Tempest

The GENOM electronics research facility was mostly devoid of light, an indication that work in the complex was done for the day. To Sylia Stingray, this was something of a relief; for all the evils that GENOM committed and all the monstrosities that were created in development facilities such as this one, GENOM was still a corporation and its employees still civilians. As such, any action which carried them onto GENOM's corporate grounds was by its very nature a danger to those workers, some of them completely innocent of the atrocities committed by their employer. Though the Knight Sabers as a policy attempted to minimize the collateral damage caused by their operations, the boomers they often fought were seldom so accommodating, and any risk of endangering innocent lives was one which she preferred to avoid.

In this case, though, even that was a lesser concern. She was more troubled by the very nature of this particular operation. The mission depended heavily on secrecy and stealth, and while their hardsuits were a vast improvement over the clunky powered armor used by ADP or the military, they were still neither quiet nor subtle. If the information she had obtained on the layout and defenses of this facility was accurate, then there should be little trouble, but the data was old and none of her sources had been able to produce anything more recent. She was quite certain security would have been increased, if only because the sensitivity of the project which had drawn her attention would demand it... but she could only speculate as to the scale and nature of those upgrades.

It was a higher degree of risk than she was comfortable with. The possibility that this might be a trap had not escaped her; certainly the bait was enticing enough. No... that was not the right word. It was *compelling*, a threat the Knight Sabers organization could not afford to ignore. The secrecy surrounding this project had been difficult to penetrate, and corroborating the information had not been easy... but she had done it. If this was somehow a snare, it had been set with live bait.

She glanced at the readout in her visor; it was almost time to move. "What's the status of the patrols, Nene?"

"They're just about to pass by again; after that we should have an opening."

She nodded. "We'll move as soon as they're out of sight." The side entrance they would use had no stationed guards; there were regular patrols which covered the grounds, but her observations indicated they would have at least five minutes to get inside between them; it would be enough. They would have to be quick, but it should be doable. "Are you ready, Nene?"

"Of course I am," the hacker responded with mock indignation.

Sylia smiled a bit in spite of herself. At least Nene seemed unaffected by the tension that had settled in on them. Then again, this sort of operation was Nene's strong suit, and she was doubtless looking forward to the challenge.

It was time. "All right, let's go." As quietly as they could manage, the four armored vigilantes crept from their hiding place. They moved as quickly as they could; the last twenty meters to the door was open space, and until they reached the building's shadow they were at their greatest risk of discovery. Once they gained the doorway, she motioned Priss and Linna to take up positions on either side while Nene set to work on the lock.

"Oooh, this is a tough one," Nene muttered. "I don't think the suit can connect with this; I'll have to improvise."

Sylia glanced over at the red-suited Saber, wondering if 'improvise' in this case meant what she thought it would. Indeed, Nene had already disassembled part of the lock casing and was creating a temporary interface for her hardsuit's computer. "Careful, Nene," she cautioned. "Be sure you can put it back together when you're done. We don't want to leave any signs."

"Right, right," Nene answered, not looking away from the dismantled panel. "Now... touch this, and that... okay, I'm in. Now to decode it..." She fell silent again, absorbed in her work as the lights on the panel's remaining faceplate flashed in rapid sequence.

"Two minutes, Nene."

"No problem... I've got it... Now!" The panel beeped softly, and there was a metallic groaning sound as the door slid open. "Told you I could do it," Nene said triumphantly, already moving to reconstruct the casing.

"I just hope nobody heard that noise," Linna observed under her breath, voicing Sylia's concern as well. "All this sneaking around isn't going to do us any good if they figure out we're here."

"No radio traffic," Nene answered confidently, stepping back from
the reassembled lock. "Checking for security devices in the
entryway... nothing I can't handle."

"Let's go, then," Sylia instructed. "Quickly. Linna, take point. Priss, guard the rear."

With that, the four of them filed in through the doorway. Nene paused a moment to close it behind them, and then they began to move cautiously down the corridor. The metal flooring made silence impossible, and the sound of hardsuit boots on steel echoed through the long, featureless corridors. Everything looked exactly the same, Sylia thought; dull metallic colors and dim lighting marked the decor, completely sterile in its soulless perfection. It was, she thought, much like the corporation that had built it.

A short distance down the corridor they came to a junction. "Which way?" Priss asked.

"Left," Nene answered, gesturing down one of the corridors as she looked at the map she had pulled from the building's security system. "If the information is accurate, anyway."

"If not, we will have larger problems to concern ourselves with," Sylia observed coolly. The ease of their entry into the building had done nothing to ease her worries; thus far, it had been exactly as the old data had indicated it would, and that troubled her. She had expected more security than this, considering the sensitivity of the project. Security through obscurity might work well for a small organization like the Knight Sabers, but it was neither advisable nor typical practice for GENOM... and even if they wanted to keep the project secret, there should be more automated systems in place.

She suppressed that thought; there was nothing to be gained by worrying about what she did not see. She needed to keep her thoughts clear, to analyze the situation as it developed. Nene would alert them if there was anything unusual, and thus far she had found nothing.

It took only a few moments longer to reach the laboratory they were searching for, and she allowed herself a slight sense of relief then. Nene quickly bypassed the security system, using the information she had gained from her earlier efforts to streamline the process, and they were soon inside. Her apprehension grew, however, when her gaze fell upon the datacore which had brought them here. The damage it had received was significant, but it appeared to be completely functional, and that damage only confirmed the legitimacy of the find. GENOM had indeed recovered it, and the implications of that discovery were staggering. It was well that they had come when they did, before its secrets could be unlocked.

"They're running some sort of brute-force decryption on it, Sylia," Nene observed, glancing over the readouts. "That explains they heavy hardware. Looks like someone didn't want to share his knowledge."

"Better for us," Linna said quietly.

"Yeah, well, let's just get it and get out of here," Priss growled impatiently. "There's something fishy about this whole mess."

"Just taking it won't be enough," Nene answered, plugging into the terminal. "We've got to destroy anything they've read from it as well."

Sylia nodded. "Besides, we don't want them to know we have it. Can you erase the original? If we leave them a blank, it will take them longer to determine what happened."

"Working on it now," Nene answered. "I'm in the system... pulling a data dump. This is going to take a few minutes." Seconds ticked away, and Sylia could almost sense the temperature rise in the room. "...looks like they didn't get very--"

Nene's voice was cut off by the wail of a half-dozen alarms. "Oh, no..." Nene groaned. "...they set a trap on one of the files! Its trying to lock me out of the system!"

Sylia cursed under her breath. "Forget the dump. No point to being subtle now; destroy the originals and let's get out of here. Priss, Linna, cover the near door, we may have to fight our way out."

"Right," Priss and Linna agreed in unison, moving to opposite sides of the entrance. Nene said nothing, her concentration totally consumed with trying to complete her task before the system shut her out entirely.

"...done!" she finally half-shouted, ripping her data connections free from the terminal without bothering to properly disconnect them. She stepped back from the console, raising her gun-hand and firing several shots into the computer bank. Let's get out of here; it won't take long--"

A thunderous explosion cut off the rest of her words as the heavy steel door at the opposite end of the room was blasted off its hinges. The echoes had not yet died when the boomers were upon them. There was no time to fight; if they delayed too long, their only escape route would be cut off. "Go!" Sylia shouted to the others, turning to engage the C-class cyberdroid bearing down on her.

At melee range, the boomers had every advantage. For all that their hardsuits were tough, the Knight Sabers depended heavily on not being hit in combat... and the close quarters made it all the more difficult to evade attacks. Still, Sylia knew, C-class boomers were not the most intelligent of GENOM's creations. The boomer came charging in at full speed, looking to throw what would be a crushing haymaker at Sylia's head. She ducked underneath, extending both swords and stabbing them into its midsection, using its momentum to drive the blades deep. A flare of sparks erupted from the wound, and it crashed to the floor in a heap.

She looked to the others as she sprinted for the door. Nene was already there; not being equipped to fight, she had run straight for the door when the boomers had arrived. Priss and Linna, though, were not doing so well. Four boomers were backing the two of them toward one of the walls, and the effort of defending against the combined firepower was leaving them with no opportunity to counterattack. Worse than that, the only weapon either of them possessed capable of dealing with all four enemies could not be used in such close quarters.

Sylia came to a quick decision. "Nene, stay here. Try and jam their communications if you can." Not waiting for a response, she charged back into the fray, both arm cannon blazing as she tried to distract the nearest of the four boomers. The tactic worked; the mechanical warrior turned to face her, and she extended both of her swords to engage it at close range.

It was just enough of a distraction to give the others a chance. A heavy metallic crash and a gout of flame marked the end of one of the other three boomers as Priss' leg bomber blasted a hole in its chest. With the odds now even, Priss turned to attack the second boomer that was engaging Linna.

Just as they had found this glimmer of hope, though, Nene's voice shattered it. "Sylia, we've got more coming! We have to leave NOW!"

"Dammit!" Priss swore, narrowly deflecting a punch aimed at her head. "We're in too close to disengage!"

"Twenty seconds!" Nene warned, backing out the door and into the hall.

Linna danced away from a barrage of repeating laser fire, moving in a tightening spiral around her adversary until she reached the range of her razor whips. A quick pirouette left four sparking streaks across the boomer's body, and it collapsed in pieces.

"Linna, go!" Priss shouted, still engaged with her own opponent. She stepped back, leveling her railgun to fire two shots into the boomer's chest, leaving two sparking wounds and pinning shut the emitters on its heat cannon. Still, its other systems remained undamaged, and its mouth laser was charging for a blast. She stepped back, gathering herself to jump out of the way, but tripped on a piece of debris and fell.

"Shimatta!" Scrambling backward, she rased her arm cannon, firing desperately at the boomer in an effort to stop it, but it was too late.

Sylia raised her own cannon to fire, hoping to disrupt its attack, but she already knew she would be too slow. In the back of her mind she heard Nene scream...

...and as the laser discharged, a green blur of motion interposed itself between the boomer and Priss.

Linna screamed in pain, but the sound was short--cut-off--and she crashed against the wall in a lifeless heap. Sylia stared in horror as alert warnings flashed red in her visor, warnings which led her to only one conclusion.

"LINNA!" Priss cried out in rage, unleashing a barrage of laser fire and railgun spikes at her opponent. The boomer reeled, and Priss leapt to her feet, springing upon it with feral abandon. The knuckle guard unfolded around her left hand, and she pushed the boomer back against the wall, driving the weapon against its head in a crushing blow. The cyberdroid collapsed at her feet.

The second group of boomers could be heard coming down the hallway. "Priss, Nene, we have to leave!" Sylia shouted. "There's too many of them!"

Priss looked back at Sylia, and for all that her visor was closed, Sylia knew the expression behind it. Priss had no intention of retreating. Sylia winced inwardly; she knew Priss would hate her for this, but she would not lose two of her Knight Sabers today.

"Hardsuit Two override Tango-Bravo-Four-Six-Three! Weapons shutdown!" The acknowledgements flashed across her visor as Priss' hardsuit received the command, disengaging all of its weapons systems. Priss just stared at her for a moment, then leapt at her in a fit of rage. "Nene, help me!" Sylia shouted. "We have to get her out of here!"

"What about Linna?!" Priss shouted in fury. "Are we going to leave her here?"

"YES!" Sylia insisted. "We don't have time! I'm not going to lose you, too!" She grabbed Priss by the wrists, the strength-enhancement of her suit barely able to maintain its grasp.

Nene grabbed Priss around the waist from behind. "We have to go, Priss! They're almost here! If we all die then what good will she have done?"

It was then that the boomers burst in through the far door. "Nene, let's go!" Sylia shouted, the two of them dragging a still-fighting Priss out of the room. Nene hit the door switch behind them, then blasted it with her arm cannon, hoping it would slow down the boomers enough for them to make their escape,

Sylia's expression was blank as she stared out the window of her apartment into a darkened, rainy sky. No tears fell, no anger broke through the mask. Only the still-healing wound of her bitten-through lower lip hinted at the intensity of her agony.

Even now, days later, she found it hard to accept that one of her own had fallen. She had dreaded this from the beginning, knowing it would almost certainly come eventually. The job that they did--the immense danger that they took upon themselves each time they went out--virtually guaranteed that eventually one of them would fall. In all honesty, she was probably fortunate that it had not happened sooner... but somehow she still wanted to deny it.

Linna was dead. Never again would they know her smile, her seemingly effortless grace, her irrepressible spirit... all of these were lost and the world was suddenly a darker place. Sylia had hoped to give her better... to provide a chance to realize her true potential. Now that was lost forever.

She wondered when it was that she had grown to care so much about those she had taken under her wing. This was supposed to be a business deal; she gave them the opportunities they wanted, and they placed their lives on the line for her cause. It was never supposed to be personal. It was never supposed... to hurt like this.

Her thoughts turned to Priss, who had vanished into the night those days ago without a single word. She could hardly blame her for that; she knew Priss was blaming herself for Linna's death. Linna had died in her place, after all, and with Priss' history of losing friends, it was nearly an automatic response for her to blame herself for such tragedy.

Of course, Sylia would hold her own measure of blame in Priss' eyes as well, having taken from her any chance of vengeance. What else, though, could she have done? She would not allow Linna's sacrifice to be in vain. She could not let Priss die. She suspected Priss would never forgive her for that. Perhaps in time... but she was not hopeful.

Forgiveness... how could she expect it? For all that Priss would blame herself for Linna's death, Sylia knew well that it fell squarely on her own shoulders. She had recruited them, bringing these three young women into her own personal crusade. She had led them in battle. She herself had delivered them into the trap which had claimed one of their number, in spite of her own misgivings about the situation.

No. She could not, would not second-guess herself. She had done what she had to do, and nothing more. Had GENOM been allowed to glean what data might have been had from their prize, it could well have been the end for them all.

The knowledge--that in losing one she might yet have saved the others--was little consolation.

She looked back into the room, at the message sitting on her computer screen. Nene wanted to know what they would do, having lost Linna and now Priss as well. She still wanted to go on, wanted to take the fight back to GENOM. Sylia felt a pang of sympathy and regret; Nene had always been the idealist among them, fighting because she believed in their cause... not because she had a personal score to settle.

Nene had known the danger, of course; she was with AD Police, and she knew very well what boomers were capable of. Death, though, had never touched her this closely before, and Sylia knew she had never really believed it could happen. Once, Sylia had envied that innocence, that assurance that they would always pull through. Now, that too was gone, shattered forever.

A solitary tear rolled down Sylia's cheek as she remembered her father's death, and the end of her own innocence. She remembered committing herself to this crusade, to this effort to redeem her father's work, even as the child she was. In the end, it had come full circle, and death had caught up to her again. She bowed her head in sorrow and guilt, for ultimately it all came back to her.

She had done everything that she could, she told herself, and she knew that it was true. Even so, it had not been enough. It was all over now; they had paid the price in their own precious blood, and to Sylia in that moment all that they had accomplished could not balance the scales.