You can never escape
from your past.
However, you can hide
from it awhile.
Quad - Thornton School - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Dark hair and dark eyes. That was the best way that Duncan could describe the mysterious youth that had refused to leave his side since he'd been found in the underworks of the planet's subterranean network.
The cold weather had began on A-IX early, grey clouds sweeping away the blue skies, and smothering the small world in drab misery.
Duncan stood uneasily in the quad, resting on a hockey stick. The quad doubled as a playground for ball hockey during the day, meaning there was always an abundance of equipment strewn about, waiting for the inevitable recess rush. However that late in the evening, most of the regular Thornton students were in the cafeteria having their evening meal.
It left him some time alone with Ben, for the first time since he'd set his plan into motion.
"Who are you?" he asked after the last student had rushed inside at the resounding sound of the dinner bell.
Ben had shed his coat, as if he were too hot in the cold weather, his hands stuck into his school trouser pockets, his tie now un-tucked along with his shirt tails. His dark eyes sparkling nervously as he leaned his head a little, watching Duncan uncertainly as if trying to read his reaction.
"I am a very old friend of yours, Admiral," he began, his lightly accented voice seeming to hint at a Greek heritage.
"I have no very old friends," Duncan replied. "I am, technically, only a few months old. Which begs the question, again, who are you?"
Ben shifted, as if uncertain of how much he should say; finally he offered a sigh and leaned against the red brick wall of the old school building. "This is all part of your plan," Ben grimaced, "well maybe not this part, the wrong construct got woken up early, and naturally everything's been a bit farked up since then. It is supposed to be you, out there," he nodded upwards to the sky. "Instead you are here, and it's taken me quite awhile to find you… but now I need the memory engram you imprinted… on yourself… to actually work the way the Polian's promised it would."
"Polian's, plan?" Duncan looked suspicious. "What are you talking about?"
"You're a bit too emotional," Ben said, sucking on his teeth as he began to pace. "side effect of the genetic tampering. It is probably hampering your… recall. You need to trust me, though. I am Ben, you and I are very old friends… and I'm here to help you fix a very bad mistake you made a very very long time ago."
"You're fifteen," Duncan replied. "I don't have time for playing games."
"I am actually closer to Three Hundred and Sixty," Ben responded evenly.
"What?" Duncan blinked, "how?"
"We don't have time to discuss this now," replied smiling lightly as he walked forward to touch Duncan on the arm, gripping it lightly. "But I need you to dig down, deep inside, and find whatever remains of the man you were, and be that man."
Duncan studied the youthful face before him, those powerful eyes. "Were we…?" he asked, feeling himself flush.
Ben opened his eyes magnificently wide, stunned. "Nooo, no no no, no… you were married to my sister… and I was married to your best friend. We're not… not that kind of friendship, no." Ben shuddered, "that would just be… very wrong."
"Then who am I?" Duncan demanded quietly.
"You are the Emperor's Sword," Ben smiled lightly, pausing to cough a little as he swayed. "And the Amsus aren't going to know what hit them…"
Thornton School - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Strega was walking one of the upper halls of the academy, marching purposefully as she tried to tie off the last of her loose ends on the damnable world. She'd appreciate the opportunity to rid herself of the nonsense school uniform she'd been forced to wear since arriving. Part of a cover that was overtly cautious on a world so heavily fortified by the Amsus.
Her eyes glided over to the windows she was striding past, the faced down over the quad, and of the pair of figures standing in the middle of the slab of asphalt talking.
Duncan she recognized immediately, the cripple leaning on a hockey stick talking to one of the mundanes that she couldn't seem to place. Not that out of place, save for the fact that Duncan rarely talked to anyone, let alone the mundanes that he simply couldn't relate to on any level.
It was the kind of aberrant behaviour that caused her to pay attention, and she stood studying the scene.
"Strega," one of the Kate's hurried down the corridor to join her. "Pavel reports that he is aboard the Battlecruiser and the Über-Trooper project is ready to be conveyed to the Hive."
Strega, reluctantly, turned away from watching to two boys in the quad to look at the Kate. "Very well, tell him to get the breeding process underway at once. The sooner we can deploy them in the field, the better. We have to make a push on Taïr before the start of the Taïrian winter, any invasion of the world would be complicated beyond that time frame."
Her eyes turned back to the pair in the quad, watching the stranger reaching out to touch Duncan's arm. And Strega smiled, a little edge of triumph seeping in. "Oh that's rich," she purred. "Our little Duncan has found himself a boyfriend…" she looked at Kate, "order the Inquisitors to arrest that boy," she pointed. "We might, at last, have a method of controlling our errant brother."
She laughed quietly to herself as she found a light bounce in her step, heading back to her rooms to finish packing for her own journey back to Earth. Happy that at last, she had something over her chief rival.
Quad - Thornton School - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
They filtered out of the newer concrete buildings, a couple at a time, each in their school uniforms, some wrapped up in parker coats as Duncan stood watching them come.
Rick and Nick were present, their bright sweaters swaddled beneath big military issue coats and black ball caps that made it nearly impossible to tell them apart. But they hadn't come alone, a pair of GN-2s moved cautiously amongst a group of mundane students, each looking apprehensively towards Duncan standing in the middle of the quad.
They assembled like a rag-tag street gang, a few handshakes, and clasped elbows and nods of appreciation that they'd come at all. And they were set. Duncan didn't know all of them, but knew the GN-2s were all ones that Strega had deemed worthless, or too difficult to control. A boy named Vichet, and a pair of girls, Sopendra and Stacey.
"You need help," Vichet said as he crossed his arms, bouncing from toe to toe.
Duncan nodded, "you want to get back at Strega." He said looking at each of them.
Vichet smirked, "you know, when you're treated like garbage, you might as well stink things up a little. Look Dunk, don't know what's up, don't really care, but I take it you've got a plan?"
Duncan smiled tightly. "Yep, and it involves creating as much mayhem and confusion as we can, while others," he looked at the dynamic duo of mayhem, "fark up some of Strega's best laid plans. You all in?"
Stacey popped her gum, grinning as she waggled her pig tails, "never coined you for the sort of guy to like this kind of shit. Where'd ya want me?"
Duncan smiled as he gestured towards the teacher's residence, "I need you to ensure that there's no interference on that end. Vichet you have to reach the generator room and pull the plug when I give the orders…"
Vichet smiled and nodded to two of his mundane buddies who were wielding skateboards, "you got that? We get to fark up the power grid."
"Sopendra, we're going to need a ship, can you…" Duncan began, as Sopendra turned a delightful smile his way.
"Would you like it big or small?" she asked pressing down the pleats of her short school uniform skirt and innocently sucking on a lollypop.
"The best you can find," Duncan asked. "We need comms…"
Nick grinned, shaking his head, "yer slow oh'captain my captain." He said breaking open his backpack and pulling out boxes containing the latest Denver INTER-links, a civilian adaptation of the universally successful TAC. "These'll work just about anywhere, and they're rigged up to the new Denver inter-planetary net as well. Just watch the long distance rates, they're killer."
Duncan nodded as he pocketed his link, looking at each of them, "I don't care what you do," he said firmly to each of them. "Just, if it looks important, break it. And we meet back, when Sopendra lets us know we have a ship…" he gave them one last nod, before he waved at the three groups of students, indicating they should go.
They took off at a run, leaving Duncan to look back at Ben and the twins. "We're good to go as well."
"Main lab complex it is," Nick said fiddling his link so that it was connected to his optronic displays. "This is gonna be fun."
Main Housing Estate - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Vichet ran ahead of his two friends, sprinting towards a flight of steps that he vaulted effortlessly, his GN-2 conditioned reflexes allowing him to hit the ground in a tight ball, rolling up to keep running while behind him his gangers ground down the rails, going flat out on their boards to keep up with him.
He'd been charged, early into the GN-2 Thornton project with studying the Fida'i issue, trying to develop a counter to the unique fighting style Taine's assassins had developed. It was an offensive style of extreme running that made them exceptionally difficult to catch, and at times, deadly to contain.
The limited footage they had, allowed him the opportunity to replicate it as best he could, but while he was impressive at it, he was nowhere near as skilled as a Fida'i master. His reports that he lacked enough data to complete his assigned task had been what had excluded him from Strega's evacuation. She had no room for people who couldn't produce results.
Vichet concentrated as he bounded from a water trough, to the edge of a balcony, sailing up to catch the edge of a cement overhang, launching himself up to the overpass that bisected the dull cement housing estate that surrounded the local power generators.
He'd show her how much of a failure he was, he'd ram that failure right down her smug throat…
Residences - Thornton School - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Stacey and her partner, a mundane third year boy named Darrel tried to appear calm as they walked through the densely packed tower block that had been erected to house the staff of the school. Looking identical to virtually every other block of flats that dominated the industrialized world, it bespoke of the Amsus preference for uniformity in its subjects. There were no houses on A-IX, the priority was accommodations for all, not to cater to the desires of one or two individuals who desired more than a roof over their heads, a kitchen and a place to sleep.
A door ahead of them opened, one of the maintenance staff walking out of his apartment, heading for work. He didn't seem to notice the two students as he fumbled with his keys in the door lock, latching the mechanism and shrugging off a wave of tiredness as he wandered past them down the hall.
Stacey smiled to herself as she walked up to the flat panel set into the wall, a bank of key locks that would engage the lock down for all the rooms in the building. TER-SEC used it when it needed to conduct raids, ensuring that it could control the population of a building long enough for them to get in, make an arrest and get out.
She turned her head, checking again that the maintenance staffer was gone, as she pulled a bobby pin from her head and went to work on the master lock.
Landing field - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Sopendra gritted her teeth as she leaned around the wall to look at the densely clustered group of Amsus Troopers and TER-SEC guards standing between her and the main entrance to the landing field. Lifting her INTER-link and dialling.
"I'm stuck," she called into the INTER-link.
Housing Estate - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Vichet rebounded off of a low brick wall, shimmying up a lamppost as he reached out for another balcony.
"What's up?" he asked lightly into the hands free mouthpiece.
"I have about a dozen Amsus troopers between me and the entrance," she called out in frustration.
"Stay put," Duncan cut in over the line, "how long till you can shut down the grid?" he asked Vichet.
"A few minutes," Vichet reported. "I have Billy and Mikie heading for the substations, but I still have to…" he paused as he leapt to the railing, scrambling up and over it as he nearly lost his balance. "… get over the fence." He said turning back now from his vantage point to overlook the power generators, surrounded by a double layer of electrified fencing, heavily coiled razor wire topping it off for good measure. "Should be no problem at all…"
Lab Complex - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Duncan glanced at Rick, who was kneeling down beside the access panel, ready to flip the manual override and jimmy the doors open once the power was cut.
"We need to give her a hand," he murmured as he walked across the concrete connecting bridge to look out beyond the school grounds towards the brightly lit landing field where yet another Raptor was shooting towards space.
"Stacey, you there?" he asked setting his INTER-link back against his ear.
"Yeah Dunk?" she asked.
"I want you to trip the alarms," he stated chewing on his lip thoughtfully, glancing from the landing field to the Residences in close proximity.
"You want what?" she sounded incredulous. "I thought the whole idea of this shit was to do this without setting off alarms."
"You think you can get out of there quickly if you do?" Duncan inquired.
Stacey sighed, "we're just gonna have to see," she said, as the residence building suddenly lit up, and an alarm siren blared so loud that Duncan could hear it a half mile away.
Housing Estate - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Vichet hurled himself from the top of the lamppost, splaying his legs to get him that extra momentum as he crashed into the ground, rolling end over end, finally coming to rest bruised and battered, but without serious injury, at the foot of one of the great, humming generators.
"All right!" he exclaimed, sitting up and shaking his head to clear the stars, "you and me, bitch, you and me…"
Landing field - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Sopendra watched the Amsus officer at the gate issuing orders to his men, separating and charging off towards the Residential building, leaving the TER-SEC guards alone on sentry duty.
Knowing that everything hinged upon her, she unbuttoned two of her shirt buttons and hiked her bra, dashing out of the shadows and towards the guards, sobbing.
"Help, help," she cried, waving frantically towards the darkness. "They…" he voice hitched. "They tried to…"
"Who, what?" one of the TER-SEC Guards demanded, peering into the darkness where Sopendra's friends suddenly burst out of the shadows running the opposite direction.
"Don't just stand there," the sergeant clapped his junior on the back of the head. "get after them!" The two guards hastening to sprint for their police cruiser sitting to one side of the gate, climbing in and starting the siren wailing as it roared after the running teens.
"All too easy," Sopendra muttered as she walked to the gate, eyeing the security panel that would, very soon, be devoid of power.
Residences - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Stacey grabbed Darrel, as she activated the lock down, reaching one of the doors she deftly knelt and twisted her trusty bobby pin, as down the hall metal barred security doors began to slam down over the entrances to the apartments.
"In, in, in," she muttered, knowing that at any moment their barricade would come down and trap them in the hall when the Amsus Troopers arrived. And that wasn't something she wanted.
The door clicked open, and she hauled Darrel bodily into the apartment, gently closing the door behind them, just as the security barricade rattled down, sealing them inside.
Darrel's nose twitched, "what's that smell?" he asked, looking across the kitchen to the stove where a large pot was rattling and bubbling menacingly. The sound of a trid going in the small living room, indicated to the pair that they weren't alone.
Lab Complex - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Duncan continued to stand on the edge of the bridge, staring over the township. "You got it Vichet?" he asked, feeling suddenly nervous.
"They'll do their duty," Ben commented standing just a little behind him, his eyes scanning the town.
Duncan turned again, "I hope so," he commented.
"Got it," Vichet called, as the entire town went dark. The sound of alarms fading out, leaving only the wailing of emergency vehicles flashing through the buildings.
Thornton School - A-IX - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Strega looked unimpressed as her room was promptly plunged into darkness.
Setting her things aside, she reached for a flashlight, heading towards the Lab-complex, knowing it was the only facility close at hand with a back up generator. At least she'd have some light and could get some work done.