schematic for the complex and zoomed in on that particular air duct. It traveled through an area of the detention center and then came out near the main laboratory area. “Gotcha!” he crowed.
☼
“Identify.”
“Dr. Ranul K’ore, Chief Science Engineer, Sector Seven.”
“Visual and voice recognition confirmed,” said the robot.
The Sentinel robots were standard fare around the labs with this special project in the works. Metal bodies mingled with composite plastics—they were tough enough to get the job done, just not nearly as sophisticated as what he was working on now. The metal door slid open and Ranul walked past the automaton into the main lab.
Ranul’s nineteen-year-old daughter had been imprisoned along with his wife, Ellai, to pressure him into building war machines for the Vorn. If he refused, he might never see his family again. He tried to push away the pain, turning to continue his work.
He typed the final program sequences on a keypad, arming the weapons systems of his latest Sentinel prototype. As Vorn scientists watched his every move, Ranul finished complex algorithms for the Sentinel’s combat systems then transmitted the files into the cyborg’s expansive memory. A few of Ranul’s engineering specialists mingled among the Vorn scientists running diagnostic checks on the prototype systems.
Ranul had modeled the exterior appearance, from skeletal structure all the way to muscle positions and skin features, after a young Barudii he had known long ago. Looking at the new Sentinel, he realized just how much it did look like his old friend, Orin Vale. Despite the prototype being a weapon under the control of his enemies, Ranul couldn’t help but take pride in his work. He had done what many thought would never work. He had built a robotic warrior nearly as unstoppable as the old Barudii warriors themselves. Still, it would be used for Lucin’s purposes.
As the robot’s CPU began to run through its programming and perform systems diagnostic checks, Ranul watched the Vorn in the room. The enemy scientists all looked very pleased with their new soldier. He wondered for a moment what the consequences of all this would be for his people and his family. He whispered his wife’s name with regret. Ellai, what have I done?
☼
The air duct wasn’t as roomy as Tiet would have liked, but he could still get through. A constant stream of wind passed over him, making it hard to hear what any voices said from the adjoining rooms along the way. He scooted along, hoping he might find something that he could sabotage in order to thwart Vorn control over the city. Rebellion against Lucin and the Vorn would take many people willing to fight, but it had to start somewhere.
Tiet came to a vent screen made of a particularly heavy meshwork. When he looked inside, he saw what appeared to be a holding cell. A small group of adolescents sat on the concrete floor inside. A few younger boys and girls and one older girl about his age made up the group. The only facilities in the room were a small dirty sink basin and a toilet with a blanket hanging across as some semblance of privacy.
The front of the cell was barred with heavier meshwork and a half sized door—which meant they had to get down on their knees to get out—if they were ever allowed to.
Tiet’s scabbard scraped the roof of the duct. It was too difficult to maneuver in the tunnel and get to his blade. Instead, he removed a kemstick from his vest. The hilt was about twelve inches long—three feet long fully extended. The adomen rod hummed gently.
Such were the properties of adomen, an alloy mixing silver with adon and carbite. Its densely packed molecules lived in such an excited state that the metal atomized anything it came into contact with. Only the presence of electromagnetic fields could keep it stable. Honis Kem, a Barudii living over one hundred years ago had developed the kemstick from adomen after working for years to produce the Barudii blades used by warriors of his clan.
Tiet pressed his face against the vent, looking down on the children in the cell. He tapped lightly with the hilt of his weapon on the floor of the air vent. The older girl looked around then up at him. She started when she saw a person behind the vent screen.
“I’m going to get you out,” he whispered. “Is it all clear?”
The girl stared at him, not giving anything away by gesture. The other children in the cell were now looking up to see where the voice was coming from. One young boy started to cry out, but the older girl cupped his mouth quickly to prevent him from alerting the guards.
She gestured only, putting her finger to her mouth to shush the children. Then she quietly walked near the front of the cell and looked down the hall beyond—no one was coming. When she walked back to the other children and gestured to calm them again, she looked up and nodded to him.
Tiet brought the kemstick hilt up in a stabbing fashion and then extended the adomen rod. The shaft punched through the metal around the vent like a hot knife through butter.
He grabbed the mesh plate with his fingers and proceeded to cut around it in a circle large enough to get the older girl through. The metal popped and sizzled as the field destroyed molecular bonds, carving through the wall of the vent pipe until he was done.
Tiet laid the cut piece up ahead of the hole and reached his arms down in order to help the children up.
“We can’t reach,” whispered the older girl.
“Don’t worry.”
Without warning, one of the children began to levitate off the floor. She thought they might scream and gestured for them all to remain quiet—assuring them it was all right.
The child rose up quietly into the hole. Tiet caught hold of each, pulling them inside. He pressed against the side wall just enough to allow them to pass and get behind him.
The girl walked to the front of the cell wanting to be sure no guards were coming—no one yet. Behind her, the children each took their turn, seven in all, and rose up through the charred hole with the help of their mysterious rescuer.
“Come on,” he whispered.
The older girl walked underneath the hole. Invisible hands seized the girl and lifted her up to Tiet waiting to receive her inside the tunnel. He had short dark hair like midnight and dark piercing eyes. When Tiet grabbed her hands, she gauged his strength.
Tiet pulled her inside the air duct and pressed his body back to allow her to pass—she was larger than the young children, making for a tight squeeze.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“Tiet Soone. And you?”
“Mirah K’ore. Are you insane? How did you get in here?”
“Don’t worry, I’m a Barudii warrior,” he said confidently.
She didn’t seem impressed by it. “I didn’t think there were any Barudii left.” She didn’t wait for the reply, scooting her body past him.
She’s sort of feisty, he thought. He also noticed she was pretty beneath the grime of her incarceration.
“What now?” she asked.
“Go back down this shaft and it will lead you to the outside. Take this kemstick,” he said, handing Mirah the retracted weapon. “Run for the fence. This will allow you to cut through and get off the grounds. Just be quiet and stick to the unlit areas. You should be all right. I didn’t see any guards on the way in.”
“Then what?”
“If you can get to a home, maybe they’ll hide you until you can get back to your families.”
“Where are you going?”
“I still have some business to attend to. Now get going.”
The children began their slithering back along the air duct with Mirah behind them. Tiet crawled on over the hole he had made and continued through the duct ahead.
☼
In a moment, a guard appeared in front of the cell. He couldn’t believe what he saw. Where are the prisoners? He grabbed his throat—something unseen choked him. His eyes bugged as he tried to breathe. Orin’s fist tightened in the shadows, watching while the guard struggled and then collapsed—his trachea crushed by an invisible grip.
Orin looked up at the charred hole in the ceiling
of the detention cell. Careless, just plain careless and inexperienced, he thought. He sighed and moved on, using the shadows to his advantage. Those children are going to need help to get out of here safely. He would have to deal with his protégé soon enough.
☼
Tiet passed more cells as he continued his crawl through the ventilation system of the cloning facility. Every other room appeared to be empty. When he finally reached the end of the shaft, Tiet found it capped by a wire grill.
Beyond the vent screen, he saw a massive room full of all manner of technologies. Clusters of cloning pods hung from great robotic arms mounted to the ceiling. This must be where they grow the Horva.
Only one detail was missing from the chamber. There were no clones, none at all. In fact the entire chamber was completely devoid of activity. A series of large tanks with various chemical names printed on their sides stood in the distant portion of the great room. The fluid tanks were transparent and empty.
A control chamber sat near the tanks. Maybe I can get some useful information from their computers. Tiet pressed his body against the screen and then gave it a good solid push. It gave way and almost fell onto the floor before he could grab it.
Nothing moved in the room. Tiet climbed out of the ventilation tube and replaced the screen in case someone happened by. He crossed the floor of the huge chamber cautiously, looking for camera mounts. There were a few, but he waited and used the large