Gun Princess Royale - Book 3 - Princess of the City (web version)

Chapter 15 - Part I

– I –

Why was I going through the building and not over it?

Because I had no intention of being caught by surprise and sniped while using the balconies to climb up the side of the building and onto its rooftop.

Instead, I stepped through the shattered balcony window-wall into what resembled a luxurious, spacious apartment complete with a breakfast left cold on the kitchen table that was one of those island designs where the table is more like a bench with stools surrounding it.

I used the Argus System to search the apartment and locate the exit. When I arrived at the sliding door leading out of the apartment, I discovered that it was locked. However, the Argus System located the locking bolts that were built into the doorjamb. I made short work of the bolts by firing a handful of rounds through them. Then I employed Mirai's abundant strength to slide the door open.

Outside the apartment, I paused to run my gaze over the building's interior that was dominated by an atrium that rose from the ground floor to an enormous glass ceiling. Balconies encircled the atrium on every floor, and some levels appeared to be home to shops, restaurants, and assorted eateries. It wasn't entirely different from the way Ar Telica's residential complexes were built. More alike than unlike, though on a much smaller scale. I wouldn't describe the place as opulent, but it was bright, clean, and spacious, giving off the impression of a friendly, safe environment for children – and adults – of all ages. In some respects, it was akin to the interior of those luxury cruise ships that sailed the oceans of Teloria. Given that the habitat was located within a vessel that was larger than an island, maybe the cruise ship analogy wasn't that far off from the truth.

As I worked my way around the atrium to the west side of the building, I pondered the true nature of the habitat. Was it home to the crew of the Citadel? And what was the composition of the crew? Were they human and Simulacra, or just the latter? Given the size of the ship, the crew complement could number in the tens of thousands – perhaps over a hundred thousand – and the habitat was certainly large enough for that number. Or maybe the Empire possessed advanced automation that allowed for the Sanreal Novis to be operated by a few thousand crew members, leaving the rest to machines and Artificial Awarenesses. So was the habitat home to the crew and their families?

On another note, while the architecture of the buildings within the habitat possessed the air of a utopia or arcology, it was comforting that the inside layout of this building wasn't so dissimilar from what I was accustomed to in Ar Telica. Because of this, and the directions provided by multiple holo-signs, I was able to quickly traverse through the building. Emerging out of the westside exit on the third floor, I found myself running onto a station platform with two elevated monorail tracks running past it in parallel.

During my brief dash over the rooftops, the Argus System had spied these two monorails in the near distance. Now, I hoped that at least one of them would prove to be my straight run to the tower.

Summoning the left armature, I used it to holster the Punisher tightly against my left shoulder blade, then I jumped the short distance from the platform to the nearest parallel track. The Argus System reported the width at twenty-two inches, wide enough to run along, and Mirai's boots had a remarkable grip on smooth surfaces so I was confident I wasn't going to fall off the track.

I was soon running at a very fast jog that many athletes would have mistaken for a sprint. The wounds in my left thigh and flank bothered me with every breath and step that I took, but the discomfort gradually receded into a dull ache as the Angel Fibers patched Mirai up from the inside.

About a thousand feet south of the station, the two monorail tracks diverged. One of them routed between the habitat buildings to the east, but the track I was running along continued in a direct line to the tower. By continuing to make use of it, I didn't waste time searching for ways to travel across from building to building. However, it also gave me time to think, and the closer I travelled to the tower, the darker and more anxious my thoughts became.