¡± she murmured as she turned to look down the hall.

    ¡°What¡¯s his plan?¡± asked Damir.

    ¡°He¡¯s probably going to hit it from the ground. Jamie will never see it coming. He won¡¯t have time to react.¡± Scotia slammed her fist into the thin wall beside the lift.

    Seconds later, the lift chimed and the doors opened. ¡°Override the lift, get us to the ground, now,¡± Scotia demanded.

    Damir¡¯s long-range capabilities were being nullified, but he could still manage to manipulate the complex¡¯s lift, since he¡¯d already planted the needed software in their system.

    The doors didn¡¯t even start to close, before Damir increased power being pumped into the lift. The compartment descended rapidly, faster than if it was free falling on its own. The two of them gripped tight to the hand-rails within the elevator.

    Scotia¡¯s fangs were barred. Fear was no longer a concept to her. She had to save Jamie and Persephone. She¡¯d have shot out the window of the thirtieth floor and jumped, if she had any expectation of surviving. This was only slightly more dangerous.

    ¡°Brace,¡± Damir warned as he tapped a single button on the display for his data-band. A loud droning sound emanated from the walls, followed by electrical flickers. The sudden deceleration and braking, caused the two to stumble in place. The lift stabilized at the first floor. The doors still open. Several people were standing there with wide eyes as Scotia and Damir caught their footing and pushed passed them and into the hall.

    They ran.

    Scotia pulled out her revolver again. No one would stop her.

    The rear-entrance to the complex was in sight, just down the hall. The door opened, and a security guard stepped inside. He caught sight of the pair of mercenaries running down towards him. His eyes were wide, his hands twitched, as if he was about to reach for his weapon, but at the last second, he threw his hands up and smacked his back to the wall.

    Scotia was half a second from smearing his brain across the shiny walls. Now she didn¡¯t have to waste a round.

    Scotia and Damir rushed passed him. Damir was the first to fire, taking out the door¡¯s locking mechanism. His gun barked three rounds and weakened the integrity of the door.

    When Scotia reached it, she slammed into it and out into the night.

    She scanned her surroundings for enemies, but there was nothing out of the usual. Night had fallen completely. The dull glow of blue lights filled the streets and alleys. She searched the sky and then started to hit icons on her data-band¡¯s display.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see him. He should be waiting up there somewhere, right?¡± said Damir. ¡°Scanning for the ship now,¡± he added.

    Scotia¡¯s hail to The Fang was going unanswered, but it was going out now.

    ¡°Maybe Zane¡¯s jamming The Fang¡¯s transmissions?¡± asked Damir.

    ¡°Jamie would¡¯ve been tracking us. He should have at least detected a loss of signal,¡± said Scotia. ¡°That would¡¯ve been the only warning he¡¯d have.¡± It was also the only hope Scotia had that Jamie was safe.

    A sound blipped on Damir¡¯s data-band. ¡°I¡¯ve got it! He¡¯s still in the sky...um...he¡¯s moving. He¡¯s headed towards us.¡±

    Scotia looked to Damir¡¯s data-band, and saw the direction of The Fang¡¯s approach. She then looked to the sky as her eyes narrowed. There were other blips of light up there. Other transports. Which one was Jamie?

    One of the spots of light became brighter, but not because it was getting closer.

    A vessel streaked towards them, its engines now ablaze from an explosion. Debris began to fly off as The Fang rushed towards them.

    ¡°Jamie!¡± Scotia cried out as she stared up at the sky.

    ¡°He¡¯s been hit,¡± Damir muttered beneath his breath.

    All they could do, was watch as The Fang streaked towards them.

    ¡°It¡¯s not slowing down,¡± said Damir. ¡°I don¡¯t see the escape pods ejecting.¡±

    The vessel flew above their heads and smacked into the corner of the complex they¡¯d just been inside. Debris poured down the sides of the complex from the impact. The transport tore through several rooms and came out the other side. It spun at a downward arc and smashed into a nearby street, out of view of the two mercenaries.

    Scotia didn¡¯t speak, she ran.

    Her arms pumped. Her hand clenched her revolver. She couldn¡¯t think. She had to get to the wreck.

    She turned at the end of the street they were in and raced down the next. The smoke from the impact was reaching into the sky. Scotia was too blinded by rage to attempt calling for emergency dispatch. Damir knew that there was no way Jamie could¡¯ve survived the impact. It would take a short while for emergency vehicles to detect the crash and be dispatched automatically.

    Scotia turned down another street and saw the wreckage lodged against the side of another building. She approached the impact sight, but the fire was too intense. She stood there, staring at the burning wreck.

    Damir¡¯s footfalls slowed as he came to stand beside her. Their ship was unrecognisable. It had been their home. All their belongings and weapons. Now it, along with Jamie and Persephone, were gone.

    Scotia¡¯s lips were parted, she couldn¡¯t do anything other than stare at her burning ship.

    Damir looked to Scotia. ¡°Scotia, we need to get out of here,¡± he said. He took a step closer to her. He was afraid to touch her. Surely she¡¯d never mean to hurt him, but¡ª

    ¡°I wish someone had told me,¡± came a voice from the end of the street. ¡°That I was in danger!¡±

    Scotia¡¯s head jolted to the side as her eyes focused on the less intense scenery of the end of the street. She began walking to the blurry figure. Blurry only because her eyes had started to water.

    Damir turned with wide eyes.

    ¡°Jamie?¡± Scotia gasped.

    Jamie took in short gulps of air as he stood at the end of the street. He gripped his pistol with both hands to keep them from noticeably trembling. His pants and jacket¡ªwhich were similar to Scotia¡¯s, were singed in places.

    ¡°Are you both ok?¡± he asked as his gaze focused on Scotia.

    Scotia ran to close the distance between her and Jamie before throwing her arms around him.

    Jamie embraced Scotia and the two of them kissed.

    ¡°How the hell are you alive?¡± asked Damir.

    Scotia pulled back from him and looked into his eyes. ¡°How did you survive?¡± she asked.

    Jamie sighed and looked over his shoulder. He was still wary about his surroundings. He¡¯d just been shot out of the sky after all. ¡°Persephone saved me,¡± he said. He glanced to Damir as the verean neared. ¡°I was sitting in the pilot seat, minding the scanners. Persephone had come out of the vents and was watching them with me. Well, I had us in a pre-programmed flight in a circle around where I dropped you both off. But I guess it didn¡¯t matter. The engine took a hit. The scanners didn¡¯t pick up anything. All I knew was that the engine was gone. So I tried to stabilize, but it was no use. Then there was another explosion on the ship...I think I might have blacked out.¡± Jamie reached up and scratched at his head. ¡°The next thing I know, I¡¯m down on the street, and Persephone is standing above me, slapping my cheek.¡±

    Damir and Scotia gave him a strange look.

    ¡°She said she wrapped around me to shield me from the flames. Then she broke through the hull and somehow managed to suspend herself between buildings, before dropping to the ground and softening my fall. I...of course, was unconscious, so I missed that bit of excitement. Then I saw the smoke, so I came running.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Persephone?¡± Scotia asked as she looked around.

    ¡°Jamie looked up to the rooftops of the nearby buildings. ¡°Covering us,¡± he said. ¡°She said I should make sure you¡¯re both safe and she¡¯d keep an eye for new threats.¡±

    Scotia released a sigh, and promptly embraced Jamie again. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her as well.

    Damir looked to the wreckage and then to the rooftops. ¡°Well, at least everyone survived, even...Persephone,¡± he said a bit reluctantly, but didn¡¯t think it appropriate to call her the gooey bitch after she did all that.

    Scotia withdrew from Jamie. She looked up and called. ¡°Persephone!¡±

    The wreckage of The Fang drowned out most other sounds around them. People started to pass by the street and look at the wreckage, along with the three mercenaries gathered there. But once their curiosity had been sated, they quickly fled the scene, not wanting to get caught up in whatever had happened.

    A purple liquid began to pour down the side of the closest building. It pooled on the ground, and when it had all collected, it took the shame of the humanoid form of Persephone. The claymore walked towards them. ¡°Everyone is safe?¡± she questioned with her aquatic voice.

    Scotia smiled at the claymore. ¡°Everyone¡¯s safe, thank you so much Persephone. I owe you a great debt,¡± she said.

    Persephone looked up at Scotia with a blank expression. It took her several long seconds before her lips formed a small smile. ¡°I¡¯m happy,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Yeah...good job, Persephone,¡± said Damir.

    Persephone¡¯s lips curled more when Damir complimented her actions as well.

    ¡°So what now?¡± asked Jamie. ¡°What happened to you two? Why was I shot out of the sky?¡±

    Scotia took pause as she mulled over their immediate situation. She took one last look at what was left of The Fang. ¡°There¡¯s only one place I think we¡¯ll be welcome right now and even she won¡¯t be too happy about it,¡± said Scotia. ¡°This way, we need to conceal ourselves as much as we can now.¡±

    Jamie frowned and sighed, as he didn¡¯t receive an answer. But he knew Scotia was right, obviously.

    Scotia led the four of them back the alley, taking side-streets as much as possible and avoiding the main ones. It was risky any way she looked at it. At least there was less surveillance on the back streets. Occasionally she took them into clubs and bars, only to find the rear exit and find themselves deposited on another street.

    Eventually they arrived within a small shop. The owner looked up as they entered. He was a bald older man of ursari origin. He took one glance at Scotia and groaned. He reached under the counter and pressed a button. A door off to the side of his shop, made an audible click.

    ¡°Nobody better be following you this time, Scotia,¡± the old ursari grumbled.

    Damir and Jamie looked around at the seemingly useless trinkets in the shop. Damir had given Persephone his jacket, so that she could at least try to conceal herself a bit. It had been one of Noree¡¯s requests to keep Persephone hidden as best they could, when they were out in public.

    ¡°No promises,¡± said Scotia. ¡°Thanks again,¡± she told the ursari as she went to the door with her comrades and opened it up. It led down into an underground passage.

    ¡°Tunnels?¡± Damir asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s the safest route to where we¡¯re going,¡± said Scotia. ¡°Zane said he wasn¡¯t worried about us, but...that might¡¯ve been a one time offer. I¡¯m sure we¡¯re all fair game now.¡±

    Jamie was the first one down into the passageway but stopped. ¡°Wait, what¡¯s Zane got to do with this?¡± Scotia went down and pushed Jamie along to keep him walking. Persephone was next and Damir waved to the old ursari, before closing the door behind them.

    Now that they were in the safety of the dimly lit underground, Scotia told Jamie everything she knew about what had just happened. Afterwards, Jamie was speechless until he had sorted everything in his head.

    ¡°So,¡± Jamie began. ¡°We¡¯re down our ship. Our only ship. We only have the weapons and ammo we¡¯re carrying. And now we have Zane¡¯s Pirates after us? All because we¡¯ve been taking jobs?¡±

    Damir had taken point while Scotia and Jamie talked. Persephone was now holding up the rear.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s because of all the things Noree¡¯s been having us do,¡± said Scotia. ¡°And I¡¯m starting to think I know what we might be up against...at least in part.¡±

    Jamie looked to Scotia. ¡°Do fill me in.¡±

    ¡°Everything Noree has us do, has been to aid her in her demon research,¡± said Scotia. ¡°She pays well, which keeps us working for her. And she¡¯s never double-crossed us. She¡¯s legit in my book.¡±

    ¡°So, why is Zane targeting us now, then?¡± asked Jamie.

    ¡°Scotia¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Because all this time, Zane¡¯s been working for someone. I didn¡¯t see it. I had no idea, in all the time I worked for him. But he must be working for a demon. Maybe he¡¯s possessed. I thought I would¡¯ve known if he was possessed, but I guess I don¡¯t know much of anything about him after all.¡±

    ¡°What was he saying about the Cearfoss clan?¡± asked Damir. ¡°What do they have to do with everything that¡¯s going on?¡±

    Scotia gestured to the side. ¡°Turn right here,¡± she said as the group diverted direction. ¡°Well, despite being verean, the Cearfoss clan has a lot of businesses. They¡¯re quite powerful.¡± She said this mostly for Jamie¡¯s benefit, as Damir was surely acquainted with the background of the Cearfoss clan, since he was a verean himself. ¡°Primarily, they research, manufacture, transport and sell weapons. They¡¯re in the business of war.¡±

    Damir remained focused on the tunnel. He hoped Scotia knew where they were going.

    Jamie kept looking to Scotia, trying to understand the entire picture.

    ¡°When I was with Zane¡¯s Pirates, we hit a lot of Cearfoss shipments and manufacturing centers. At the time, I thought they were targets of opportunity, but it seems as though Zane¡¯s just been following someone else''s directive. Someone who wants to harm the Cearfoss clan.¡±

    ¡°A demon?¡± asked Damir, as he glanced back to Scotia.

    ¡°It¡¯s likely,¡± she said. ¡°And since Zane thought it best to go ahead and try taking us out, it means things are escalating and he doesn¡¯t want us around anymore.¡±

    The group continued on through the passageways until Scotia directed them to a ladder.

    ¡°Everyone up,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s here?¡± asked Damir as he took hold of the rungs and made his way to the top. He pushed up against the solid stone hatch, but wasn¡¯t able to get leverage on it.

    Persephone slid up along the wall and congealed around the hatch. Damir withdrew his hand as the hatch slid smoothly out of the way. The lights from the streets broke down into the tunnel. Damir pulled himself onto the street and accessed the nav on his data-band while Scotia and Jamie climbed up.

    ¡°Uh, Scotia?¡± said Damir. ¡°I know that we¡¯ve done work for her and everything. She pays well and all. But why are we at Noree¡¯s place?¡±

    Scotia lifted out of the hatchway and looked over to the large lab, owned by the dryte scientist. ¡°We¡¯re here, because I¡¯m absolutely certain she won¡¯t sell us out. Not to mention, she¡¯s the reason we¡¯ve been targeted. So, we¡¯re going to see if almost getting ourselves killed by Zane, wins us any favors with her.¡±

    Jamie was the last to leave the tunnel. He glanced around their surroundings before looking to the lab. ¡°If she¡¯s the reason we were targeted, shouldn¡¯t we...not be here?¡± he asked.

    Scotia smirked and gave Jamie¡¯s shoulder a smack. ¡°Not afraid of a little danger, are you? I¡¯d think that surviving a crash would¡¯ve prepared you for anything.¡±

    Jamie managed a half smile as Scotia led them towards the lab.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just always wondered,¡± said Jamie. ¡°What exactly does Noree get out of this?¡±

    Scotia glanced back to him. ¡°What? Is it so suspicious that someone just wants to help others, with no ulterior motives?¡±

    ¡°You do realize which planet we¡¯re on, right?¡± said Damir with a laugh.

    Scotia shrugged. ¡°I trust her and that¡¯s all that matters,¡± she said. ¡°Not to mention, I¡¯m still your fearless captain, even if we lost our ship.¡±

    Damir kept a hand on his weapon as they headed down the street towards the lab¡¯s entrance. ¡°Speaking of ship, you know we don¡¯t have the credits to buy a new one. What are we going to do? Go out into the wilds and scrounge for salvage? I didn¡¯t think the Bloody Jaws would fall so far.¡±

    Scotia¡¯s eyes narrowed momentarily, but she took a deep breath to clear her mind. ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out. If we¡¯re lucky, Noree will have more work for us.¡±

    Jamie rolled his shoulders. He was still a bit sore from dropping out of a crashing ship¡ªeven if Persephone had protected him. ¡°Any work that¡¯d pay what we need, would be pretty dangerous I¡¯d imagine. Wonder if she has a ship lying around we could use?¡±

    ¡°Noree has no ship!¡± Persephone spoke up, from behind the three mercenaries.

    They all glanced back to her.

    Persephone kept step with them, a smile on her face.

    ¡°Well, there goes that idea,¡± Jamie sighed. ¡°Guess that means dangerous work.¡±

    Scotia tossed an arm around Jamie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°My poor mate,¡± she teased. ¡°I¡¯ll keep you safe from the mean demons.¡±

    Jamie rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not the demons I¡¯m worried about. It¡¯s your old boss,¡± he said as their group came to a stop in front of Noree¡¯s lab.

    Hopefully Noree was home.

 Chapter 7: Standing Against The Darkness

    Mira sat at a table in Noree¡¯s lab. She¡¯d rushed over after her encounter with Cursa. Of course, after speaking to Cursa, the transport system came back online immediately. She wondered what else Cursa had his hands in. If he was able to seize control of that system here on Malstyx, what else was he capable of?

    She stared at the vacant table. Her fingers rasped against its smooth surface. ¡°Damn him and his money,¡± she murmured.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Noree asked as she walked into the room from a side door.

    Mira looked up to the dryte woman, who was still dressed in the same white lab coat, along with the blue micro-petal skirt and top. Her dark-blue mossy hair flowed down to her shoulders. Mira wondered if the dryte changed their hair as often as other species.

    ¡°Nothing, just frustrated,¡± Mira said. ¡°An old acquaintance decided to pay me a visit earlier.¡±

    Noree held a glass, which looked to be full of water. She sipped at it occasionally as she listened. ¡°Anyone of importance?¡± she asked.

    Mira stopped her fingers from rasping. She took in a slow breath and relaxed back in her chair. ¡°Another phoenix, Cursa.¡± At first, Mira wondered if she should keep her identity as a phoenix a secret. But after Noree invited her into her home and also saw what had happened to Luca, Mira felt that Noree had to know what she was. The dryte woman was many things, but she certainly wasn¡¯t a fool.

    ¡°It was surprising enough to know that one phoenix had come to Malstyx, but now a second?¡± Noree questioned. She walked over and took a seat across from Mira. The table could easily seat a dozen.

    ¡°He says he¡¯s here to...pick up my slack,¡± said Mira. ¡°But I know he would¡¯ve never come here if I hadn¡¯t appeared here first.¡±

    Noree watched Mira with a blank expression. ¡°I thought the phoenixes were very close and always aware of each others activities?¡± Noree questioned. ¡°You seem to be implying that he¡¯s not here to help you.¡±

    Mira shook her head. ¡°We communicate with each other, frequently.¡± She leaned forward and rested her arms on the table, her hands clasped together. ¡°But we¡¯re not all close, we have our own priorities. We can differ on solutions to problems, along with what we perceive those problems to be. Cursa can get...overzealous.¡±

    ¡°But phoenixes work towards the good of the universe and ridding it of demons, correct?¡± Noree asked.

    Mira¡¯s eyes looked away, staring at a random piece of machinery in Noree¡¯s lab. ¡°That¡¯s our purpose. But you¡¯ve delved into the inner workings of demons and their machinations. Surely you know as well as I, that things aren¡¯t always black and white.¡±

    ¡°I do, but I was under the impression that phoenixes always had pure intentions towards everyone.¡±

    ¡°If only things were so simple,¡± said Mira, apparently unwilling to go further into detail on the topic.

    Noree lifted her arm and tapped her data-band. She selected a file on the display and sent it over to Mira.

    Mira¡¯s data-band buzzed and she tapped it, to bring up her own display and view the information sent to her. ¡°So this is it?¡± she asked. ¡°This is the location of the demon?¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± said Noree. ¡°I¡¯m calling him the source demon, as the trace amounts of blood, all seem to come from one demon. Effectively the source of the plight.¡±

    ¡°Him?¡± asked Mira.

    ¡°Well, I have no way of knowing the demon¡¯s gender, it just seems likely given my experience in studying demon properties.¡±

    Mira read it over before zooming in on a terrain-view of the local area.

    ¡°How did you find the location?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I have various associates in my employ,¡± said Noree. ¡°For protective measures, I never reveal names to anyone, unless they¡¯re here in person. But I¡¯ve utilized their abilities in the past and I know for certain that this information is accurate. The demon we¡¯re after, is there. But I don¡¯t know for how long. As you can see, that location is out in the wilds, outside the city. Seems to be an underground facility, as most tend to be when constructed in the wilds on this world.¡±

    Mira took note of the terrain. It was heavily forested. Much of Malstyx was covered in dense jungles. Those regions were largely referred to as ¡®the wilds¡¯ despite its technical and more accurate name of ¡®The Malstyx Jungle Region¡¯. Beyond the wilds, were large bodies of water.

    Noree hadn¡¯t provided any schematic detail on the underground portion of the facility. The above-ground structures seemed minimal. Probably to mask the compound¡¯s true intentions.

    ¡°How likely are civilians to be in there?¡± asked Mira. ¡°Would most the workers know what they¡¯re dealing with in there?¡±

    Noree shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s common to compartmentalize when doing research towards a specific goal. It¡¯s doubtful that the majority of the scientists know what¡¯s going on. If they did, it would just add to the number of liabilities. The more people who know that demonic research is ongoing there, the harder it is to keep a secret.¡±

    ¡°And who owns the facility?¡± asked Mira.

    ¡°There¡¯s no records on it,¡± said Noree. ¡°Here on Malstyx, only the facilities within the city limits require such information. The wilds are lawless. That¡¯s why it¡¯s likely the facility will be heavily guarded, to ward off intruders and mercenaries, as well as anyone wanting to sabotage the facilities.¡±

    Mira was only one person. How was she going to get in there alone? She could certainly burn out the entire facility, but how could she be sure that her target was dead? Not to mention the civilian casualties.

    ¡°How recent is the information you provided?¡± asked Mira. ¡°If the demon were to leave, how soon would we know about it?¡±

    Noree thought about it for a moment. ¡°I used the city¡¯s old sniffer system, which was put in place by the no-longer operational Anti Demon Taskforce. The system is a way for us to detect demon signatures, but only if we know what we¡¯re looking for, in a specific demon. For instance, if we have traces of the demon¡¯s blood. But I had my associates utilize micro drones to start searching the wild as well. That¡¯s when we narrowed it down to that facility. However, after making the analysis, we lost drones to an automated pulsing field, emanating from the surface of the facility. The first drone gave us a match on the signature before it was lost. But we sacrificed a second drone to ensure the match. My associates only have one drone left. And if you¡¯re not aware of such things, micro drones are incredibly rare and expensive.¡±

    Mira pushed her chair back and stood. ¡°Then i best get on my way.¡±

    Noree¡¯s eyes widened as Mira got up. It was the most emotion the dryte woman had displayed since Mira has seen her today. ¡°You can¡¯t go by yourself. I¡¯ve heard of other phoenixes utilizing combat forces. Mercenaries or military, even drones. You need help.¡±

    Mira tensed when Noree pointed this out to her. She looked away. ¡°Do you have some infantry or flyer drones hiding in a closet somewhere?¡± she asked with a half smirk.

    A chime emanated from Noree¡¯s data-band. She tapped the band and accepted the notification, which was from her lab¡¯s AI system.

    ¡°The Bloody Jaws plus Persephone, are here to see you, Noree,¡± said the AI.

    Noree turned her head to the entrance of the lab, even though the group hadn¡¯t entered the facility yet. ¡°Let them in!¡± she called, her lips curling into a smile as she rose from her seat. She headed towards the door, but looked back to Mira. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave just yet, I believe your backup has just arrived.¡±

    Mira blinked. ¡°My backup?¡± Her arms crossed under her chest as she watched Noree, unsure what was going on.

    From within the lab, Mira and Noree watched as a small group passed by the windows in the hall and headed towards the entrance. The lab doors slid open.

    ¡°Hey Noree, sorry to drop in like this,¡± said a sharva. ¡°We¡¯ve had a rough day. We lost The Fang. We don¡¯t know where else to go until we can straighten things out.¡±Stolen story; please report.

    Behind the sharva was a human, a verean, and a gelatinous purple figure.

    ¡°Is that a claymore?¡± Mira called out. Her eyes wide.

    Noree turned to Mira. ¡°Yes she is. Is that a problem?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just never seen one before. I¡¯ve never been near the claymore fields,¡± said Mira as she walked towards the new arrivals.

    ¡°Oh, introductions,¡± said Noree. She gestured to Mira. ¡°This is Mira,¡± she then gestured individually to the people on her right. ¡°And this is Scotia, Jamie, Damir, and Persephone.¡±

    Mira gave them a simple nod. ¡°Pleasure,¡± she said.

    Scotia stepped forward and tossed out her hand to shake Miras. Mira smiled and took her hand in greeting. ¡°The Bloody Jaws?¡± Mira questioned.

    Scotia smirked. ¡°That¡¯s us. We¡¯re a mercenary group. I¡¯m the captain...even if we¡¯re down a ship,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°Jamie here, is a pilot and gunslinger, Damir is a little bit of everything.¡±

    ¡°And I let Persephone join them for a while,¡± said Noree. ¡°She¡¯s a rogue claymore, who I¡¯ve taken under my care. She¡¯s also an excellent bodyguard.¡±

    ¡°She sure is,¡± Jamie confirmed.

    Noree looked to Scotia. ¡°Would you be up for accepting some work today?¡± she asked. ¡°I know you¡¯ve just lost your ship, but time is running out.¡±

    Mira looked to Noree, wanting to object that she didn¡¯t have the money to properly pay them, but decided to keep quiet at the last moment. She wasn¡¯t going to deny Noree¡¯s assistance. She needed it too much.

    Scotia placed her hands on her hips. ¡°Depends what it is,¡± she said. ¡°All we have is what¡¯s on us. How big a job are we talking?¡±

    Damir groaned.

    ¡°Shut up, Damir,¡± Scotia murmured.

    Noree sent the three of them, the same information she¡¯d given to Mira.

    ¡°It¡¯s a facility out in the wilds,¡± said Noree. ¡°There¡¯s a demon¡ª¡±

    ¡°More demons?¡± Damir blurted out as he shook his head and began to pace.

    Noree paused a moment until she knew Damir had nothing more to add. ¡°There¡¯s a demon which needs to be destroyed. A drug is being distributed on the streets, unlike all the others. It¡¯s tainted with demon blood. Users of this drug are turning into monsters. We need to put a stop to it, before it gets further out of control. Currently it seems as though the ursari are the most susceptible to transformation but that could change if the formula for the drug changes. We just don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°So this facility,¡± said Scotia. ¡°Heavily guarded? Probably one of the corporations?¡±

    ¡°Most likely on both accounts but we don¡¯t know who owns it,¡± said Noree.

    ¡°My money is on whoever Zane is working for, owns that facility,¡± said Damir. ¡°I doubt it¡¯s a coincidence that we find out about this drug on the streets and we get targeted the same day.¡±

    Noree and Mira looked to Damir.

    Damir noticed their quizzical expressions. ¡°Zane¡¯s Pirates,¡± he clarified. ¡°They¡¯re a raiding and mercenary group. They¡¯re the ones who took out our ship. Apparently Zane, their leader, was responsible for the deaths of many of our crew in the past year. We found out today that he might be working for a demon. At least, it seems likely.¡±

    ¡°How big is his group?¡± asked Mira. ¡°Should we expect them at the facility?¡±

    Damir shrugged and sighed. ¡°There¡¯s no way of knowing. There¡¯s hundreds of pirate and mercenary groups in orbit and on the ground here in Malstyx. There¡¯s a number of private ¡®security¡¯ firms as well, which is just a fancy and expensive word for mercenary. Not to mention, any of the private companies also have their own militaries. The only group we could truly rule out, would be the Malstyx Guard, and the Enforcer Bureau. The EB won¡¯t be out in the wilds, and the MG is usually protecting the gates in the system, except for the barracks and command center here in First City.¡±

    ¡°So Mira, are we escorting you? or is this a raid on the facility?¡± Scotia asked.

    Mira shook her head. ¡°I won¡¯t need protecting, in fact, the primary objective would be to kill the demon. Neutralizing the drug¡¯s production would be secondary.¡±

    Scotia lifted a brow and glanced Mira over. ¡°Do you have any weapons? Are you any good in a fight? or are you just going to point us in the right direction?¡±

    Mira smirked at the sharva. ¡°Noree, step back,¡± she said as she slowly lifted her arms. Mira waited several seconds for the dryte scientist to get some distance. In the blink of an eye, intense fire sheathed Mira¡¯s arms.

    Jamie flinched. Scotia¡¯s eyes went wide and Damir took a step back. Persephone leaned in further, her head stretching as she seemed curious about Mira and the sudden flames.

    ¡°Not so close, Persephone,¡± warned Noree.

    The comment caused Persephone to withdraw her head back to her body.

    ¡°You¡¯re a phoenix,¡± said Damir. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious? This is a joke, right? Damn. We¡¯re in over our heads today.¡±

    Mira extinguished the flames. ¡°I am, but physically I¡¯m just as vulnerable as any of you. I need to make sure the demon is destroyed. I fear that I need your help to do it.¡±

    ¡°Vulnerable my ass,¡± murmured Damir. ¡°You¡¯re a walking artillery.¡±

    Scotia glared at Damir. ¡°Stop being so rude,¡± she growled at him. ¡°We¡¯ve got a job lined up, just like we wanted. We¡¯ll never get a new ship without money.¡± She then directed her attention to Noree. ¡°You are paying us for this, right?¡±

    Noree nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you have what you need, to get a new ship,¡± she said. ¡°Do this for me and you¡¯ll have a ship better than The Fang was. I promise you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s saying a whole lot,¡± said Jamie. ¡°The Fang was a rundown, piece of¡ª¡±

    ¡°We accept the offer,¡± Scotia broke in, cutting Jamie off. ¡°But we¡¯re a bit low on supplies. We have two pistols and my revolver. We have ammo for all three, but very little otherwise. We¡¯ll need a way to breach the doors, as well as deal with the demon and some crowd control would be helpful. No telling how many guards they have in there.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of any doors, as well as any large groups,¡± said Scotia.

    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Scotia said with a laugh. ¡°Guess that helps even things out a bit.¡±

    Mira walked past the group. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to get my things. I¡¯ll be ready to leave in a few minutes.¡±

    Once the doors were closed, Noree looked to Scotia. ¡°I have something for you, but you mustn''t tell Mira about it.¡±

    Scotia gave Noree a strange look. ¡°What¡¯s the problem? Don¡¯t trust her?¡± asked Scotia.

    Noree walked over to a cabinet and withdrew a small container. She came back to Scotia and handed it to her. ¡°I trust her to an extent. What I¡¯m about to give you could be detrimental to her and her kind. I think you may need this in dealing with the demon. Even with Mira¡¯s help. We don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll encounter in there.¡±

    Scotia lifted a brow and opened the container. Jamie leaned over and peeked over her shoulder to see what was inside.

    ¡°Ammo for my revolver?¡± asked Scotia as she looked up to Noree. ¡°Why would this upset Mira?¡±

    Noree gestured to the little container. ¡°Those aren¡¯t normal rounds. The metal is infused with exotic particles, similar to what the gates use. The rounds should be able to cause dimensional feedback on impact.¡±

    Scotia nodded her understanding, but Noree could see Jamie¡¯s blank expression. ¡°These rounds will kill demons and they won¡¯t come back,¡± she said.

    Jamie blinked and looked back at the ammo. ¡°Wait, they can¡¯t regenerate back in our world if you shoot them with these?¡± he asked.

    Noree seemed unsure of Jamie¡¯s choice of words as she glanced away, but then nodded. ¡°Yes, in a manner of speaking.¡±

    ¡°Why is Scotia the only one who gets them?¡± asked Damir.

    ¡°Because her weapon will cause the most damage, with the least amount of the particles being used,¡± Noree stated.

    Scotia handed the ammo container to Jamie and withdrew her weapon. She clicked the cylinder from the revolver and began to load the multi-faceted cartridges. The revolver had six slots, but each cartridge was separated into three chambers. Each pull of the trigger would break off one of the rounds within the cylinder and then switch to the next full cartridge.

    ¡°Is this stuff rare or something?¡± asked Jamie as he held the container for Scotia and looked to Noree.

    ¡°Incredibly,¡± Noree replied.

    ¡°Oh, I get it now,¡± said Damir. ¡°You think this might even kill Mira, don¡¯t you?¡± The verean knew enough about the basics to connect the dots. ¡°Because as far as I know, just like the demons, phoenixes don¡¯t stay dead when they die.¡±

    Noree looked to the door and then to Damir. ¡°That¡¯s correct, please keep those rounds a secret. I¡¯m not sure how Mira might react if she learns of their existence.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll keep it quiet,¡± said Scotia. She closed the empty ammo container and took it from Jamie, to hand it back to Noree.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I wish I had more to give you,¡± said Noree, as she took the container. ¡°If I¡¯d have known the situation would have escalated as it has, I would¡¯ve been more prepared. I¡¯m sorry you lost The Fang. I can only imagine I¡¯ve put you in danger more than you¡¯d normally be in your line of work.¡±

    Scotia holstered her revolver and slapped her hand down on Jamie and Damir¡¯s shoulders. ¡°That¡¯s what we do, we take the dangerous jobs. We¡¯ve certainly hit some snags along the way,¡± she said as her hand rubbed Jamie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°But we¡¯ll manage as we always have. A few demons aren¡¯t going to put an end to the Bloody Jaws!¡±

    The doors to the lab slid open. Mira walked in with a pistol holstered to a belt on her hip. It was a standard firearm, much like the ones Jamie and Damir used.

    ¡°So why does a phoenix need a firearm anyway?¡± asked Damir.

    Mira smiled as she regarded the verean. ¡°Sometimes I need to be more subtle. And don¡¯t go telling everyone, but continual use of our abilities can wear on us over time. Being able to dispatch enemies with the pull of a trigger is far easier than turning them into a pile of ash, with far less collateral damage.¡±

    ¡°The right weapon, for the right job,¡± said Scotia.

    Mira nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Well then, if we¡¯re all ready,¡± said Scotia. ¡°Damir, hack a transport drone. I doubt we¡¯re going to make it anywhere close to that facility with the automated system.¡±

    The thought of using his data-band¡¯s holo display to pilot a transport made Damir groan.

 Chapter 7.1: Standing Against The Darkness

    The hijacked transport hovered over a meager clearing in the treeline. It descended foot by foot until the landing gear deployed from the base and the small vessel set down on the lush grass. The lights from the shuttle were the only sources of illumination this far from the city¡ªsave for the occasional patch of glowing mushrooms or vines.

    The side-hatch opened and Scotia was the first one out. Her eyes narrowed in the darkness. Her vision was less suited for the dark than that of a human. ¡°Damir, take point,¡± she ordered. She proceeded to tap her data-band on a particular spot, to trigger the light from it.

    Damir hopped out of the hatch with a holo-display still on his arm. ¡°And now I have to take point, great,¡± he murmured. He searched the area around the transport. His verean eyes were keen enough to not need light to see in the dark.

    Jamie departed the shuttle, right before Mira. The two of them triggered their own lights and stuck close to Scotia.

    ¡°Lead the way,¡± Scotia said to Mira. ¡°Damir will stay ahead of you and Jamie and I will watch your back. We still need you to break through their perimeter to get us inside at least.¡±

    Mira nodded and pulled up a display with the surrounding area. She withdrew her firearm for good measure and headed in the direction of the compound. This was it, she was closing in on her quarry. At least she didn¡¯t have to go in alone.

    ¡°Wish Persephone was able to join us,¡± said Jamie as they trudged through the thick wilds of Malstyx.

    ¡°Someone needs to protect Noree,¡± said Scotia. ¡°I hate to say it, but Persephone is probably worth two to three of us in a fight. She may not always know what to do on the offensive, but I¡¯m sure she knows Noree¡¯s lab in and out. I feel sorry for anyone that tries to go after Noree while Persephone is protecting her.¡±

    ¡°Hundred meters,¡± Mira broke in.

    Scotia gripped her pistol as she walked silently to the right of Mira. Jamie was on the opposite side and kept an eye on the jungle around them, as much as he could with such poor visibility. He couldn¡¯t even see Damir anymore.

    When the trio got closer to the compound, they saw Damir leaning against a tree. His red eyes were narrowed as he observed the dimly-lit compound, just twenty meters away.

    ¡°There¡¯s no guards,¡± said Damir. ¡°Based on the size of that box on the roof¡ªthe one with the blue antennae,¡± he clarified. ¡°I bet that¡¯s the EM pulser which affects anything directly above the base. We need to take it out if we want to be able to signal the drone to come pick us up. Else we¡¯re trudging through the jungle again.¡±

    Scotia glanced over the sparse compound. There was only one main structure, which must give access to a lift. There was a thick metal fortification surrounding it. Every meter of wall had a mechanical protrusion atop it. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to take out those turrets as well. They haven¡¯t spotted us yet, luckily,¡± said Scotia. ¡°Mira, we¡¯ll need you to fry all those turrets. Break through the gate, along with the entrance to the compound. And take out that antenna up top.¡±

    Mira nodded. ¡°When I start the siege, you might want to start running. If they haven¡¯t detected us yet, they¡¯re about to. I¡¯m assuming you can get the lift working despite a security lockout?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got that taken care of,¡± said Damir.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s begin,¡± said Mira as she took a slow breath and holstered her weapon to free her hands. She didn¡¯t exactly need the use of them, but it helped her focus. ¡°Count of five...four...three...two...one,¡± Mira lifted her arms, her palms faced the compound. It wasn¡¯t too important that night had fallen. The lack of visible sun would diminish Mira¡¯s capabilities for sure, but she wasn¡¯t trying to cast armageddon. She merely needed to wreck this facility. She had more than enough power to do that.

    In the span of a moment, heat built up around Mira¡¯s fingers and arms. Her companions were already giving her some distance at the treeline, when flames engulfed Mira¡¯s arms. Mira¡¯s eyes narrowed and streaks of fire shot from her palms. One by one, the turrets on the fortifications around the complex were hit. Sparks flew from the damaged weapons as circuits were fried and fused. Several exploded when their internal ammo cache was ignited.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    From the corner of her eyes, Mira saw the Bloody Jaws dashing towards the facility. She¡¯d taken out all the turrets she could see from this angle. She focused her will and projected a beam of intense heat towards the gate. The effort was far more draining than sealing a little hole in the ground. She had to burn out a big-enough chunk of the gate to allow her companions through.

    Just as Damir reached the gate, Mira cut off the flames and a hole in the barricade could be seen. Damir headed through, followed by Scotia and Jamie.

    There was a short distance between the gate and the facility. Mira acted swiftly to send another beam of fire, straight for the front door. It took several seconds of concentrated force, but the door gave way and melted through, even at the distance Mira was projecting her flames from. She¡¯d cleared the way for their entrance. Now she had to prepare for their retreat.

    With the breach in the perimeter gate and the hole in the complex¡¯s front door, Mira focused her attention on the EM pulser on the roof. A jet of fire streaked out from her hand and impacted the box containing the electronics of the device. It burst in a brilliant display of red and blue.

    Mira started to run along the treeline. She needed sight on the remaining turrets. If she left them standing, they¡¯d get a lock on their transport drone when they try and leave. As she ran, she realized she was more fatigued that she thought she¡¯d be. Casting such powerful flames was like flexing muscles which had gone unused for too long. Her resurrection and the lack of use of her powers, combined with the lack of direct sunlight, was placing her at a disadvantage.

    She stopped running when she¡¯d circled halfway around the complex. Her hands were trembling, but she lifted them anyway. With a dozen more streaks of fire, she made short work of the remaining weapon placements. Her arms lowered and she took in a deep breath, trying to calm her stressed body. The air was drenched with the scent of burning metal. The Bloody Jaws would already be inside the compound, waiting for her. She had to hurry.

    When Mira came around the side, she saw Scotia waiting by the burnt hole she¡¯d made in the complex. Mira forced herself to run faster, knowing she was endangering them by every second she delayed.

    It wasn¡¯t until she¡¯d passed through the fortified gate, that she heard a low thrum in the night sky above. Mira stopped in the large open yard between the gate and the complex. She looked into the dark sky and saw the lights of a transport. Had the complex¡¯s security gotten reinforcements so soon? It¡¯d been only five minutes since their attack.

    Mira kept an eye on the ship as its hatch opened. She tapped her data-band and sent a comm to Scotia. ¡°Go on ahead, I¡¯ll deal with this!¡±

    ¡°Careful, you¡¯re vulnerable out here!¡± Scotia called back.¡±We can assist you if¡ªwhat the hell?¡±

    A figure fell from the sky, gliding on wings of fire.

    Mira¡¯s eyes widened and her lower lip quivered. How...how was he here? Why was he here?

    Cursa had arrived.

    ¡°Go on without me, I¡¯ll join you as soon as I can,¡± said Mira. ¡°This is something I have to deal with.¡±

    Another growl resounded over the comm before it cut off. Scotia turned and headed into the complex, out of sight.

    Mira¡¯s hands clenched into fists as she strode towards Cursa. The man brushed the back of his hand along the front of his suit as his gaze came to Mira.

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing here, Mira?¡± he called to her as she neared him.

    ¡°Hunting demons, what¡¯re you doing here?¡± she questioned in return.

    Cursa narrowed his eyes at her as he helped close the distance between them. His fiery wings extinguished, as he no longer needed them. ¡°And why didn¡¯t you seek my help?¡± he asked. ¡°You kept me in the dark, Mira. I traced a hijacked transport out here, only to discover you at this facility.¡±

    Mira gave him a confused look. ¡°I¡¯m trying to stay under the radar while I hunt this demon!¡± she claimed. ¡°Why are you hindering me? We want the same thing!¡± She couldn¡¯t fathom why Cursa stood in her way, or why he was here, of all places.

    Cursa stood before Mira and pointed at her chest. ¡°Don¡¯t play me for a fool!¡± he yelled. ¡°I can practically smell the scent of a demon on you! Where is it? Is it bound to you? Tell me!¡±

    Mira glared at the other phoenix. ¡°No,¡± was her only response.

    Cursa eased in closer. ¡°You¡¯re just as corrupt as everything else on this planet. I know your secrets. I know you¡¯re trying to protect her. Your lack of cooperation and your constant subterfuge convey your guilt. You deserve to burn along with this entire world.¡± Cursa¡¯s head tilted back, but stopped when the cold metal of Mira¡¯s gun pressed beneath his chin. His eyes widened. Mira watched the light fade from them as she pulled the trigger and painted the sky red.

 Chapter 8: Point of No Return

    Scotia turned from the burnt doorway when Mira told her to go on. She ran down the hall until she met up with Jamie and Damir. Damir was still hacking into the facility''s systems. ¡°Damn that phoenix,¡± Scotia murmured. ¡°We need her in here.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Something going on outside?¡± asked Jamie.

    ¡°I think another phoenix just showed up,¡± said Scotia.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing,¡± said Damir. ¡°Another phoenix would be here to help us, right? Probably one of Mira¡¯s kin?¡±

    Scotia shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. The tone in Mira¡¯s voice...I don¡¯t think he was a friend.¡±

    Damir glanced back to Scotia and then to the lift, as the doors opened. ¡°Well the lift is here. I have it set to return and work for all users, so it¡¯ll be available to Mira as long as there¡¯s power. But we can¡¯t stall here.¡±

    Scotia nodded and entered the lift, her weapon ready. Jamie and Damir joined her. The lift was sizeable, allowing for a decent amount of freight to come down into the facility. From what Scotia could tell, the facility only utilized the one lift. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for a compound to be constructed with minimal effort to save both money and time.

    Jamie slowly took in a deep breath. He did his best to mentally prepare himself for the fight to come. Scotia reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

    ¡°Sorry that our night had to be delayed,¡± she said to Jamie. ¡°Let¡¯s make quick work of this job and find ourselves a nice place to lay low for a couple days.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sounds good,¡± Damir spoke up, before Jamie could even comment.

    Scotia glared at him. ¡°You¡¯re not invited to our private time!¡±

    Damir chuckled to himself.

    Jamie squeezed Scotia¡¯s hand. ¡°Try not to do anything reckless down there,¡± he said.

    Scotia¡¯s lips parted in a fanged grin. ¡°Aww, but I like to show off for you,¡± she said as she pulled away.

    ¡°Ten seconds,¡± said Damir. He gripped his pistol and moved beside Jamie, at the left side of the doorway, while Scotia took cover on the right. ¡°Three,¡± he said as the lift noticeably slowed. Damir mouthed the last few numbers and the lift opened up.

    The group steeled themselves for the volley of fire which was sure to engulf the lift.

    But the only sound, was the dull hum of the lift.

    Jamie swallowed and looked to Scotia, as they remained hidden within the lift. He then began to mouth, three, two, one. Scotia and Jamie brought their weapons up and aimed down the hallway, their fingers tense on the triggers. But instead of a hallway full of armed guards, there were only dull white walls with interspersed minimalistic lighting.

    Damir stepped aside and looked down the hall. ¡°That¡¯s weird,¡± he whispered. ¡°They have to know we¡¯re here.¡±

    Damir took point and walked quietly down the hall. There was a junction up ahead which led left and right. But the far wall held a set of blue double doors. His boots were nearly silent on the floor. His red eyes kept a vigilant watch on the end of the hall, with weapon raised.

    Scotia and Jamie were in step behind him, on either side of the hall.

    ¡°I smell blood,¡± said Scotia.

    Damir was the first to reach the end of the passageway, and quickly checked both sides. ¡°I smell it now too,¡± he said. There was a white door to the left, and a glossy black door to the right. ¡°Those doors might lead to more rooms or even other halls.¡±

    Scotia glanced down both side-halls, before nearing the blue double-doors before them.

    Jamie kept an eye on one of the halls, then looked to Scotia and the blue doors. ¡°Is it coming from in there?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Sure is,¡± Scotia murmured. She saw a handle on each door and wrapped her fingers around one of them. ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± she whispered. She looked to Jamie. ¡°I¡¯ll open, you and Damir rush inside.¡±

    Jamie nodded and moved into position. Damir waited beside him. Scotia held her revolver up, and extended three fingers. One by one she closed those fingers around the revolver¡¯s grip. The last finger curled and her countdown ended. She gripped the door tightly and pulled it open. Jamie rushed in first with Damir on his heels.

    A scream pierced the air. Then a loud snap, like the cracking of bone from a joint.

    Jamie stopped several feet into the large room. Blood was spattered on tables and desks. Chairs were strewn around. Glass fragments littered the floor.

    Another crack, followed by a shrill scream.

    Jamie looked around the room. It was huge. There were machines the size of transports as well as conveyor belts and crates. He trained his gun in the direction of the last scream which came from a separate direction than the first.

    Damir was by his side, looking for targets, but there was no visible movement. The lighting was bright, even if some of the lights had been busted in several of the areas around the room.

    ¡°The smell is definitely coming from in here. Tt smells like more than what¡¯s on the walls,¡± Scotia whispered from behind them.

    ¡°Fan out?¡± asked Jamie.

    ¡°No, stick together,¡± she ordered. ¡°Where are all the scientists? Did someone get here before us? Mira didn¡¯t say anything about¡ª¡±

    A dark object flew from behind one of the desks to the right. They each aimed at it, prepared to fire. But when it landed several feet in front of Jamie, it did so with a wet thud. Blood pooled from the base of the discarded torn-off leg.

    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± came a low guttural voice. A figure rose up from behind the table the appendage had come from. It was a human man, but his eyes were dark pits and his black hair a matted mess. His mouth was dark crimson with streaks of red running down his neck. The red lines soaked into an orange prison uniform jumper. ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll share!¡± he cackled.

    ¡°Why bother feeding the new meat?¡± came another voice from the far left. Another figure rose from behind a table with a streak of red liquid across it. ¡°They won¡¯t have time to fatten before we can eat them!¡±

    Jamie aimed at the first figure. His eyes were wide.

    ¡°I think they¡¯re possessed,¡± said Damir. ¡°I think they¡¯re gluttons. Are these the demons we¡¯re after?¡±

    Scotia came forward between her subordinates as more figures rose up from behind crates and machines, hidden in the shadows.

    ¡°Mira said there¡¯d only be one!¡± she trained her revolver on the nearest gore-drenched figure.

    ¡°Mira!¡± One of them screamed.

    ¡°Mira sent them!¡± yelled another.

    ¡°We will feast on the phoenix¡¯s servants!¡± came a bellowing roar from a massive ursari, dressed in the same prison garb.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    A shot barked from Scotia¡¯s revolver, tearing the demonic-ursari¡¯s head clean off. The miniature explosion glowed a brilliant blue before dissipating in an instant.

    A multitude of shrieks rang out from the gaping maws of the others.

    ¡°Kill them all!¡± Scotia ordered.

    Jamie and Damir began firing at the closest of them. The demons were now moving with a sense of urgency as their kin were dying around them.

    Jamie¡¯s heart raced as he backed up to the door. His eyes were narrowed slits as he focused on bringing the closest ones down first. He aimed for their heads, but even when missing pieces of their skull and brain, the demonic prisoners kept coming towards them.

    ¡°Jamie!¡± called Damir. ¡°Slow them down! Let Scotia finish them!¡±

    Jamie remembered what Noree had said about the ammunition she gave to Scotia. He began to aim at knees and feet, as the demons revealed themselves. Scotia¡¯s revolver continued to bark as her weapon tore holes through the demon¡¯s faces and chests. She found that a single blow to the chest would stop them in their tracks. Her past experience with demons, had never gone so smoothly.

    ¡°Reloading!¡± called Jamie.

    ¡°Damnit,¡± Damir murmured as he picked up Jamie¡¯s slack.

    Scotia stepped closer to cover Jamie. She wouldn¡¯t let any of them through.

    ¡°I¡¯m good!¡± Jamie called as he continued tearing out the demon¡¯s knees with well-placed shots.

    Scotia aimed at the last prisoner which Jamie had just felled. She took careful aim at the center of the man¡¯s chest and pulled the trigger. A quick burst of blue light, put an end to the demon¡¯s existence, permanently.

    Jamie breathed heavily as he scanned the room for threats. Damir was doing the same but his eyes were more suited for the darkness. Scotia was encompassed by the smell of blood, from dozens of sources. She checked her revolver. She had one cartridge left which meant three shots. She pulled normal cartridges from her belt, and began loading them into the open cylinders.

    Damir unloaded his pistol and slotted in a new magazine as he carefully branched out and began checking behind crates and desks for demonic survivors.

    Jamie¡¯s back pressed against the wall beside the doors they¡¯d come through. His heart was racing. He couldn¡¯t help but smile as he looked to Scotia. They¡¯d made quick work of the demons.

    ¡°How many of the special shots do you have left?¡± he called to her.

    ¡°Three, but I have plenty of the regular ones,¡± she answered as she turned.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t we just supposed to¡ª¡± his words cut out.

    Just as Scotia was looking back to Jamie, a black hand tore through Jamie¡¯s chest from the other side of the wall.

    Scotia¡¯s eyes went wide as her heart skipped a beat. ¡°Jamie!¡± she screamed as the black fist pulled back to the other side of the wall. Jamie¡¯s eyes went blank as his body slumped to the floor.

    Scotia couldn¡¯t think. She dashed towards Jamie¡¯s limp body.

    The doors to the room crashed inwards as they were torn from the frame. Scotia came to an abrupt halt as a new threat revealed itself. A creature lowered its torso and pulled into the room. It was easily twice the size of the large ursari she¡¯d killed minutes before. The creature had sleek black skin which seemed almost chitinous. A pair of gray horns protruded from its skull. Its mouth was full of fangs five times the size of her own.

    She knew at once, that this abomination had to be a demon. Its tail lashed against the stone wall and broke fragments from it. Scotia couldn¡¯t even see its eyes, but the creature¡¯s head turned from side to side.

    ¡°They¡¯re all dead?¡± he growled.

    Scotia brought her revolver to bear. She didn¡¯t care what this creature was, she would make it pay! She pulled the trigger repeatedly on her firearm.

    The demon was quicker than it appeared. Its arm swooped down and pulled the unhinged door into the air. The impacts of her explosive rounds blew holes in the door. But after three blue explosions, the color turned to orange as she expelled the last of the special munitions.

    Damir saw an opening and loosed a volley of fire from the other side of the room. His bullets smacked useless against the demon¡¯s hard skin.

    With a sinister laugh, the demon tore the door in half and threw part of it at Damir. The verean wasn¡¯t expecting a ranged attack from the beast. He threw himself to the side, but the sharp metal edge of the door caught his arm. Blood gushed as Damir screamed and fell out of sight of Scotia. All Scotia could hear was his groans as the demon focused and hurled the other half of the door at her.

    Unlike Damir, she¡¯d had a brief chance to stop firing and managed to dodge behind a desk. In the blink of an eye, the door flew by where she¡¯d just been standing. She quickly righted herself and pulled off a single shot. The explosion was nearly point-blank as the monstrous demon had closed the distance on her in the span of seconds. She didn¡¯t even have time to tell if she¡¯d wounded the demon at all, before he ripped the table from between them and sent it flying across the room. The corner of the table swept past and caught her revolver, knocking it from her hands.

    She stood there, staring up at the monster. This close, she could finally see its pitch-black eyes as they gazed down at her. It¡¯s maw curled in what she could only imagine to be a smirk.

    ¡°Do you think you can kill me so easily? Like you did these inferior creatures around you? I¡¯m Dumora The Thresher!¡± He bellowed above her. ¡°And now it¡¯s time for me to remember what sharva meat tastes like! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep you alive, so that you know just how much I enjoy eating your kind.¡±

    A beam of pure fire engulfed the thresher¡¯s head. Scotia winced and brought her arm up to shield her eyes from the intense light. When the light dissipated, she scrambled back as the demon collapsed towards her. She looked past the headless demon and saw Mira at the door, with her arms outstretched.

    Mira smiled when she saw that Scotia wasn¡¯t hurt. Her arms lowered. ¡°Seems I have a thing for blowing off people¡¯s¡ª¡±

    Something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. She looked to her left, and saw Jamie laying on the floor. She was...too late?

    She looked to Scotia. ¡°Where¡¯s Damir?¡±

    A groan emanated from behind a table and Mira looked around, before running towards the sound. Mira found the wounded verean laying on the floor. His arm was severed from his shoulder and he was bleeding out.

    Mira knelt by him. ¡°Can you hear me?¡± she asked as she tried to see if he had any other injuries.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said through gritted teeth. ¡°How¡¯s Scotia?¡± his eyes weren¡¯t even open. All he could do was wince from the pain.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± said Mira. ¡°I¡¯m going to stop the bleeding. It¡¯s going to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Do it!¡± he yelled.

    Mira¡¯s eyes narrowed with focus. She placed her palm against his bleeding shoulder. She caused an instant flash of heat at her palm. Damir yelled out again in pain as she cauterized the wound. The sudden smell of burnt flesh reached Mira¡¯s nose and the memories of Luca poured into her mind. Of how she killed her friend, of his burning flesh and how she couldn¡¯t save him.

    Mira didn¡¯t realize how much time had passed until a hand closed against her shoulder. The phoenix looked up and saw Scotia¡¯s stern face. The contact had pulled Mira from those terrible memories. She looked back down to Damir. He was unconscious, but breathing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t break on me now,¡± said Scotia in a low voice. She squeezed Mira¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Can you carry him out?¡±

    Mira nodded and pulled Damir up and hoisted him over her shoulder. She wasn¡¯t incredibly strong, but verean¡¯s were lighter than humans. She stood and finally took account of the room. There were corpses everywhere.

    ¡°You killed that demon, Dumora, he was our target?¡± asked Scotia as she headed towards Jamie.

    Mira looked to her, but couldn¡¯t see the woman¡¯s face. ¡°If that was Dumora, then we¡¯re done here. This seems to have been their lab and without the thresher, they can¡¯t make more of the drug.¡± Mira scanned the lab. There were headless bodies in prisoner garb, alongside chewed-on remains of scientists and other lab workers. But...what happened in here? She wondered. She looked to Scotia, about to ask. But her words never left her lips as she watched the sharva approach her fallen comrade.

    Scotia knelt beside Jamie. She took one glance to his chest and never looked at it again. Her gaze found his face. She reached up and closed his eyes for the last time. The backs of her fingers brushed his soft and still-warm cheek.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she whispered. ¡°I couldn¡¯t protect you. I was foolish for thinking I could. I never deserved to be your Captain. I never deserved you. Thank you,¡± she took in a slow breath. ¡°Goodbye, my love.¡±

    Scotia reached up and made the required selections to detach and remove Jamie¡¯s data-band. She brought it to her wrist and connected it beside her own. She closed her eyes and stood. She turned to the door and walked through it. She wanted her last view of Jamie to be as pristine as it could be. Her eyes opened and she turned her head slightly to regard Mira. ¡°I won¡¯t leave his body here to be used for some infernal purpose. Please...can you send him on his way?¡±

    Mira stood within the lab and nodded at Scotia¡¯s request. With her left arm, she held the verean, and with her right, she extended it towards Jamie. She looked to the young man briefly. He gave his life for her mission. Scotia, Damir, Jamie. They all owed her nothing and now she was incredibly in their debt. One of which, she could never repay.

    Flames erupted from her palm and engulfed Jamie¡¯s form. It took only seconds, before nothing remained but ash. Mira swiped her arm around and cast flames across the floor and over the tables. The flames enveloped the slain demons and facility workers, as well as the carcass of the thresher. Once the entire room was bathed in flame, she headed towards the door to join Scotia in the hall.

    Scotia stood in the hall, waiting for Mira. She glanced down the hall and looked to the white door on the left, then turned her head and looked to the white door on the right.

    Mira passed her. ¡°We¡¯re done here, let¡¯s get out before reinforcements arrive,¡± she said as she headed down the long hall to the lift.

    Scotia nodded and fell into step beside her.

 Chapter 8.1: Point of No Return

    Jonas sat in the captain¡¯s chair of the Grimwold. His data-band buzzed and he tapped it.

    ¡°Hey captain, the repairs are complete. My brother headed back to the lament a few minutes ago,¡± said the mechanic.

    ¡°Thanks Toby. Our watch is over,¡± said Jonas. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading back to the station soon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure and get an early start tomorrow and make sure everything is running with all the replacements,¡± said Toby.

    ¡°Sounds good, Jonas out,¡± he said as he ended the comm. It wasn¡¯t more than ten seconds later, that another notification caused his band to vibrate. Jonas groaned and tapped it again. This time, Lyra¡¯s face appeared on the display before him.

    ¡°Well don¡¯t you have a foul look?¡± she accused.

    Jonas lifted a brow and grinned. ¡°Sorry, long day.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t I know it,¡± she said as she leaned back in her seat. ¡°James just got back to the ship and our replacements are enroute from the station. Ready to get back?¡± she asked.

    Jonas briefly pictured the two cruisers which would take over their watch at the gate. ¡°Absolutely. I¡¯ll see you at the station then?¡±

    Lyra made an extra effort to shrug. ¡°Maybe, we¡¯ll see if we bump into each other,¡± she teased, before ending the comm.

    Jonas was left with a wide grin on his face, when he looked over and noticed Harriett looking at him. ¡°What?¡± he asked.

    Harriet shook her head and looked back to her terminal. ¡°Nothing, captain.¡±

    His eyes narrowed at her suspiciously. ¡°Route us back to the station, I want to put an end to this day. It¡¯s been¡ª¡± his data-band buzzed again.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna throw this thing out the damn airlock,¡± he grumbled as he tapped it again.

    The display initialized and a face he hadn¡¯t seen in a long time appeared.

    ¡°Hey Jonas, been a while,¡± said the black-haired human.

    ¡°Marcus? The hell do you want?¡±

    Marcus¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°So it¡¯s gonna be like that between us?¡± he said. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you hated me so much.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not so much as hate, as it is...annoyance,¡± he said. ¡°Now what do you want? We¡¯re not friends, and you never call me unless you want something. So what is it this time?¡±

    Marcus shook his head. ¡°Fine then, let¡¯s cut right to it. I need your ship, Jonas.¡± A moment later, a notification appeared on Jonas¡¯s display. ¡°There¡¯s a vessel heading towards Malstyx. It¡¯s most likely a pirate vessel working for one of the corporations. It¡¯s going to level a facility in the wilds on Malstyx. We can¡¯t warn our associates inside. You have to intercept it and disable it, or at least buy us time for our associates to get out of there.¡±

    ¡°Why would I bother with this?¡± asked Jonas. ¡°You realize the ADA is gone, right? You have no rank. You have no authority to command me. What do I care if the corporations are levelling each other¡¯s facilities? I have enough problems with real threats to Malstyx.¡±

    Marcus ran a hand up through his hair and narrowed his eyes at the comm. ¡°Well, let¡¯s see if this changes your mind at all. I don¡¯t know who this person is, but maybe you do?¡± said Marcus. An image appeared on Jonas¡¯s screen. The image of a woman.

    Marcus spoke up again ¡°I¡¯ve never met her before, but I¡¯m told she¡¯s currently in that facility. The one that¡¯s about to be leveled by that ship.¡±

    Jonas¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the image of the woman. The crimson hair. The blue eyes. He knew damn-well who it was.

    Marcus cleared his throat. ¡°Now, if you have any¡ª¡±

    ¡°Cut it, Marcus!¡± Jonas bellowed. His head turned to Harriet. ¡°Harriet, can we engage this pirate vessel before it reaches the designated coordinates?¡± Jonas asked as he forwarded the vessel¡¯s location to her.

    Harriet¡¯s fingers moved swiftly over her terminal. ¡°Certainly, we can intercept it. But...captain, it¡¯s a vampiric battlecruiser. It outclasses us.¡±

    Jonas looked back to his display and at the information of the ship. ¡°Damnit,¡± he murmured.

    ¡°Old or new?¡± asked Alexa.

    Jonas glanced back to his weapons tech.

    Harriet glanced over the specs on the vessel. ¡°Mmm, looks like it¡¯s one of the verean¡¯s newer models,¡± said Harriet.

    Alexa laughed. ¡°Good! Our chances of survival increase! Their new ships are always half a class lower than what they appear. So pretend it¡¯s a cruiser-plus, instead of a battlecruiser.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll do it, Jonas?¡± asked Marcus, who was still on the comm.

    Jonas looked to Marcus with a stern face. ¡°That ship is no longer your concern, Marcus. I¡¯ll see this done.¡±

    Marcus nodded, ¡°Thank you, captain,¡± he said, just before cutting the transmission.

    ¡°Setting intercept course for the pirate vessel,¡± said Harriet. ¡°It¡¯s not emitting a signature, so I can¡¯t discern its name.¡±

    ¡°Disengage our MG signature, set us to freelancer. I won¡¯t give command a reason to decommission us from the guard.¡±

    ¡°Yes captain,¡± said Harriet as her fingers moved across the terminal.

    Another notification appeared on Jonas¡¯s display. He tapped it immediately.

    Lyra¡¯s face appeared, her eyes narrowed. ¡°Where are you heading off to?¡± she asked.

    Jonas took in a deep breath. ¡°Just a patrol, a little sight-seeing,¡± he said.

    ¡°Then why¡¯d you disengage your signature? What are you up to?¡± Lyra asked pointedly.

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t want anyone thinking I was still on the clock, is all,¡± he said.

    Lyra shook her head. ¡°Fine then. Be that way.¡± She cleared her throat. ¡°Harriet! The hell is Jonas up to?¡± she yelled through his comm. ¡°Answer me!¡±

    Harriet noticeably tensed in her chair as she looked up to Jonas. ¡°Don¡¯t put me between your lover¡¯s quarrel!¡± she said.

    Lyra grumbled. ¡°Alexa!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to go hunt a pirate vessel for a friend of the captain¡¯s. Wanna come? I¡¯ll send you the coordinates,¡± said Jonas¡¯s weapons officer.

    Jonas turned his head ¡°Damnit Alexa! I didn¡¯t want to involve her with this!¡±

    Alexa shrugged. ¡°But Lyra would be upset if you went and got killed. Honestly, I¡¯m just thinking about her, captain.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Alexa!¡± said Lyra with a big grin. ¡°Send me those coordinates.¡±

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am!¡± said Alexa.

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be my crew,¡± Jonas grunted. He then looked to Lyra.

    ¡°I¡¯ve gone ahead and set the Saturn¡¯s Lament to freelance,¡± she said. ¡°Ready to back you up. So, why are we about to intercept a¡­¡± Lyra¡¯s words trailed off as she looked down at the specs for the ship they were after. ¡°A battlecruiser? Explain! This isn¡¯t some frigate, it¡¯s not even a cruiser!¡±

    ¡°I like to think of it as only a cruiser-plus,¡± Alexa murmured under her breath.

    Jonas brought a hand to his forehead and rubbed his temples.

    ¡°I¡¯m repaying a debt,¡± he said. His hand lowered and he looked to Lyra. ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to involve you. It doesn¡¯t matter what that ship is. It¡¯s on its way to Malstyx and I can¡¯t let it get into weapons range. I don¡¯t care if it was a damned dreadnaught. I would still do everything I could to slow it down. That¡¯s all we need to do. Just buy as much time as we can.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    Lyra¡¯s featured softened slightly. ¡°We all have debt, Jonas. Don¡¯t for a moment think you¡¯re the only one who owes someone something.¡± She shook her head. ¡°How¡¯re your weapons looking?¡±

    Jonas tapped at his display to check on his ship¡¯s active capabilities, but Alexa spoke up on his behalf. ¡°We have two active missile ports, and four medium projectile turrets. Regular countermeasures are still down since our scuffle earlier. Small turrets are assigned to short-range defense.¡±

    Jonas listened as a heavy thrum sounded within the Grimwold as its engines took it blazing towards an intercept course for the verean vessel. The Saturn¡¯s Lament was following a short distance behind.

    ¡°So we doing this standard style, partner?¡± asked Lyra.

    Jonas lifted a brow. ¡°I don¡¯t recall us ever taking down a battlecruiser together.¡±

    Lyra laughed. ¡°Just pretend it¡¯s a big fragile cruiser. You tank it, while I keep my distance from its weapons and annihilate it from afar. Simple.¡±

    Jonas grinned at Lyra¡¯s optimism. They didn¡¯t even know what capabilities the verean ship had. But their standard maneuver involved him soaking up whatever munitions the enemy might throw, and becoming the primary target, while Lyra kept her distance and deployed missiles and other long-range armaments.

    ¡°Oh, by the way,¡± said Lyra. ¡°I fired the last of my munitions for the rails, when I saved your ass earlier. All I have is missiles and¡­¡± Lyra looked down at her terminal and tapped at it several times. ¡°I¡¯ve got thirty missiles left. So, I hope your weapons cache is looking better than mine.¡±

    Jonas rubbed at his stubbled chin. ¡°We¡¯ll make do, Lyra.¡±

    ¡°Well we¡¯ve managed this far, Nothing¡¯s changing for us now.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t long until they were nearing the verean vessel.

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m not reading any weapons ports on the scans,¡± said Harriet. ¡°Should we hail them?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why a good pirate keeps their weapon ports sealed until they¡¯re ready to strike,¡± said Alexa.

    Jonas sat in his chair with narrowed eyes on his display. He watched the verean ship on one section, while Lyra¡¯s face remained off to the side as he kept an open channel with her.

    ¡°Hail them, tell them they¡¯re in violation of...¡± Jonas¡¯s brow furrowed.

    ¡°Smuggling enemies of the state?¡± Lyra commented.

    ¡°Perfect,¡± said Jonas. ¡°Accuse them of that. Tell them to cut their engines and prepare for boarding procedures.¡±

    ¡°Opening a channel now, captain,¡± said Harriet. ¡°They¡¯re not respon¡ª¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re firing!¡± shouted Alexa. Moments later a series of loud cracks sounded against the outside of the hull and reverberated throughout the ship. ¡°They¡¯ve deployed four railguns! No signs of other weapon ports.¡±

    Jonas quickly zoomed into the image on the pirate vessel. They had very limited knowledge of the ship they were dealing with, other than its size. But now they knew it had long-range capabilities and accuracy.

    ¡°Harriet, get us closer but keep us between it and the lament. Alexa, prioritize engines, then the turrets. Return fire!¡±

    The guns of the Grimwold sent micro vibrations throughout the ship as two of its turrets blazed away. Projectiles, the size of Jonas¡¯s head, were being thrown across the distance of space in rapid succession.

    ¡°Careful on our ammo supply, Alexa,¡± Jonas warned.

    ¡°Aye!¡± Alexa called back as she focused on narrowing down the targeting parameters for the turrets, so that they would only fire when their tracking provided a ninety-percent chance or higher of landing a hit.

    ¡°Jonas I have a lock. Firing tubes one through ten,¡± said Lyra. ¡°They keep throwing out some sort of interference, are you getting any of that?¡±

    Another series of harsh cracks impacted the hull of the Grimwold as it was hit by railgun projectiles.

    Jonas centered his attention on the display as the fire from his ship reached the pirate vessel. Only about thirty percent of his firepower was landing hits on the enemy ship.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting it too!¡± called Alexa. ¡°It¡¯s screwing with our trajectories. Their ship¡¯s evading, but that interference is keeping us from landing most of our hits.¡±

    Jonas watched as the ten interspersed missiles from Lyra¡¯s ship soared through space. Four streaks shot from the pirate ship and detonated four of the missiles before they could make it a third of the distance.

    ¡°Alexa, overclock those turrets!¡± Jonas bellowed. ¡°Decrease the hit chance ratio. I don¡¯t care if we miss more and use more ammo now, I want to barrage them with as much fire as we can manage. We¡¯re not going to stop them at this rate! Switch target priority to those railguns!¡±

    ¡°Aye!¡± she called as she swiftly made the required changes as per Jonas¡¯s orders.

    The remaining six missiles closed in on the enemy, but four more streaks shot from the verean vessel¡¯s railguns and neutralized another four missiles. Seconds later, two of the missiles smashed into the side-rear of the ship.

    ¡°Confirm two hits,¡± said Lyra. ¡°Tubes are reloaded, but I¡¯m down to twenty. Advise.¡±

    Jonas listened to Lyra as he watched the enemy vessel. He wasn¡¯t sure what to have Lyra do.

    ¡°No decrease in speed on the enemy,¡± said Harriet.

    Jonas¡¯s fists clenched. ¡°Did the hit take out any of their¡ª¡±

    Another series of flashes from the verean vessel and new impacts hit the Grimwold . A beam in the outer hall cracked and smashed into the floor as several panels burst from the walls.

    ¡°Three of their rails are still active!¡± said Harriet. ¡°Another volley and we might start losing systems. The volley after that, might breach us.¡±

    ¡°Changing course! Let¡¯s give them another target!¡± said Lyra as the Saturn¡¯s Lament shifted from its course so that the Grimwold was no longer eclipsing the enemy.

    ¡°Damnit Lyra! Get back in formation!¡± called Jonas. ¡°Your armor¡¯s too thin!¡±

    ¡°Shut it!¡± Lyra called.

    The pirate vessel raced towards Malstyx with the Grimwold in close proximity. The guns of the Grimwold were pouring out fire at the enemy ship as they flew through space.

    ¡°Decrease of enemy¡¯s engine speed, fifteen percent!¡± called Harriet. ¡°Projectiles are eating through their armor on the engines.¡±

    ¡°Alexa, how we looking on munitions?¡±

    ¡°Not good!¡± she replied. ¡°I can keep up this rate for...sixty seven seconds!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the ETA of their firing solution on the facility?¡± called Jonas.

    ¡°Three minutes and some change. Their engines are fluctuating. I think they¡¯re overclocking it!¡±

    ¡°Good, maybe that¡¯ll give us more time before they hit us with another¡ª¡±

    Three flashes came from the verean ship. Jonas waited for the rounds to hit the Grimwold, but the only sound was the Grimwold¡¯s engines and his ship¡¯s own firepower. Flashes in the corner of his eye brought his attention to Lyra¡¯s comm.

    ¡°Damnit!¡± called Lyra as a fire could be seen in the background. Her fingers flit over her terminal and extinguisher vapors gusted across her command deck to put out the flames.

    ¡°Lyra, report!¡± said Jonas.

    ¡°Minimal damage!¡± Lyra said in an insincere voice. ¡°Damn, I¡¯ve lost scanners and Long-comms. I¡¯m flying nearly blind here!¡±

    ¡°Can you fire all your missiles in one salvo? I know how much you love that,¡± said Jonas, trying to remain upbeat as he wondered if Lyra was lying about the severity of the damage.

    ¡°Looks like the lament got pelted, those shots targeted her systems,¡± said Harriet in a low voice meant mostly for Jonas.

    ¡°I can fire them,¡± said Lyra. ¡°But It won¡¯t do any good! I don¡¯t have the capacity to direct them and guide them to the ship. I buy the cheap missiles, remember?¡± she did her best to smirk.

    ¡°Lyra, fire them now!¡± Jonas yelled.

    Lyra blinked and shook her head as her fingers tapped at her terminal. ¡°Launching all tubes! But there¡¯s no use in¡ª¡±

    ¡°Alexa,¡± Jonas broke in. ¡°Hijack Lyra¡¯s missiles, guide them to the target!¡±

    ¡°I forgot you have my codes,¡± Lyra murmured.

    ¡°On it!¡± called Alexa as she directed her attention towards taking control of Lyra¡¯s deployed missiles.

    ¡°Can we increase output of those turrets?¡± asked Jonas.

    ¡°Not unless you want to lose those turrets as well,¡± Alexa replied.

    ¡°Jonas, I¡¯m moving back behind you,¡± said Lyra as she directed her ship back into formation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where you should¡¯ve stayed,¡± Jonas grunted under his breath.

    ¡°I heard that,¡± she said.

    The twenty missiles launched from the Saturn¡¯s Lament passed around the Grimwold and headed for the verean ship.

    ¡°It can only take out six of them,¡± said Jonas. ¡°Just keep our¡ª¡±

    Three flashes and then the Grimwold groaned as Jonas¡¯s terminal blew in a brilliant flash. He winced and brought his arm up to shield his face. Luckily it didn¡¯t explode.

    ¡°They hit us instead?¡± asked Jonas.

    ¡°They hit our reactor, losing power across all systems!¡± said Harriet. ¡°Relays are blowing out, systems are going dark!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m losing guidance on the missiles!¡± said Alexa.

    ¡°Drop whatever you have to, route whatever you have to! Keep those missiles active!¡± Jonas pulled out of his chair. His terminal was fried. He lost visual on the ship as well as Lyra. His data-band was only allowing him to interact with it but without the terminal and required systems, his communications were lost.

    ¡°Can we contact Lyra?¡± Jonas asked as he rushed around to Harriet¡¯s terminal to stand beside her as he gripped her chair and the terminal for support in case of another hit.

    ¡°Negative and we¡¯re losing speed,¡± said Harriet. ¡°I don¡¯t think our reactor¡¯s going to make it.¡±

    Jonas looked over to Alexa. ¡°Tell me those missiles are still on course!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m working on it!¡± she said. Her eyes were wide as she stared at her terminal. Her fingers flew as she made calculations and programmed the missiles with swift commands.

    ¡°Sir, our reactor¡¯s going into the red,¡± said Harriet. ¡°We need to evac!¡±

    Jonas nodded to Harriet. ¡°Evac the crew,¡± he said. ¡°Alexa, we¡¯re running out of time!¡±

    Alexa didn¡¯t reply. Her ursari adrenaline was pumping as her hands moved faster and with more precision than his or Harriet¡¯s ever could.

    Suddenly Alexa¡¯s terminal went dark as a fuse blew within the compartment housing its electronics. Alexa shouted as she smashed her fist into the display, crushing it.

    ¡°Did you get a hit?¡± Jonas asked. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Alexa sucked in a deep breath as she looked to Jonas. ¡°Five seconds to impact. I had control of thirteen of them. I programmed them in a spread-pattern, based on the enemy¡¯s last coordinates and where it was heading. I have high-hopes that at least one of them will hit,¡± she said.

    A deep groan resounded from within the Grimwold as everything went dark.

 Chapter 9: Flames Endure

    Scotia emerged from the burnt-out entrance of the research facility. The yard of the complex wasn¡¯t how she¡¯d last seen it. A man lay dead on the ground, along with what looked to be the remains of a transport vessel. The transport was in dozens of pieces, strewn across the ground, some were still in pits of fire. She looked behind her.

    Mira met Scotia¡¯s gaze, before heading past her. Damir was still unconscious over the phoenix¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Can you pilot the drone we took?¡± asked Mira.

    ¡°I¡¯ll manage it,¡± said Scotia as she fell in line back beside Mira.

    The two made their way through the gate and headed into the thick jungle.

    A small flash in the sky caught Mira¡¯s gaze. ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°What was what?¡± Scotia questioned in a low voice, as she scanned their surroundings for trouble.

    ¡°There was a flash up in space, perhaps an explosion. It looked close,¡± said Mira. She¡¯d seen enough destruction to know that the sudden brilliant light wasn¡¯t from a meteorite. The origin appeared to be farther than the atmosphere.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving, the transport shouldn¡¯t be far,¡± said Scotia as she brought her data-band up and tapped it to order up the display. It took only a moment for Scotia to realize something was amiss. ¡°I don¡¯t have long-range comms. We¡¯re being blocked.¡±

    ¡°Even at this distance from the compound?¡± asked Mira.

    Scotia nodded. ¡°Yeah, they must be jamming for several miles.¡±

    Mira reached around Damir¡¯s body, in order to bring up her own data-band. It took her several seconds, but she confirmed the same. ¡°I¡¯m being jammed too,¡± she said.

    They stepped up their pace and headed deeper into the thick forest of the wild. Scotia kept her revolver drawn. She took subtle whiffs of air, trying to determine if anything was waiting for them on their route back to the transport. A conscious Damir¡ªwith his verean sight, would have been far more helpful.

    ¡°Do you remember the route?¡± Mira asked. Her chest heaving. Her pace had slowed with the distance.

    ¡°Just a little further, do you want me to carry him?¡± asked Scotia.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Mira replied. ¡°I imagine we couldn¡¯t leave the transport¡¯s beacon on, else someone else might¡¯ve found it?¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Scotia. ¡°We don¡¯t have the equipment to mask the signal and only pick it up ourselves. Without the transport, we¡¯re trudging back through a lot of dangerous territory.¡±

    Mira stopped a moment, to re-situate her hold on Damir. ¡°You think they¡¯ll send people after us?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s that, but I was mostly implying the creatures of the wild. I guess you haven¡¯t been here long?¡± Scotia asked. ¡°The wild is incredibly dangerous. We¡¯re out just far enough for some of the larger predators to pick up our scent. But I don¡¯t smell anything yet. I just hope the smell of Damir¡¯s arm doesn¡¯t lure anything in.¡± Scotia looked back to Mira and glanced Damir over. ¡°Maybe Noree will be able to do something for him.¡±

    Mira nodded. In the silence of the wild, all she could do was think. She had spent too long out in the yard with Cursa, when the others had gone on ahead. If she had dealt with Cursa beforehand, she could have made sure nothing happened to Scotia¡¯s team.

    Mira shook her head, trying to rid herself of the notions. She couldn¡¯t change any of that now. She had to keep her attention on the task at hand. For all she knew, there could be enemies inbound. ¡°If the owners of the facility knew what happened,¡± said Mira. ¡°How soon do you¡ª¡±

    A series of loud thumps quaked the ground. Scotia and Mira stopped and looked around. Seconds later, a gust blew past them. The air brought a crackling sound with it and the night sky lit up in the distance. They turned and looked back the way they¡¯d come. A bright orange light emanated in the distance. The wind blew stronger against them.

    ¡°Did...it self destruct?¡± Mira gasped.

    Scotia looked up into the sky, but all she saw was the amber glow of the explosion and the stars above. ¡°I think it was bombarded from high-orbit,¡± she said. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have heard anything until the explosion, if it was a self-destruct. We really need to head back and check the comms. Maybe we can find out if something happened in orbit. I¡¯m sure Noree or her associates are monitoring what¡¯s happening.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t long until the two came across the dormant transport. Scotia queued up the drone¡¯s systems and activated it. They made their way inside and closed the hatch, before Scotia brought the vessel above the treeline and headed back to Noree¡¯s. She kept the ship as low as she dared, as to help avoid detection. But she knew full-well that the transport would easily be detected if someone was actively looking for them. She just hoped that they still had time before anyone could reach them.

    ***

    The small craft entered the airspace above the tall buildings. Mira watched a display within the transport. It depicted the area below as they passed over. ¡°Are those fires?¡± she asked.

    Scotia sat across from Mira. She kept an eye on the flight path, having to take manual control frequently to avoid other vessels. The ship¡¯s navigation system was mostly being overridden so they could use it for their own means. She glanced over to the display Mira was staring at. She narrowed her eyes as she noticed what Mira was referring to. ¡°The hell?¡± she murmured. ¡°Try accessing the news comms, we¡¯re almost to Noree¡¯s.¡±

    Mira brought up the display from her data-band and attempted to access First City¡¯s news stations. But when she selected one, all she saw was a red image with the message ¡®Technical difficulties, please wait for service to be restored. Thank you.¡±

    Mira selected one of the non-news comms. It was a comm channel which displayed animated visuals for children. But instead of the usual silly-characters, she saw the same red message. ¡°All the Broadcast comms are down.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± said Scotia. She glanced over to Damir, who was lain beside Mira. She focused her attention back on the flight controls. They were nearing Noree¡¯s facility.

    ¡°I counted at least seventeen fires on the way here. That seems like a lot, even for First City,¡± said Mira.

    ¡°Something¡¯s going on, maybe Noree will know,¡± said Scotia. ¡°Brace yourself, landing in five...four...three,¡± she counted down until the small transport made a harsh thud on the ground.

    Mira had to keep a tight hold on Damir, to prevent him from falling off the seat. Now that they¡¯d landed, she reached over to pick Damir back up.

    ¡°I got him,¡± said Scotia, as she stepped over and hoisted her companion over her shoulder with ease. She kept her gun-hand free, but her revolver was holstered. She triggered the door, and stepped carefully out of the small vessel¡¯s hatch.

    Scotia¡¯s eyes widened as she froze an instant later. She withdrew her revolver and took aim towards Noree¡¯s complex.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Mira asked as she couldn¡¯t see what was outside. She clenched her right hand and brought flames to lick around her fingers.She neared the hatchway, trying to determine who their new enemies were.

    Scotia¡¯s weapon lowered. ¡°It¡¯s...safe, I think.¡±

    Mira peered out the hatch as Scotia moved out of her line of sight. She hopped out of the transport and looked around, wondering what was going on. ¡°What the hell happened here?¡± she whispered as she saw black-uniformed figures laying on the ground. They wore helmets which concealed their features.

    ¡°They smell like vereans,¡± said Scotia.

    Mira dimmed the flames on her hands, but her body emanated a great amount of heat. She pushed one of the bodies over with her boot. ¡°I don¡¯t see any markings. Who do you¡ª¡± Mira stopped mid-sentence as she looked to the doorway of Noree¡¯s lab. The doorway was destroyed. A moment later she dashed towards the entrance.

    ¡°Mira, wait!¡± Scotia called as she headed after the phoenix, with Damir over her shoulder.

    Mira entered the hall, her gaze flitting over everything that was out of place. Several more black-suited figures lay on the floor in the hall. Each of them were separated from their heads and arms. There were blast marks from weapons fire all over the walls and ceiling.

    Mira raced down the hall towards the main lab. Sparks flew from the damaged doors. She ran into the lobby and then the lab, ready to melt any opposition. But when she passed into the lab, something rushed down from the ceiling to land in front of her. It was a purple mass that quickly took humanoid form. Mira¡¯s arm rose, but stopped when she realized she¡¯d seen this creature before.

    ¡°You¡¯re not an enemy,¡± came the aquatic tone from Persephone¡¯s lips.

    Mira stared at the claymore, before looking around the lab. It seemed to be mostly in-tact. There were no bodies inside. ¡°Where¡¯s Noree?¡± Mira demanded.

    ¡°Over here,¡± said the dryte woman, who was seated a distance away out of line of sight of the front door.

    Mira stepped around Persephone and caught a glimpse of Noree. ¡°What happened here, are you all right?¡±

    Noree was staring at the display for one of her terminals. ¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± she said. ¡°But it seems I¡¯ve overplayed my hand. It was only a matter of time before I was targeted directly. Luckily I had Persephone here to keep me safe, but my facility was a little banged up.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Scotia¡¯s footfalls came to an abrupt stop in the doorway of the lab. Her revolver raised and pointed at Persephone. She lowered the firearm a second later.

    Hearing Scotia¡¯s arrival, Noree turned her head and saw the sharva woman carrying Damir. ¡°Enough of me, what happened to you?¡± Noree rose from her seat when she saw that Damir was missing an arm. She rushed over. ¡°Quickly, bring him over here!¡±

    Scotia looked to Noree and saw that she was fine, despite not hearing about the attack on the lab. If Noree and Persephone weren¡¯t hurt, then seeing to Damir¡¯s well being was her next concern. She moved quickly after Noree. The dryte woman pressed a button on a machine. At first appearance, it was just a large metal box, but a hatch slid away and a slab of metal came out. The slab was lightly padded for meager comfort. ¡°Lay him down,¡± said Noree.

    Scotia lowered Damir to the padded slab and brought his remaining arm in beside him. Once he was securely on the slab, Noree pressed another button on the machine, to withdraw the slab into the device with Damir upon it.

    Noree brought her data-band online and began to interact with the machine. Scotia watched, stepping over to her and looking at the display the dryte woman had brought up but she understood very little about what was being displayed.

    ¡°Analysing his injuries now,¡± said Noree.

    From across the room, Persephone spoke up. ¡°What is taking Jamie so long? Is he still outside?¡±

    Scotia tensed and looked over to Persephone. Noree peered up from the display, her attention on Scotia as well.

    After several silent seconds, Scotia spoke ¡°he didn¡¯t make it.¡± She turned from them. ¡°Please do what you can for Damir,¡± she whispered, before heading over to a vacant chair.

    While Scotia resigned herself to her own thoughts, Mira quietly explained what happened from start to finish. But she didn¡¯t have the knowledge as to what occurred with the prison-garb demons, only that Scotia and her companions had killed them all when she arrived to destroy The Thresher. This particular event, caused Noree to glance to Scotia, but she kept silent on the matter.

    ¡°Scotia seemed to think that the facility was bombarded after we left. There was also an explosion in high orbit. We were hoping to find out if the two were connected but we couldn¡¯t access comms until we got to the city. That¡¯s when we saw all the fires.¡±

    Noree had intermittently tapped at the holo-display, in order to administer treatment to Damir. She remained attentive to the story and looked to Mira when she finished. ¡°I had my associates monitor space-travel in the Mal system. They intercepted communications for a vessel which was ordered to eliminate that facility,¡± said Noree.

    ¡°They sent a ship after us?¡± asked Mira.

    Noree tapped several times on the display before answering. ¡°The communication they intercepted, was for a pirate battlecruiser. But when I spoke to my associates, they said they had communicated with a captain they knew in the Malstyx Guard. Apparently the captain they spoke with, was able to intercept the battlecruiser, but they¡¯ve not heard back from him since. From what you¡¯ve said about the complex, I fear things might not have gone well for them in space. But luckily, the three of you are still alive.¡±

    Mira looked to the machine which held Damir. ¡°What about the fires? What¡¯s with the broadcast comms? Everything seems to be down,¡± she said.

    Noree made several last adjustments to the machine as it went about its quiet work on Damir and emitted soft hums every couple seconds.

    ¡°The situation in First City has taken an unfortunate turn,¡± said Noree. ¡°Are you familiar with the company known as Sphinx Co?¡±

    Mira thought for a moment, remembering the slightly animalistic humanoids she¡¯d seen around First City ever since she arrived. Cursa had mentioned them as well. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°They¡¯re the company that¡¯s messing with gene-weaving for humans. What about them?¡±

    Noree took her time and seated herself nearby. ¡°The gene-weaved humans¡ªwho call themselves Sphinxes, have escalated their riots and become more violent.¡±

    Mira gave Noree a confused look. ¡°Why?¡±

    Noree dissipated the holo-display she was using to interact with the machine, as she regarded Mira entirely. ¡°Because it seems that several human factions have voiced their stance on the gene-weaving therapy. They¡¯re also backed by the verean government. But most notably, the human factions are ordering Malstyx to uphold their laws about genetic manipulation. They want Malstyx to take the Sphinxes into custody and forcibly reverse all genetic modifications and destroy all of Sphinx Co¡¯s assets.¡±

    Mira shook her head. ¡°But this entire world is one big haven for the mostly lawless. Why would the sphinxes be rioting? Malstyx wouldn¡¯t do that, would they?¡±

    Noree nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right, but directly after multiple news broadcasts showed the videos of several human factions decreeing that they wanted Malstyx to do this, all the broadcast comms went dark. Some of my associates have fed me information from what they can gather, apparently fear has taken hold and the sphinxes think the news blackout is proof that Malstyx will take action against them.¡±

    Mira¡¯s hands rested on her hips as she thought to herself. ¡°Well, they might have reason to now,¡± she mused. ¡°But rioting, over something like that? It seems a bit excessive for paranoia based on a news blackout.¡±

    ¡°I agree, which leads to the part you¡¯re not going to like,¡± said Noree.

    ¡°They¡¯re being manipulated,¡± said Scotia from across the lab. She¡¯d apparently been listening to every word, despite her desire for some distance.

    Mira glanced to the sharva and then back to Noree.

    ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Noree confirmed. ¡°I fear that I might¡¯ve been the instrument to that end.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Mira asked.

    ¡°I was contracted to work on the gene-therapy used by Sphinx Co,¡± said Noree. ¡°This was months ago. It was only about a week¡¯s worth of work¡ªgiven my knowledge and skillset. But on Malstyx, I was probably the only choice for getting the job done in a timely manner. I didn¡¯t think much of it at the time. They were paying exorbitantly well and it was along the lines of work I¡¯d done in the past. It wasn¡¯t until today that I put two and two together.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re getting at,¡± said Mira.

    Noree tapped her data-band and then displayed two images. She turned her holo-display for Mira to view it. ¡°On the left is the gene-weaving protocol that I developed. It allows a tighter integration of genes, so that there wouldn¡¯t be any rejection in the host.¡±

    Mira looked at the image and then the one beside it. ¡°Ok, but what¡¯s the difference between those two images? They look the same.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because they are,¡± said Noree. ¡°The image on the left, is a sample from a patient who was gene-weaved by Sphinx Co. The image on the right, is a sample from your friend, Luca.¡±

    Mira¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°The drug Luca took, is using your work?¡±

    Noree nodded. ¡°When the riots started, I thought it was peculiar. I remembered the piece of the puzzle I¡¯d solved for Sphinx Co and remembered that Ero started hitting the streets soon after. So I went back and checked the sample I took from your friend. I wouldn¡¯t have noticed the similarity without it. Because the other samples had degraded too much. But yes, the same properties I developed for Sphinx Co, are the ones being utilized to allow Ero to incorporate demon DNA. It also allows for the transformation you saw with your own eyes.¡±

    Mira remembered what Cursa had said. He had told her that he thought Sphinx Co was suspicious. She rubbed her head as she tried to grasp everything going on.

    ¡°Is Sphinx Co able to incorporate demon DNA into their therapy? Without the recipient knowing?¡± asked Mira.

    ¡°Unfortunately, yes,¡± said Noree.

    Scotia rose from her seat. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the whole reason we went out to that facility? To stop something like that happening?¡±

    Noree looked to Scotia. ¡°Yes. But this situation is potentially far worse. I suspect that Ero was due to a knowledge leak on Sphinx Co¡¯s behalf. Someone is exploiting my work, in the form of a volatile drug. But what Sphinx Co is giving to its customers is far more stable. If a demon¡¯s DNA is being used, then that demon could theoretically manipulate the Sphinxes.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be a good cause for the riots?¡± Scotia asked. ¡°A demon influencing the Sphinx population to become paranoid and aggressive?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a definite possibility,¡± said Noree.

    ¡°Who owns Sphinx Co?¡± Mira asked. ¡°If they¡¯re a company here on Malstyx, they still have to file paperwork, right? Some sort of record? Or even if it¡¯s a subsidiary of a larger corporation?¡±

    Noree tapped at her display. ¡°I researched Sphinx Co when I decided to do work for them. It took a few days for my associates to get back to me with all the details, but Sphinx Co is secretly controlled by the Cearfoss clan. Which, isn¡¯t public knowledge.¡±

    ¡°The Cearfoss clan?¡± Scotia spoke up again. She remembered what her old boss had said about Cearfoss.

    Mira looked to the sharva woman. ¡°Is that important?¡± she asked.

    Scotia nodded and regarded the two. ¡°It¡¯s related to what Damir told everyone earlier. My old boss might be working with a demon, or might be a demon himself. But before I left his gang, we attacked the cearfoss clan a lot. He revealed himself to us and we hunted him down. But it was a trap and we lost The Fang. The way he spoke made it seem as though we had been sabotaging the cearfoss clan beyond normal pirating and looting. Maybe Zane has something to do with all this? Or maybe the demon he works for?¡±

    Mira did her best to absorb Scotia¡¯s information. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that imply there¡¯s two demons at odds with each other? One with Zane and one within the Cearfoss clan.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s too many unknown factors,¡± said Noree. ¡°You can¡¯t go and destroy all of Sphinx Co on a theory. We have no proof of anything yet, only possibilities. It¡¯s best if you both rest while you can. Persephone will keep watch.¡±

    Mira and Scotia looked across the room to the banged-up entryway of the lab. Persephone was nowhere in sight.

    ¡°Scotia, feel free to take one of the guest rooms down the hall,¡± said Noree.

    Scotia ran her fingers through her hair. She considered Persephone¡¯s abilities. The claymore didn¡¯t need to eat or sleep, as far as she was aware. She didn¡¯t think Persephone could be fatigued either. ¡°Alert me if something comes up,¡± said Scotia. She took one last look at the machine Damir resided in before she turned from the others and headed to the hall.

    Mira watched as the sharva captain left.

    ¡°You should sleep as well,¡± said Noree. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on Damir. He¡¯s stable and I gave him a sedative to keep him out for several more hours at least.¡±

    Mira thought about Scotia and what¡ªor who, she had lost. She looked to Noree. ¡°I cost Scotia her partner and I almost cost her a friend,¡± she said.

    Noree¡¯s features remained unchanged as her purple eyes peered back at Mira. ¡°We can¡¯t change these things,¡± she said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware that phoenixes cared so much for the rest of us. But it seems these things affect you deeply.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it?¡± Mira spat. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to protect everyone. But every time I manage to put down another demon, more people are lost.¡±

    ¡°Moving on is a part of caring about those we¡¯ve lost,¡± said Noree. ¡°Please rest. Don¡¯t brood over these things.¡±

    Mira turned from the dryte woman and took a step forward and then another. It wasn¡¯t so easy to forget the faces of the dead. Even for a phoenix.

    Mira left Noree¡¯s lab and entered the hall. She found Scotia leaning against the wall, just outside one of the guest rooms. Her arms were crossed and her eyes stared at the floor. Scotia looked up only when Mira began to pass her.

    ¡°Damir and I are still alive,¡± said Scotia. ¡°Mercenaries like us take dangerous jobs all the time. So do soldiers. Even being a civilian can be hazardous. Just don¡¯t forget who kept us alive.¡±

    Mira stared into Scotia¡¯s eyes and watched as the sharva turned around and pressed the datapad on the door. It slid open with a soft whoosh.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell Noree about that dead man in the courtyard,¡± said Scotia. ¡°He was a phoenix, wasn¡¯t he?¡±

    Mira looked down the hall towards the door of her own room. ¡°It wasn¡¯t important enough to bother Noree with a personal matter like that,¡± said Mira.

    ¡°I see,¡± said Scotia, as she passed through the doorway. The door slid shut behind her, leaving Mira alone in the hall.

    Mira headed down the hall and entered her own room. The weight of the day grew heavier with each step. She approached the meager mattress and sat on the edge.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that for me,¡± came a female voice from behind Mira.

    Mira¡¯s eyes closed as her hands clasped over her eyes.

    ¡°It might not be tomorrow, or even a month from now but he¡¯ll come back,¡± came the woman¡¯s voice. ¡°You know he will. It¡¯s only a matter of time. He¡¯ll bring others against you for what you did.¡±

    Mira shook her head and lowered her hands to the bed. She stared at the far wall as she spoke. ¡°Let him bring the other phoenixes. Let him bring any army he can muster against me. If they want you, they¡¯ll have to kill me, again.¡±