Chapter 42: Let’s start or let’ s fail
The new attack mage arrived twenty minutes before dawn.
Ethan was surprised by how short Vex was for an attack mage. She had short, black, close-cropped hair.
A thin scar traveled up the left side of her mouth and continued to the edge of her jaw. But the worst part about her was her shifting eyes.
They didn’t seem to focus on any one face. There was a name tag on her breast with "Vex" printed on it. Below that it said "Rank: Senior Auxiliary, Offensive Specialization." She was here, as Marcus had said.
"Here she is. I think I don’t need to introduce you or anything. Oh yeah, she’s loud, and hits what she’s aiming for. That is all you asked for. That is all you get." Marcus dropped the field pack for Ethan at his feet.
Vex looked at Spark. She gazed back at Ethan. Her head was tilted to one side, and she was staring at him. Spark’s tiny fingers were buried in the white hair on Ethan’s head.
"That thing’s not regulation," she said.
"Neither are you," Ethan answered. "Gear up. We move in ten."
She didn’t argue. That was already better than half the unit.
Spark was already disguised as a pet, its half-human-like body now covered with scaly skin like his tail. Hence, a pet.
The air in the main hall was thick with the smell of oiled steel, wet canvas, and ozone. Of course, the damn ozone.
Rick glared at the final map of the ridges, spread out before him, but he glared at Ethan again, just in case. Dayan kept checking her gauntlets for some reason, though they were already charged up.
George, and the rest of the seniors, kept their distance from Spark. They didn’t want to draw attention to themselves. But the Hunter status on each of their unit tags was a brand no one wanted to acknowledge.
Hunter status, meaning a position of sensitivity, where the empire could pronounce one a traitor if any disorder was shown. And now they were given a mission from the higher-ups: to shed the status they were stuck with.
However, there was no word from Barry’s hologram, and consequently none from the higher cells either. Hence the silence, the silence that was louder than any order.
Ethan gently flexed his hands. They felt so much better than before, the unexplained static now firmly under control, and even comfortably so.
The circlet on top of his head felt warm, but then the rest of the strange items on his body felt warm too. Outside, the storm would wait for him.
Spark leaned closer to his ear. "Loud soon, Father."
"Soon," Ethan murmured.
Seris had been transferred and cleaned up by Marcus enough to walk. As he secured her transfer, Seris looked up at Ethan with red eyes, her wrists raw from her restraints, and said, "You’re still a fool."
"...Still a fool," Spark added under her breath.
In another office.
"There were extraction teams from the eastern cell of the higher cells coming down the western approach, two groups of people," Rick explained to Ethan. "They aren’t subtle. They’re here for the creature, Ethan. Your creature."
"How many?"
"Twelve. Maybe fifteen. They think they can take the creature before we reach the base."
Ethan nodded once. "Then we reach the base first. Simple."
As the sun rose over the mountains, Ethan’s group waded through the storm. Lightning flickered across his knuckles for a moment before disappearing. The group continued on their way.
After what felt like hours of climbing, Ethan and the others finally reached the outer markers of Theros.
The old mining roads were half-buried in fresh rockfall and looked as though they hadn’t been used in years.
Vex raised her hand. "Contact," she said. "Two scouts. Ridge above the second switchback."
Ethan didn’t look up. "Alive or dead?"
"Your call, Signifer."
"Alive. I want them talking."
As Rick was untying the first scout, Vex smiled at him. It was a thin, hard smile. She stepped off the path behind him and disappeared into the driving rain. Spark trailed after her, curiosity in its eyes.
After a few minutes Vex returned, leading two bound and gagged scouts who fell to the ground in front of the unit, already bleeding from their noses.
Rick knelt down to investigate, pulled out a tag, and examined it. Satisfied, he stood up. "Eastern cell. Both of them. They’re here for the bomb."
Ethan looked down at the two scouts before him. Spark was leaning forward, obviously curious.
"Vex, you did a good job. Now go back to your position."
She nodded and flew off.
Meanwhile, Ethan’s focus was on them, his so-called brothers in arms.
"Tell your cell the bomb has been destroyed and rendered useless. Need a new plan for distraction," Ethan said. "The revolutionaries should understand that much."
He left the scouts to their own fate, and the unit continued on down the path.
"Rick..." Ethan called.
"Now you even forgot to call me sir?"
"I know, you’re just adapting to whatever’s happening, and you already have your own plan. But... want to hear what I have to say?"
Rick looked at him, no, stared at him.
"Shoot."
"We start our mission... now."
There was silence, as those words were heard by Rick alone. Dayan was there, Marcus in the other room. And their coms connected with the other hidden officers in the base.
"Ethan, I know you’re paranoid because of Amanda, because of Angelina and her rash actions, which pretty much shocked us all, but this is not the be..."
"We will be caught, Rick. I’m sure of it. I know you think Amanda isn’t that much of a threat, but I believe she is.
Today or tomorrow she will be on our ass as we continue. Because when Marcus tortured Seris, I believe she said she was ordered by Angelina."
"Your parano..."
"And also Amanda. Both of them, they were together in this plan of theirs to neutralize me."
"So you’re saying... Amanda and Angelina..."
"Yes. I think they already know everything, as I’m sure you’ve told everything to Angelina. So Rick, come on, let’s do this. I think if we give them time, and when we go rob their credits in the name of freedom,
they will be there, waiting."
Rick looked away, pacing back and forth, his thoughts trying to adapt. And he did. He knew Ethan was right in the end. He just needed to accept it.
"...Ethan, I was told you were a man of talent."
"I would deny that, but okay..."
"And I was also told you carry the blood of the Big Three. A forbidden child."
Pause.
"That should have been sensitive information." He turned to Marcus, who was already back, curious about their conversation.
"Hey, don’t look at me, I’m innocent here."
Rick came forward, holding his shoulder. "Use your powers. Only then do we do this."
Ethan didn’t argue much, as it seemed they knew he was a demigod of some kind, though they didn’t know whose blood ran in his veins.
"Okay, but we start now..."
"Okay, leave your mage and your whole unit here on patrol. We go now."
Ethan nodded.
The vault. Rick had already explained it a thousand times already.
According to his files, two full security teams were on rotation, including automated turrets.
A residual containment field would have been active in the deeper chambers, but it seemed none of it was here.
The lights were on, the air recyclers hummed, but there was no sign of the bodies of the two security teams that should have been stationed to watch the approaches. The containment field was offline.
Dayan pulled her gauntlets back, sweeping the corridor once more. "No residual spikes. No recent discharges. This place was cleared hours ago. I repeat, no discharge here."
Marcus checked the side rooms. "Nothing here either," he said a few minutes later, still shaking his head. "I haven’t seen any sign of a struggle, or even a drop of fluid on the floor, like usual. Whoever cleared this place out did a very thorough job, today."
Rick too, in his position, watched all the coms, saw everyone in position. Something was wrong, very wrong.
"Ethan, if this becomes a trap, it’ll be on you."
Ethan was also at his position. He saw soldiers, but far fewer than before. His instincts churned.
When suddenly,
"Uncle..."
A familiar voice.
Ethan turned and saw her, yellow hair and yellow eyes.
"Oh, my cute niece," Ethan muttered. "I figure we’re already late."
She took one step, and there she was, right before him.
"This mission was bound to fail, Uncle. The revolutionaries were also bound to fail. Even right now, as we speak, the spies are going down.
The moment I was hired by the revolutionaries, it was done and over. Ha! They didn’t even know I was a demig..."
"Angelina..."
Another womanly voice came. Ethan didn’t need to turn to see who it was.
"Miss Amanda..."
"Ethan..." she replied.