Stellarforged - Ch27 (Patreon)

Note: Chapters 24-28 are being posted together.

“Shit,” Kiels said. “Back in the elevator. We can try a different safehouse or head back to the military station.”

Fiona stood by the elevator, already trying that. Her scowl suggested something was wrong as the elevator controls were unresponsive. She even produced a cable from her wrist and was about to plug in before Lati stopped her.

“The elevator’s locked down,” Lati said. “We can try to override it, but there’s a huge risk to plugging into it if we don’t know how they’ve done it. If there’s a virus, we might get zapped, too.”

“We have countermeasures,” Fiona said.

“Don’t take stupid risks with your brain, mousey,” Kiels said. “This is a trap. They probably had soldiers in all active safehouses. Fuck. No wonder they didn’t need to ambush us.”

Ethan’s grip tightened on his railgun while the Hounds stacked up beside the doors. There were too many of them, and the massive staircase made it even harder to defend this room with only thirteen people.

If the Orlov goons rushed them, even the Hounds would be hard-pressed to defend him. Any cover they used could be flanked from a different entrance.

He blinked.

Why weren’t the goons rushing them?

“Ethan, we need to—” Kiels began to say.

He raised his hand, and she fell silent.

That caused him to pause.

Looking around, he saw all eyes were on him. Kiels, Fiona, Lati, and all the Void Hounds waited for his orders.

For the first time since Sai showed up in his life back on Earth, he was calling the shots. No safety rails or centuries old veterans to fall back on. He was the Sovereign.

“Ethan?” Lati asked, tilting her head. Her wings shifted noisily in the same direction.

He pointed at the Hound who had looked through the door. “How did the guards react when you spotted them? I’m assuming they noticed you.”

“They looked at me. Seemed surprised, but didn’t react much,” the Hound said.

“Because they expected us,” Kiels said.

“Then where are they?” he asked. “Back in the mall, the guards were fighting each other. Nobody there even knew I was Sovereign. Maybe we should find out if these girls have the slightest clue what’s going on.”

After a moment, Kiels nodded and pointed at the door they’d opened earlier. The squad moved toward it, with a pair forming a rearguard. Lati and Kiels remained by his side. All forcefields shimmered around their bodies, in case things went south.

“I don’t have an internal map,” Kiels said, “so if they attack us we’ll need to try to find a defensive position and the way out the old-fashioned way.”

He grunted.

The Hounds pushed the door open and peeked through.

Several wary Orlov soldiers stared back, their guns raised. Nobody spoke a word. Lights glittered menacingly on helmets and weapons for several seconds.

Then Kiels sighed in relief as one of the Orlov soldiers removed her helmet and stepped forward. Everyone lowered their weapons.

“Sovereign, we apologize for frightening you,” the officer said, her white wolf ears twitching nervously. “The Lieutenant Colonel told us you might use a safehouse following the attack, so we’ve been keeping an eye out.”

His orders, huh?

“Thank you,” Ethan said, shouldering his railgun. The officer eyed it curiously. “Is your superior here?”

“Not yet. Now you’ve arrived, we’ve contacted her as required.” She saluted. “The safehouse is fully operational, sir, although that’s admittedly thanks to House Tai. Feel free to retire to the suite here and relax until the all clear is given. I’m sure they’ll clear up the trouble at HQ within a few hours.”

Kiels narrowed her eyes. “The suite? Sorry, but there wasn’t time to send us a map. Do you have one we could use to navigate?”

The Orlov officer hunched her shoulders. “Don’t have one either, corporal.”

“Praetorian,” Kiels corrected.

The officer blinked several times, then her eyes widened. “Oh, my mistake, ma’am! I’ll send you what we’ve mapped out. The suite is on the uppermost level, above the imperial staircase in the elevator foyer. If you need anything else, just let us know. We have the entrances on lockdown and will notify you if anything comes up.

Ethan nodded, but he had something else on his mind. “How long have you been posted here? The heads of House Tai only mentioned they’d restored the safehouses to my exclusive use, and little else.”

“Ah. The handover. I’m not sure what happened there, but my company was posted here about two weeks ago. You can trust us, however. We were stationed at a discreet resort in the southern hemisphere, and are trained to handle the, uh, special needs of the elite such as yourself.” She scratched her cheek, as if realizing that sounded lewder than she perhaps intended it.

None of the soldiers looked like fresh clones. Their heights and builds differed too much, especially compared to the attackers they’d mown down in the mall. Orlov had posted an actual VIP unit here, and they appeared to be in the dark.

“Thank you. I’ll retire until this all blows over. Let me know if your superior arrives.” Ethan nodded again before turning and returning to the foyer.

His retinue followed, while the Orlov guards returned to their stations. Once back in the foyer, he pointed up the stairs without speaking and he let the Hounds lead the way now they knew where they were going.

Patrols of guards saluted as they passed in the halls. The safehouse was massive, and felt more like a mansion than a panic room. How amazingly decadent. A spiral staircase led up to his suite, and a trio of guards protected it.

Nobody awaited at the top, however. Some Hounds stood guard outside as Lati and the others cleared the suite. After ten minutes, he entered the room.

It was stupidly huge. A bed big enough for an elephant, plus a room to match. Many of the furnishings had clearly been built for taller individuals, although some weren’t. The bathroom could be adjusted, at least. A smaller bedroom with several bunks sat to the side, complete with a malfunctioning terminal.

“Seems we’re safe for now,” Kiels said, leaning against the doorway between the two rooms.

Fiona poked at the terminal while the Hounds continued to check every nook and cranny. Lati bounced on the bed.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Kiels added when she saw Lati’s actions.

“Please. I’m not fucking Ethan while you’re all watching,” Lati said, her cheeks yellowing. “Especially not until we deactivate the damn cameras here.”

“Right. Let’s do a status update,” Ethan said, clapping his hands. “How safe is this room?”

“We’re not dying, so it’s safe right now,” Kiels drawled. “But it’s full of shit that can and will kill us. Turrets hidden in the ceiling. Ventilation ducts that could potentially gas you. The doors have hermetic seals and can be remotely controlled. Cameras hidden in the walls and ceiling, even in the bathroom. The central terminal here will probably infect us if we connect to it—and that includes you, mousey!” She cupped a hand over her mouth as she raised her voice at Fiona, who was out of sight and presumably still fiddling with said terminal.

“Okay, first things first. Cameras. Can we shut those down so we can make plans?”

Lati and Kiels looked at each other, then nodded.

“Pretty sure I’ve spotted all of them,” Lati said. “My eyes found a few these pups didn’t. As thick as these walls are, the cameras stand out like sore thumbs. Do you want us to just kill them?”

“They already know we’re here,” Ethan said. “No point worrying about how they’ll react. Destroy the cameras and listening devices.”

Before he’d even finished his sentence, the Hounds began moving along the walls and furniture. Sometimes they physically poked the wall or crushed something behind a dresser. Other times, they used a device hidden in their cybernetics. One Hound rubbed her tail along a portion of wall while making a crackling noise.

Lati took care of the ceiling as she carefully jetted up there. Her wings let out tiny puffs to allow her to hover as she used devices in her fingers to neutralize each and every camera.

Afterward, she hovered by a ceiling tile in the corner. “What about the turrets?”

“I had wanted to seize control of those,” Fiona said, reemerging from the dorm room. “But this terminal is exactly that: a terminal, not a control system. Whoever seized control of the elevator can almost certainly override anything I do, even if I circumvent their traps.

“Then destroy the turrets,” Ethan said. “I’m assuming we can’t stop the ventilation without suffocating.”

Kiels produced a ceramic mask from a large pouch on her back and handed it to him. “The rest of us have the enhancements to filter out toxins. At least, I’m assuming the mouse does.”

“I do,” Fiona said.

“Then only you need this.” Ethan’s bodyguard pointed at the breathing apparatus inside the mask, which was attached to a pair of tiny cannisters. “Don’t let the size fool you. The air will last long enough if they gas us.”

He patted his pockets, but Kiels took the mask back.

“Take it off me if I get shot,” she said.

“I think I’ll be a goner if it gets to that point,” he said. “The doors?”

“Somebody stays in each doorway. Their servos aren’t strong enough to close on us, even if we can’t smash them down. If they shut, best bet is to risk our modules with a cabled override and hope the door controls aren’t booby trapped.”

Ethan watched the Hounds work for another minute. Lati and them ripped the turrets out, or shot them in at least one case, thanks to Kiels’s heavy railgun. The Orlov guards below came up to investigate the noise, but retreated after being told the Sovereign was doing some redecorating.

With the security situation sorted, they could finally speak freely.

“Alright, let’s continue the status update,” he said. “Are we still without any signal?”

Kiels shook her head, as did several others, including Fiona.

“It’s not just about Voidnet reception,” his bodyguard said. “We have special antennae in our ears and tails for basic communication in case of emergencies. Even those don’t help. Given we’re no longer in a bunker, it means they’re jamming us.”

“Standard practice for safehouses, given the possibility we could be tracked by enemies,” Fiona said. “Did Heafi give you any connection details for an internal relay or router?”

Kiels shook her head. “I’ve tried all the ones given when we first arrived.”

The girls briefly discussed connection attempts, which lost Ethan. He lacked the special modules to do this sort of thing.

“To cut through the gibberish, we’re cut off, and the safehouse’s defenses are being used against us,” he said. “What about Sai? She should still be able to locate us with her psychic abilities.”

“Yeaaaaah.” Kiels grimaced, and the Hounds looked similarly grim.

“Bad news?”

“Vaelix executors can extend their communications with their psychic abilities. Pretty sure they all have special psionic adaptors in their heads. I can’t reach her, but she should be able to reach me. She hasn’t, which means something’s fucked.”

Fiona cleared her throat, drawing all eyes to herself. “I can confirm there is a nullification field present within the building. As an adjutant—”

“Let me guess, you have a fancy module in your head to let you detect psychic shit?” Ethan asked.

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but she nodded.

“Sure it’s a nullifier and not just the psionic protections of the building?” Lati asked.

“Executor Sailiferia can penetrate the psionic protection of capital warships. Only the deepest, strongest bunkers on this planet could hope to block her so completely,” Fiona said. “This is definitely psychic activity.”

“Psychic? You just said nullification,” Ethan said.

The mousegirl blinked. “They are two sides of the same coin. Hence why psionics can perform both functions, and often combine them in ways <humanoids> cannot. Nullifiers are simply…” She grasped the air, searching for the right words. “Negative psychics? Their control over foldspace and space distortion work in the opposite direction, actively preventing it from forming. But they are still psychics. Hence why Heafi can extend her nullification to others.”

“Huh.” He’d never thought of that, but it made a lot of sense.

It also explained how psychics could still take nullifiers through foldspace, if there was some sort of psychic battle taking place between two opposites.

He’d allowed himself to be distracted, so shook his head and refocused.

With no help coming and enemies on the way, he needed a plan. To make a plan, he needed to know more about what he could work with. Hell, he needed to know who his enemy was.

He blinked.

His enemy, huh?

“Kiels, did the interior map contain any rooms that looked like a comms room or the conference room from the palace estate?” he asked.

“Uh, a couple. Don’t know if we’ll be allowed into the comms room, though,” Kiels said.

“Because we can’t trust the guards?”

She nodded. “Their lieutenant seems fine, but what if there’s a detachment in on the coup? Hell, she gets orders, she might just shoot us anyway.”

“I take it the map doesn’t say where they are?”

She shook her head.

Ethan pointed at Fiona. “Then we need to know. Fiona, take a Hound or two and explore the safehouse. Highest priority is confirming the exits, including any that might lead to a shuttlepad, then the biggest conference room. Identify any patrols, including those that seem more hostile or part of a different unit.”

“May you please elucidate why you have chosen me, Sovereign?” Fiona asked, her expression studiously neutral. “I am assisting you as best I can, but this is a risk I will need to explain to the Commodore.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure where this is going,” Kiels said. “The girls could do this just as easily.”

Lati smirked. “Oh, I have a hunch. Haven’t seen you coming up with underhanded plans since our last mission before you went to Sol, Ethan. I worried the privateer side of you had died once you got rich.”

He rolled his eyes. “Please. I’ve just been a fish out of water.” His words created more confusion from the others, so he waved his hands peaceably. “Surely everyone’s noticed the massive gap between how others react to me and who I am, right? Nobody knows shit about me, assuming they’re aware I’m here. The guard lieutenant gave me an odd look for carrying a gun and talked about her experience at a resort. They’re expecting a pompous, whiny noble who will pass his time banging his squad of hot bodyguards.”

“Wouldn’t complain,” one of the Hounds muttered, earning herself a glare from Kiels.

“Fiona, you’re trained to handle nobles. The exact sort the guards expect,” he continued, and her eyes widened. “If you wander around with an escort and act like a simpering attendant trying to please the whims of her lord, nobody will bat an eye. Hell, you might earn sympathy. Even any guards involved in the coup won’t stop you, because why interfere with a lowly attendant?”

Fiona winced and her mouse tail curled around one leg. “It is a good plan. With one problem.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

“She blew her cover dealing with Niura’s bitch,” Lati said. “Anittilar called her a Luchi spy or something.”

“Pretty fitting name given everything I’m learning about Luchi adjutants,” he said.

Fiona hunched her shoulders. “Our role is a well-guarded secret. I have explained more to you than usual given Executor Sailiferia’s first-hand knowledge of our purpose, but it was a surprise to be spotted so easily.”

“So, back to the original plan?” Kiels said. “Finding the shuttlepad is a good idea, though.”

He shook his head. “Lati, how did you even contact Anittilar? There’s no way she’s on planet. We got here as fast as we could and Tithus is a better Pathbuilder than anyone Mortami has.”

“Oh, it was by video link. Took a couple of hours to set up,” Lati explained.

Another flat video link. He wondered if Anittilar and Niura were in the same location. Presumably a base close to the Rim.

“Then it’s unlikely the guards know anything about Fiona,” he said. “The initial ambush was well-arranged, but Mortami are clearly commanding the coup from outside the Rim. That’s why there’s such a huge gap in competency at times. If they can pre-plan something, we’re dealing with extremely dangerous schemers. Otherwise, it’s just the dumbass nobles and corrupt officers that know absolutely nothing.”

“Shit. Didn’t think of that.” Kiels’s tail whirred behind her. “That means they’re vulnerable right now. Hell, it explains why they’re reacting so slowly. I bet the Executor already realized, too, and it’s why she’s so relaxed.”

He shot Kiels an annoyed look, and she responded with confusion. Naturally, she didn’t understand that immediately comparing him to Sai took the wind out of his sails.

“I understand,” Fiona said. “But why a conference room? We should assume the attacker has full control of all systems.”

Biting his lip, Ethan knew he was explaining the craziest part of his plan here. “You’re right. And that’s what I think we need to count on.”

“Huh?” half the room responded at once.

“If we wait, we’ll end up in a last stand. Bad idea. Trying to break out is hard, as we don’t know where we are and Orlov might respond with a whole damn army. There might not be a shuttle to steal or the safehouse might be surrounded by anti-air emplacements,” he said. “Ideally, we’d find a way to contact Sai or Admiral Poi and get help.”

“But we can’t, because any communications will be under enemy control,” Kiels said.

“Sure, but they don’t know that we know that.” He smirked. “What if we get on the comms and say that we’re… I don’t know the right words for this, so I’ll be blunt. I’ll say that I’m summoning all houses to answer to the assassination attempt or I’ll have Poi start levelling their HQs and homes from orbit, using both my authority as Sovereign and the Union’s backing.”

A low whistle escaped Lati. “Wow. Can you do that?”

“Even if it wasn’t a bluff, yes,” Fiona said. “The issue would be convincing the admiral to follow through, but that’s not the point.”

Lati’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit. You’re going to try to send messages to Poi and Sai using the comms here, then a broadcast to the houses, right? So when the enemy intercepts them, they’ll think you’re serious.”

“Won’t they just assume it’s failed and continue their plan?” Kiels said.

“We can add in something about a dead man’s switch,” he said. “That Poi was ordered to do it if I become unreachable for X hours. You think the nobles whose best coup plan was to grab me in plain sight the moment I arrived won’t panic? The same nobles who are currently in lockdown with Sai, Yany, and Heafi?”

Fiona smirked for a split second before schooling her expression. “You want to lead our forces here using the panic you’ll create when they try to eliminate you.”

“Or they might try to make a deal. Like I said, they don’t think much of me. If I order the conference to be in person, they might view it as the perfect way to meet me one-on-one and try to convince me they’re the only loyal house head.”

“Damn, I didn’t realize you could scheme just like the Executor,” Kiels said. “It’s a hell of a longshot, but we can always shoot our way out.”

Fiona nodded, then turned.

Abruptly, she spun and faced him. “I apologize, Sovereign. I’ve been keeping something important from you.”

A couple of Hounds gripped their weapons, but he waited patiently.

“As you’ve surmised, I have a number of niche modules,” Fiona continued. “One of these enables me to maintain communication with Commodore Jionach’s destroyer at all times, even through the current jamming. I am limited to sending, not receiving, but it would allow me to relay a message to the fleet, and therefore the Executor.”

“<Baerin’s tits,>” why didn’t you mention this earlier?” Kiels snapped. “We could tell them where we are and…” she trailed off with a scowl.

“Exactly. We don’t know where we are, and my module wouldn’t allow them to triangulate our position.” Fiona’s face was expressionless. “But given the plan I’ve heard, I believe it could benefit from informing Executor Sailiferia of it.”

Ethan drummed his fingers against his thigh. “I think she’s smart enough to figure it out… but I worry she might intervene. What we really need her to do is stop Orlov, or whoever responds, from taking us out. Hell, that could make the entire scenario seem real. If Orlov tries to kill us, but is stopped by Sai, it would force her and the other coup leaders to panic. They’re more likely to do something desperate. Something we can exploit.”

“Shall I?” Fiona asked.

“Do it.”

Her eyes glazed over for roughly ten seconds, after which she gave him a half-bow. “It’s done. I’ll begin scouting the safehouse now.”

Fiona left with a pair of Hounds, and the room fell silent.

Ethan sat on the edge of the bed, trying to imagine all the ways his scheme could go wrong. He had a bunch of ways to salvage it, and Sai’s external help would prevent the worst eventualities.

But he was rolling the dice hard here.

The alternative had been to endlessly react, flee, and allow the coup leaders to maintain control. If his plan succeeded, he’d flip the board and seize the initiative.

He was the Sovereign. That meant he should be in control.

“That last module of Fiona’s is pretty nuts,” Lati said.

“Yeah, I’ve never heard of anything like it,” Kiels said.

Ethan looked up at them, blinking in surprise. “Really?”

“I’ve heard of it,” Lati said. “But there’s only one way it works. Psionics. Penetrating jamming this strong, let alone with a long range link, requires a foldspace connection. It’s impressive spy shit. Probably on par with my wings, but made by the Luchi. I bet Sai would maintain a similar connection to you, Ethan, if Heafi didn’t stop her.”

“… to my brain?” he asked.

“Yeah. Or to your omnimodule once you get one. That one can be forged even with a nullifier circling you like a possessive bitch. I’ve just never seen a non-psychic use it, so it has to be some fancy psionics.”

Part of him wondered if Fiona could be a psychic, but Sai or Heafi would have noticed.

All he could do is wonder who and what Fiona truly was. There was more to her than met the eye.

Over the next half hour, a few random oddities came up to the room. Some sex toys, a gigantic cushion, a handheld gaming device made for kids, and some food.

The food reminded him of something he’d nearly forgotten.

“Shit, Junim gave me some lunch,” he said, while the Hounds tucked into the assorted platter that had shown up.

Kiels froze, then sighed and handed him the ceramic container inside her pouch. The Hounds and Lati watched with bated breath as he cracked it open.

Concentrated spice burst free and incinerated his nostrils. Thinly sliced fish—lightly poached, rather than raw—lay atop a bed of blue and pink leafy salad. A thick and chunky chili salsa covered the fish and salad, with plenty of peppers visible within it, as well as large, soft seeds he didn’t recognize.

“Baerin’s ass, that’s fucking foul,” Kiels swore, holding her nose as her eyes watered. She took a step away. “You’re going to eat that?”

“It smells pretty good, actually. Just potent,” he said.

A set of cutlery had been attached to the lid, but the Hounds handed him some from a nearby drawer anyway. He took a bite and chewed.

Spicy. Not as hot as what they’d first made, but spicier than almost anything else he’d had in the galaxy outside of Earth. He barely tasted the fish, as it blended in with the sauce and marinade, but combined with the crunchy salad it worked perfectly. Especially as the container contained a small heater to keep it warm.

“I kind of want to try some, but I don’t like seafood and I need to be able to shoot straight,” Lati said, leaning over his shoulder. Her breasts pressed against the side of his head, and he pushed them away so he could eat properly.

A few of the Hounds teased each other about the idea of trying it, but none proved brave enough.

Finally, Fiona returned. The Hounds had already been gearing up, and Ethan joined them.

“Done?” he asked.

She made a strange gesture, and he tilted his head.

“Sorry,” she said. “I meant to say that it is a partial success. I have located the exits and a large conference room. But new guards are arriving and an argument has broken out between the lieutenant we met and a new arrival of the same rank.”

“The bad guys are here,” Kiels said. “Might have come by shuttle, so that gives us a backup option.”

He nodded. “Then we’ll shoot anyone who tries to stop us and head to the conference room. This is my safehouse and I get to do what I want. Let’s go.”

The squad reactivated their forcefields and walked down the spiral staircase.

At the bottom, a new set of guards awaited. Same uniforms, but difference faces and weapons. Heavier railguns. New stuff, even to Ethan’s eyes.

“Granus tech,” Lati whispered. “Smuggled shit.”

An officer from the guards stepped forward and raised her hands. “Sovereign, I’m afraid there’s an incident elsewhere in the safehouse. We’ll need you to remain in your quarters for your own safety.”

“I’m the Sovereign. I go where I please. Can’t you see my bodyguards?” Ethan asked, gathering all the pompous assholishness he could muster. “If there’s an incident, they’ll deal with it.”

A couple of the guards gripped their weapons tightly. A nearby patrol heard his raised voice and approached. He recognized them from when they’d entered, as well as their smaller weaponry.

Shooting first would be a mistake, he decided.

“My orders are clear,” the officer said. “You need to remain in your quarters.”

“Or what? You’re going to force me?” Ethan smirked and began walking away.

Lati, Kiels, and Fiona followed, while the rear half of the Hounds lagged.

He made it only a few steps before shouting broke out. The patrol in front of him raised their weapons. The cacophony made it impossible for his translation module to make sense of anything.

Gunfire ripped through the hall. The patrol froze, while the bodies of the rebel guards collapsed to the ground.

Ethan looked back at the bodies, then at the patrol. “More assassins. Are you still loyal to the Association?”

“Yes, Sovereign!” they barked, lowering their guns.

“Then come with me while I deal with the traitors. This has gone on long enough.”