Chapter 38

NEV

“Run,” whispered Nev.

Dvaasha gave her a look.

“Or, I don’t know, slither quickly!”

The two girls tried to dash past the imposing form in the doorway, but it caught them each in a powerful arm and thrust them back into the room. Magnus slammed the door behind him.

The girls shrank back in fear, but tried to assume defensive positions. Dvaasha coiled her body under her and reared up her head, fangs bared. Nev arched her back.

It did little good. Magnus charged across the room, his horns impaling both of them through their torsos. The large dinosaur pulled back as both girls collapsed, gasping and bleeding.

“I’ll see to it that you aren’t resurrected,” he growled, and left the room. Nev thought she heard the lock click behind him. And then nothing…whiteness…she was losing blood quickly.

She felt Dvaasha’s form wrap around her, binding her wound with her coils. She was clearly laboring, though. The serpent’s natural regenerative powers seemed only slightly effective against the magnitude of the wound. Dvaasha’s coils clenched, then went limp.

The girls were unconscious when the door reopened, steel-toed boots clacking on the hard linoleum floor, and foreign hands and machine parts grabbed their motionless bodies and dragged them out.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Chapter 39

AURORA

Apparently, others had been affected by the network attacks, too. According to Aurora’s scanners, the Helio Corps systems were almost completely down. Classic Helio, she thought. Thinks he’s such a big shot and then wham, down in one punch. Though the attack had been no joke. If it hadn’t been for that hooded S person…

No time to dwell on that. With Omni unexpectedly secure and Helio Corps in shambles — truly serendipitous! — the time was right to enact the next phase of the Omniarch’s plan.

The ultimate objective was to wrest control of what was rightfully Omni’s. Ever since the Trust War, when Warbotics was eliminated, the Omniarch had hungered for full control of Atlas. EvoS were a bunch of loonies and were more like a weird roommate, and in any event could be death with later. But Helio had formed Helio Corps, and NOT in the way Omni would have liked, and then Hyperbotics sprang up…it was like a hydra. Take down one whack-a-mole, two more popped up. It was time to finish things.

Hyperbotics already had one foot back toward Hyperion, and if that Reactor could be resurrected, then EvoS should figure out how to reclaim Oceanus. Not Omni’s problem. Helio Corps, however…that cancer would be cut cleanly from Atlas.

Once Helio Corps was made an example of, and that traitorous nanosmith taken down, the other Trusts would understand what Omni was capable of and would scatter to the winds.

Or so was the plan. Aurora liked it. More resources for Omni science. More subjects for her neurological experiments.

Aurora readied her army of psionic soldiers, the product of many hours of experimentation, cybernetic modification, and psychological conditioning (to ensure loyalty).

It was time to march.

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Chapter 40

KHITA

An arrow flew from her bow and thunked into the wall right next to the reinforced second-floor window. Khita waited a moment, then nocked another and drew back her bow to fire it.

Before she could do so, the window opened and a visored head stuck out. The head nodded and withdrew.

The door of the Hawk Aviation building swung open.

—-

“What’s up, Grey?” asked Khita energetically as she bounced into Grey’s second-floor common area. The huntress was sitting on a black leather couch, her legs crossed. The lower above-ground floors of Hawk Aviation had been converted into residential quarters, with most construction in the basement and Hawk training on the upper floors of the facility.

Grey shrugged, and managed a half-smile. “Taking a much-needed afternoon off.”

“Cool! Wanna play darts?”

Grey laughed and shook her head. “Off means I’m not leaving this couch if I can help it. I already went out this morning with the new badger.”

“Oh my gosh a badger? That sounds adorable! Can I see it?”

“She’s resting with the fruits of this morning’s labors, but I’m sure she’ll be around later.”

Khita nodded. With her excitement tempered, she could manage a wisecrack or two. “Are you renaming to Badger Aviation or anything? Because, uh, there’s something you should know about badgers and aviation.”

Grey laughed again. Khita hadn’t seen her this relaxed in a while, probably since they played darts the last time, before the Pantheon battle.

“You never know, these days. So why’d you stop by? Is it my wonderful company or do you just want me for my darts skills?”

Khita was a little bored, truth be told, and she admired the huntress a great deal. Grey was competitive, like she herself was, and their contest to kill cultists was SO much fun.

“You’re great company compared to Titus. He spends half his time sitting with Celeste, who’s usually sleeping — not that, you know, I blame her or anything after what happened — and he never wants to do fun things anymore like jump on the bed or go on random hunting trips in the Wastes.”

“Oh, so I’m just a substitute for Titus?”

“No! You’re great. I mean. It’s different. You’re really fun.”

Grey laughed again. “Not words I thought I’d hear.”

“Besides, those are some really big shoes to fill.”

“Right, he’s a size…14? 18?”

“More like a thousand, I think.”

“You know what they say about guys with big feet.”

“Grey! I’m not Celeste! I love him and all but I don’t think about him like THAT.”

“What? I was just going to say that they have big toes.”

“Haha. Grey, everyone has big toes. At least two of them.”

“I don’t. I mean, not really.”

“Oh…right…sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s good to laugh about it now and again. This is nice.”