Andromeda's Gates: The story of Yseult Brenneaux

Chapter 30: Old Friends

Yseult, Ellie and Riddaeon entered the worn down laboratory, Riddaeon went straight to Big Sal while Yseult and Ellie were both looking around for something. Yseult turned to Riddaeon and Big Sal.

"You have it already?" she asked.

"Have what?" Big Sal asked back, curious.

"Upsilon." Yseult replied. "You gave us the signal data to follow."

"... Signal data?" Big Sal replied, apparently becoming more confused with every moment.

"Yes." Riddaeon said. "To find Upsilon. You used the cypher we stole from Octan to access their network to find the signal you believed would lead us to Upsilon"

"There must be some mist..." Big Sal suddenly pieced it together... The realisation horrified him... My clone. "Riddaeon, my old friend, I fear we have been lured into a trap. We have not spoken since before I came down with Marphacian swamp fever."

"When was that?" Riddaeon asked, hurriedly.

"Junali of last year. No-one knew." He explained shaking his head. "But I had created a clone. He was supposed to continue in my place but SPIDER found him and have been using him against us."

"There are two of you!" Ellie exclaimed.

The realisation dawned on Riddaeon. "And every time we've spoken since then, I've been talking to the wrong one."

"He'll do anything to eliminate me. While ever I am alive, I threaten their plan." Big Sal explained.

The seriousness of the situation hit Riddaeon... "We have to go... Now!" He gestured to Yseult and Ellie back towards the door.

"I'm sure we're safe here." Big Sal said with a hopeful reassurance in his voice. RIddaeon looked back to him, his face conveying the imminent delivery of bad news.

"Not any more." He said as he turned back towards the door. "Who do think I told when we found..."

"The signal?" The even more hairy clone of Big Sal and two SPIDER guards appeared in the doorway. Riddaeon drew a pistol but the two guards were similarly armed causing him to stop short of firing. The clone stepped slowly in towards his nemesis. "When Big Sal escaped from me on Aeristus and disappeared into Octan space, I thought I would never be able to locate him... Your little daydream about this... Upsilon gave me the opportunity to get your own recruits to find you for me... You thought you were hiding but I knew how to find you, I just needed the cypher to hide a programme in Octan's sensor network. A cypher your own friends acquired for me... And here we are."

"... Here we are." Big Sal replied as the scientist and his clone stared each other down. "There is... One little problem though." He added. "You've only come for me because I'm a danger to your plan. If you die, you plan fails."

"And?" the clone asked.

"And right now, you guards are aiming their weapons at me... But Riddaeon has the gun pointing at you... So with no-one to shoot Riddaeon, there's no one to stop him shooting you... I may die, but you still fail."

This caused a moment of confusion among the guards who both then turned their weapons upon Riddaeon.

"Ah..." Big Sal said after a moment.

"What now." His clone asked, patience growing thin.

"It's just... Now your guards will shoot Riddaeon. But probably not before he shoots you. And if no one shoots me, then you definitely fail."

The Guards looked briefly at each other before retraining their weapons back on Big Sal.

"So you see." Big Sal continued. "Either way, you fail. Because I don't need to live... I just need you to die."

"Well." The clone said. "It's a good job I came with a plan then."

"And what would that be?" Big Sal asked.

Riddaeon turned, his plasma pistol aiming straight at Big Sal...

"Me." He said in a cold tone. He pulled the trigger and a bright pellet of plasma shot from the barrel hitting Big Sal in the chest. The scientist fell backwards, almost knocking Ellie over as he did, sparks flying from the old flight-suit top he wore. He laid on the ground, eyes vacant, embers glowing where a small hole had been burned through his beard by the hot plasma.

"Nooo!" Ellie screamed, dropping to her knees at Big Sal's body as Yseult, teeth gritted lunged toward Riddaeon to met by his rapidly retrained weapon. She halted, the pistol this time aimed square between her eyes, mere centimetres from her head. Moments later, the SPIDER guards had both women restrained and were clamping wrist shackles on them, Ellie having been torn screaming from Big Sal's corpse, Yseult in silence, her eyes a deathly stare that never left Riddaeon.

"Whyyyyy?" Ellie shouted, unable to keep a stream of tears from clouding her eyes. The clone addressed the Women.

"MANTIS was never a real threat to Octan... You know that now. They were too official, too corporate, too... 'Octan'. SPIDER is different - unrecognised and unseen we have grown far greater than any of you are aware. We can sit quietly and wait for the right moment just as a spider awaits its prey." He closed on Yseult and their eyes met. "We are not bound by rules." He said directly to her. "Remind you of anyone?" he asked, the tangle of beard pinching at one side in what looked like an arrogant smirk. Yseult lurched forward and spat in his face, the guard beside her reacting with an immediate fist to her face, knocking her to the floor.

"Something to think about." The clone said. "It's a long trip back to SPIDER... Plenty of time to consider your options. There is a place in SPIDER for all who join us willingly." He turned to leave, stopping at the distraught Ellie. "For the rest." He continued. "Well, we're always in need of... subjects." The insinuation was distressing and Ellie looked over at Riddaeon, a silent final plea for help: It was met with cold eyes devoid of compassion. The clone smirked once more, and left as Yseult was pulled back to her feet.

"Take them to the ship." RIddaeon instructed the guards who ushered the women out behind Big Sal's clone with rough shoves from their elbows. Riddaeon was the last to leave, looking back from the doorway into the room where the body of his long-time friend and mentor lay still upon the floor. Conviction. He told himself. I must have the conviction to see this through... It's the only way. But was it? A thousand other possibilities ran through his mind. He had not wanted this... But it was the only way.

It was.