Eagle X, Mission 20: Quantum Bonds(Editing)

Part 18: Liam

Spider studied the pipes to be sure he was going the right way then froze. A sixth sense warned him of danger. He spun around, diving aside as he did. Two crackling balls of electricity whizzed overhead. A burning numbness washed across Spider's ribs where a third ball had found its mark. Standing over a pair of dead troopers was a man dressed in a full suit of light Pale Garden commando armor. His helmet was different. Unlike the normal helmets crafted to look like a noble autocrat with hair festooned in flowers, this helmet resembled the same woman, but with hair knotted into two buns. Spider assumed both styles were in Lady Belladonna's likeness, though he'd never actually seen the matriarch of The Pale Garden in person.

Spider ignored the questions racing through his mind, and returned fire. The kinetic rounds impacted the commando with no apparent effect. The commando merely laughed. It was a sound made mechanical as it echoed through the helmet. Despite the distortion, Spider could hear the hints of humanity within. He rolled to his feet, gun raised, but, in that small window of opportunity, the commando vanished.

Spider swore under his breath. Until that moment, the Primus had been the only Pale Garden forces who ever gave him pause. He'd let himself believe that he'd seen the worst Lady Belladonna's army had to offer. He suddenly knew better. Spider thought about giving chase, and learning about the new threat, but he had a job to do. Too many people he cared about were counting on him.

He follow the energy conduit until he came to an intersection. He took cover as best he could, and readied his rifle as he listened for any sounds of an ambush. He glanced over his shoulder, wary of another attack from the rear. His side still stung where the commando had shot him. Spider wondered if he was walking into a trap. The ship alarms should have been blaring, and the halls should have been swarming with troopers. Instead there was no one. As they used to say back on Earth Prime: it was quiet, too quiet.

Having heard nothing, Spider turned with the curvature of the conduit and continued on. At the end of a long hall he came to a pair of large security doors. He approached cautiously. The wall illuminated and a heavy jawed feminine Low-Face filled its space. On its bald forehead was stamped the numbers 05.

"Ac... acc... access: denied... denied... denied."

"Ohhh, Bad Kitty got you good." Spider smirked and rested his rifle against his shoulder. "Open the door, Amazon-05."

"A... access... accesss-"

"Denied. I heard you the first time. Open. The. Door."

The Low-Face on the display was distorted by the image of a fat neon yellow cat rubbing its rump against the screen. The doors opened a fraction as the security locks failed. They cycled on and off, but the damage had been done. Spider moved over to the doors and pushed one side along its track. He bowed to the ship's Core AI and entered the shield generator room. Even if the enemy knew where to find him, they couldn't stop him before he did what he'd come to do.

Spider walked through the vast chamber acutely aware of the lack of workers. The room should have been staffed by a few dozen engineers and clones working diligently to keep the ship's shields intact. Instead the place was empty. The beeping of monitors and gauges filled the room. Spider sought the controls to the shield array. If he could shut them down completely, it would take hours to get them up to full power again.

It didn't take long for him to hear footfalls mirroring his own. He slowed his pace. There were two behind him. Spider readied to turn when three commandos stepped out of cover. He fired upon them, but his bullets did nothing, just as before.

"The mighty Spaceman Spider," said the tallest of the three, her voice was rich despite her helmet's distortion. "We've been searching for you for almost two weeks. I was starting to think my plan had failed. Isn't that right?"